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Letters

Autism and Mental Illness: Prison Isn’t the Right Place

By
Garry

Garry writes from a prison in TAS.

Ye Jinghan via Unsplash

To About Time,

Hey guys, great newspaper. Absolutely love it.

I would just like to mention a few things I’ve noticed around prison regarding inmates with both autistic and mental illness traits. Who says these inmates are right to go to prison and not a hospital?

It seems to me prison staff also need training regarding mental health and inmates with autism like myself. Just seems a little unfair to lock someone up who doesn’t see the world same as a “normal” person would.

Furthermore, it isn’t fair to prison staff who have to deal with these unusual behaviours. Autistic, Aspergers – anyone who is on the “spectrum” should undergo some sort of different situation rather than mainstream prison.

Regards,

Garry

To About Time,

Hey guys, great newspaper. Absolutely love it.

I would just like to mention a few things I’ve noticed around prison regarding inmates with both autistic and mental illness traits. Who says these inmates are right to go to prison and not a hospital?

It seems to me prison staff also need training regarding mental health and inmates with autism like myself. Just seems a little unfair to lock someone up who doesn’t see the world same as a “normal” person would.

Furthermore, it isn’t fair to prison staff who have to deal with these unusual behaviours. Autistic, Aspergers – anyone who is on the “spectrum” should undergo some sort of different situation rather than mainstream prison.

Regards,

Garry

This
letter
was originally printed in the
April 2026
edition of About Time.

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Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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