Hans Reiser is the creator of the Linux file system ReiserFS, and a convicted murderer. In 2006 he murdered his wife. He was convicted in 2008.

Reiser's defense -- the so called geek defense -- was that as a geek, and possibly on account of Aspergers Syndrome, he did not understand that his actions in the aftermath of Nina Reiser's disappearance would look like attempts to cover up a murder. When asked if he was "dysfunctional in every social setting" by his defense attorney, he said "Except in being a scientist". This is an extreme case of He's just like that: an attempt to excuse anti-social behaviour because geeks can't help behaving that way.

Coverage/responses/etc Edit

Early coverage Edit

From before the trial and during early stages of it.

• Hans Reiser: once a Linux visionary, now accused of murder (Wired)
• Reiser is Innocent blog (most active in 2007)

Later coverage Edit

From the late stages of the trial and after conviction.

• Prosecutor on Hans Reiser defense: "you've got to be kidding me" (Wired)

"His other defense is the so-called geek defense: Any guilt-ridden behavior he may have displayed in the aftermath of her disappearance was a manifestation of him being a socially inept computer geek devoid of social skills."

• Hans Reiser's "geek defense" could backfire

"You may dislike him--that would put you in the majority of people who know him--but he didn't commit the crime," Du Bois said, adding that the jury need look no further than this video presented in court of Reiser giving a seminar at Google headquarters about his file system to see he's a "genuine nerd," according to news accounts

• Hans Reiser and the Aspergers Defense: Troubling (Autism Vox)

"The whole case is plenty troubling on its own. But seeing Asperger’s so readily equated with being “mentally incompetent” or having a “mental disorder” or being “nuts” is incredibly troubling"