This post addresses the killing of disabled people by their families.
If this issue is new to you, the resources listed at the end provide excellent information.
Shock #1:
One Sunday morning in 1993 Robert Latimer, a Canadian farmer kissed his wife and other children goodbye as they went off to church. He then took their daughter Tracy, age 12, put her in the front seat of his pickup truck, ran a hose from the tailpipe into the cab, closed the windows, turned on the ignition, and sat in the chair next to the truck and watched her die. Court records show that he planned her murder thoroughly.
When news of Tracy’s death was published in the media there was a huge public outcry of support for Robert Latimer when he claimed it was a “mercy” killing. Although disabled groups argued that killing disabled children should be treated the same as killing nondisabled children, Latimer was treated very leniently and he currently travels the world as a free man teaching people how he killed his daughter.
Shock #2:
Dick Sobsey, who studies the murders of disabled people, has documented the number of new murders increases each time the media says that the killing of a disabled person is a “mercy” killing.
Fighting Back:
In 2012 George Hodgins, an autistic adult who lived near San Francisco, was killed by his mother. The media presented the typical “excuses”. Disgusted, Autistic high school student Zoe Gross organized a response which became an international Disability Day of Mourning which is coordinated through the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).
Tracy Latimer’s death – well no, actually the public praising of her killer father – pushed me into action. But it took me until now to have the support and stamina to really delve into the murders of disabled people by their families.
On March 1, 2013, I attended the Disability Day of Mourning at San Francisco City Hall organized by Zoe Gross. Grateful for her leadership, I decided to become involved in planning future events. This year I decided to make a series of art pieces about disabled children killed by their families.