Drew Harrison’s Story
January 13, 2021
Our son, Drew Harrison, is on the Autism Spectrum. He served three active years of a 50-year prison sentence. Drew’s Autism was not taken into consideration at trial.
Drew reconnected with a woman he had dated in high school. The evening before inviting him to her apartment she shared her interest in BDSM, submissive sex. She told Drew that her boyfriend was too tired after work to please her sexually. Upon arrival she laid a blanket on the floor, she allowed him to massage her shoulders and feet, she showed him her semi-nude, erotic photos of herself and engaged in sexualized talk. In the bedroom he easily removed her shirt and pants. Drew gave the woman oral sex and put a finger in her vagina. When she told him to stop he stopped. She confirmed this during a phone call with Drew’s therapist. The therapist testified that the woman told him that when she asked Drew to stop, he stopped. And, that she only asked him to stop once.
The two of them texted and emailed back and forth hundreds of times post event. They even got together a few times. On one occasion, months after the evening in her apartment, they went to a bookstore where she pointed out an erotic BDSM book for Drew to buy. She also continued to send him emails about sexual fantasy stories. Six months after the evening in her apartment she reported to the police that the contact in her bedroom was nonconsensual.
Those with ASD typically have a strike or two against them when entering a courtroom. The pace of questioning often exceeds their ability to process everything that is heard. Their high anxiety and repetitive statements can be mistaken as indicators of deception or guilt. Without an understanding of their unique way of processing information and their difficulty expressing anger appropriately a court can easily question credibility and reach a faulty conclusion.
Drew’s therapist testified that Drew has a strong desire to please, that he has learned to fake well in order to fit in. The judge interpreted this as our son’s ability to be deceitful and he used it as part of the reason for convicting Drew. He never asked the autism experts in the courtroom for clarification regarding Drew’s social and communication deficits.
In a letter presented to the judge Drew’s probation officer noted that Drew complied with all probation conditions for over two years. She stated that if this were a regular case without the appeal process she would request early release from probation. She added that Drew passed the state-issued polygraph without deception. Results were consistent with the not guilty plea Drew has maintained from the beginning.
The judge stated that he didn’t view Drew as a threat to the community or the woman. He emphasized that he was sending Drew to prison as a general deterrence to others because that is what the community would want him to do. Drew’s therapists are convinced that Drew is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. They warned the court that incarceration would be torture for our son.
In prison Drew suffered a break down after abrupt medication changes and being moved from isolation into general population. To deaden his senses from loud clanging doors, the bright buzzing lights and the chatter of inmates Drew often wore ear plugs and wrapped a shirt around his head. He struggled to navigate the unwritten rules of inmates. Drew lived in fear and overwhelm. He begged us, “Please get me out of here”. Prison visits were bittersweet. We were grateful to spend time with our son, but heartbroken as we watched him deteriorate.
We are asking Governor Northam to grant Drew a pardon. We ask for your support by signing this petition.
My blog www.savedrew.com gives additional details and excerpts from transcripts. It shows the considerable reasonable doubt and lack of due process.
Written by Jude Harrison
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