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Games Made Me Do It Defense Didn't Work
BuddingMonkey wrote to mention a heartening ruling from a judge who saw beyond the anti-gaming hype. CNN is reporting that Devin Moor has been found guilty of murder, in a well publicized case where the defendant stated that video games caused his behavior. From the article: "Prosecutor Lyn Durham said Tuesday that Moore knew what he was doing when he grabbed a patrolman's gun and killed two officers and a radio dispatcher. 'And he knew it was wrong,' she said."
This comment brought to you by the committee to purge the BS from Gaming...
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Have you tried your Hot Coffee lately?
...the defense used when a gang of young teenagers went around killing people in defence of their own beliefs. Oh wow. And I bet half of you believed me.
It's about time our legal system personnel began to smarten up.
was to try to use that defense in Alabama instead of California.
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
"...it is way too easy to blame your past for violent action..."
Well, yeah. It's easy to blame your past for *any* action.
There's plenty to be said for the kid's instinct. I don't really think it's unfair to say that he did what he did because it had worked for him before in other impulsive situations. He stole a gun from a cop and shot all three in the head. He wasn't shooting blindly, he was executing with intent to escape. He must have learned this *somewhere*.
But I feel as though it's an absurd defense to blame Grand Theft Auto for a shooting and claim it obscures your judgement of right and wrong. That doesn't mean he didn't learn "technique" or behaviour from a videogame, but that'd be like blaming Law and Order: SVU for a rape charge. We see plenty of things we're not supposed to do all the time on TV, in movies, and in games. We don't do them in real life because we understand the difference between the two things.
There is a chain of grocery stores native to my home state which does this... years ago, in the sue-crazy early 90s, there was a rash of incidents in which folks were going into various grocery stores, pulling items from high shelves down on top of them, and suing for damages. Though the cases almost never went to court, there was usually a hefty settlement involved.
My local chain decided they would have none of this, and vowed to fight any such case brought against them in court. The frivolous lawsuits were curtailed pretty quickly, because the lawyers-for-hire figured out that this was no longer an easy way to make a quick buck.
Most businesses who have a lawsuit brought against them choose to settle because it is cheaper than fighting it out in court. Only the truly smart companies realize that this behavior just invites new lawsuits. Just look at what happened to mp3.com.
I am a HUGE fan of Law and Order: Lenny (aka the original series). "SVU" or "CI" never made an impression on me; they just seemed "slightly more extreme and more dodads to keep the unwashed masses watching".
The final straw was last weekend, when I caught a Law and Order Criminal Intent (I think) episode- where a young man was drugging young women and doing things to them. One victim had her calf muscles cut out of her legs while she was alive. Another had a hole drilled in her skull and hot water poured in.
That was the day I swore I'd never watch the two new variants for any longer than it took to change channels. It was absafuckingloutely disgusting.
We don't do them in real life because we understand the difference between the two things.
Is that why children think there's Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, etc? Is that why children imitate everything around them? Watch a bunch of kids playing for about 15 minutes, and I guarantee you'll see something "pop culture" woven into their play. Children up until a certain age have NO CONCEPT of the difference between cartoons and real life, or video and real life. They have little developed sense of judgement, either.
Please help metamoderate.
they found him guilty BECAUSE the video game wasnt to blame, so what are they suing for?
Two reasons. First, money. Second, so they don't have to admit they are lousy parents - it's the game's fault, not theirs.