Another Attempt To Blame The Video Game For Murder
from the the-i'm-easily-pursuaded-defense dept
The rather infamous Jack Thompson gained his fame by picking up various lawsuits that involved kids shooting people and trying to get them off by blaming the video game. Rather than admit guilt, he was attempting to keep murderers from getting convicted by saying that it was the video game that made them do it. It appears that others are now picking up on this tactic. Adam Thierer points us to a recent case where a lawyer isn't arguing that his client, a 24-year-old, didn't commit a murder. He's arguing that the guy thought he was playing a video game. This is a really weak way to try to get someone acquitted of murder -- and says quite a bit about the lawyers who would use this sort of defense. As the article notes, the actual evidence suggests that video games had nothing to do with the murder, and that it was an old-fashioned robbery attempt.
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I am not a shrink by Anonymous Coward on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 4:56pm
if "the guy thought he was playing a video game"
(and he wasn't)
then I would guess he is insane
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by John Doe on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 5:04pm
I agree with Anonymous. He should be locked up with 4 padded walls. I don't care where or how he is locked up, just get that guy out of the streets.
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........ by Anonymous Coward on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 5:06pm
So next thing we know car accidents and school fights will be getting the "it was the video games" excuse. I am sick of people hiding behind a scapegoat b/c they don't like it or just can't face the fact it was their own stupidity that got them where they are(about to face lethal injection or life in prison)
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Re: by Anonymous Coward on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 5:12pm
Your talkin about the lawyer needin to be put behind padded walls right?
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The good old days... by Krum on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 7:19pm
I remember the "good old days" when there where no murders at all because there weren't any video games yet...
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Re: The good old days... by Hellsvilla on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 7:26pm
I actually burst out laughing. Ty, good comment.
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by Overcast on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 7:46pm
Maybe he could pretend like prison is a video game too.
Win - Win situation :)
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by Anonymous Coward on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 8:16pm
I wonder which video games Hitler liked playing the most
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by Rekrul on Feb 29th, 2008 @ 9:36pm
The prosecutor should hand everyone in the jury a game controller to hold for a few minutes, then replace the controllers with raw eyeballs from some animal and ask if they can tell the difference.
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by PaulT on Mar 1st, 2008 @ 12:17am
It's a shame that mainstream media tends to pick up on these claims. I look at them the same way that I did when horror movies were blamed in the 90s, or heavy metal in the 80s, etc. - patently false. After all, these are usually just last-ditch attempts to get a killer off the hook when the evidence proves that they are guilty - just trying to provide "mitigating circumstances" to say "yeah, I did it but it wasn't my fault!".
It's a shame that so many fools out there (yes, Jack Thompson, I'm looking at you and the people who hire you on TV) are so much more willing to believe the desperate pleas of murderers rather than the evidence at hand. Hopefully, this case will prove to be overlooked by the usual media channels.
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um... yeah... by brwyatt on Mar 1st, 2008 @ 7:40am
Because a mouse/keyboard or console controler feels exactly like a real gun... I can see how they could easily be confused...
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Only two outcomes by John on Mar 1st, 2008 @ 4:46pm
There should be only two outcomes to this case:
1) The guy (and his lawyer) admits to the crime, pleads guilty, and the guy goes to jail.
2) The guy (and his lawyer) convinces a judge of the "I thought it was a video game" excuse, at which time, the judge sentences the guy to at least 10 years of psychiatric evaluation with instructions to medicate him for schizophrenia and other "break with reality" mental disorders.
Either way, the guy deserves what he gets.
On the other hand, it sounds like the lawyer is trying to make a name for himself by creating his own legal excuse, like blaming heavy metal music, twinkies, horror movies, or comic books.
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Well now we know by Matt on Mar 1st, 2008 @ 8:32pm
Well now we know that if you want to run around killing people just be sure to keep yelling "Die you Covenant scum!!!!"
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One size fits all? by Coaster on Mar 2nd, 2008 @ 6:58pm
If playing video games makes him commit robbery, then it ought to make anyone commit robbery. So if they get the jury all together and get them to play pong for an hour and no one robs a bank, then I guess his excuse is full of holes.
I think they ought to commit the lawyer and send the criminal to prison.
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by notime4u on Apr 2nd, 2008 @ 3:50pm
The kid has autism. Next time try reading the entire article.
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