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Halo 3 Criticized In Murder Conviction
oldwindways writes "An Ohio teen was found guilty of murdering his mother and shooting his father in the head after they took away his copy of Halo 3. One has to wonder if this is going to have any effect on the games industry. Clearly, the AP thought they could stir up something controversial by asking the IP owner for a statement: 'Microsoft, which owns the intellectual property for the game, declined to comment beyond a statement saying: "We are aware of the situation and it is a tragic case."' I suppose the good news is they did not accept his insanity plea, so no one can claim that Halo 3 drove him insane. Even so, I don't think anything good can come out of this for gamers."
Unfortunately, it seems somebody can claim that the game was a contributing factor; the judge who presided over this case said he believes that the 17-year-old defendant "had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever." GamePolitics has further details from the judge's statement. It doesn't help that the boy's lawyers used video game addiction as a defense.
he believes that the 17-year-old defendant "had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever."
If someone as old as 17 doesn't understand this basic fact of life, then there's obviously something wrong that has nothing to do with the video game.
... and then they built the supercollider.
"An Ohio teen was found guilty of murdering his mother and shooting his father in the head after they took away his [thing that he really liked]"
If he had a caffeine addiction and his parents took away his Coke would that mean that it was the fault of the Coke that he murdered them?
If someone as old as 17 doesn't understand this basic fact of life, then there's obviously something wrong that has nothing to do with the video game.
Obviously. Nobody is arguing that completely normal people would go postal by playing Halo 3. If I said "All you people on slashdot are a wsate of oxygen and should go kill yourself" there won't be mass suicides, but someone already suicidal really sitting on the fence just might. So here we got a borderline psychotic, serious trouble separating famtasy from reality and he's on the fence. Was Halo 3 the push? How much should you pad the world to make sure he doesn't get a push? Or is it him, if anyone had realized how serious his issues are, that should have been put in a padded room? There's a line somewhere there, but I think what 99%+ of the population handles well should never be outlawed. The rest is just triggering some secret freak-out button that can't really be helped. Or rather, those people should be helped if possible.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Games aren't meant to be simulations, they're meant to be fun.
About a third of murders don't involve firearms. Areas with widespread legal firearms ownership tend to have less crime than areas with severe gun restrictions. Finally, if someone is that nuts, operating an axe, shovel, hatchet or any number of other hand tools is no great obstacle.
Lizzie Borden was just a chick, but did a "hatchet job" quite smartly (and beat the rap too).
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
The father, a minister, had a 9mm handgun that the son, who played video games, used as the tool for his action.
So lets see.
Religion.
Guns.
Video Games.
Which one is not enshrined in U.S. culture and will therefore be blamed.
He killed his mother and shot his father in the head. the father survived.
Daniel's plan was originally to make it look like a murder-suicide, by leaving the gun in his father's hand. After the shooting, Mark Petric said his son put the gun in his hand while saying, "Hey Dad, here's your gun. Take it."
The outrage is from people who are pissed that a manipulative evil piece of shit is trying to avoid a harsher punishment by blaming a hobby which most people here enjoy.
His first plan to avoid getting punished didn't work out so well but a judge seems to have bought into the "it was the videogames fault!",partly at least.
17-year-old defendant "had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever." I know it has been quoted already, but seriously? I mean come on. My 5 year old son understands the fact that death is forever. And he has been playing games since he was old enough to hold a controller. Hell, I taught him how to snipe the pilots out of helicopters in Mercenaries when he was two. Also, why did the parents take the game away from the kid? My guess would be some kind of violent activity and they were taking his games away as punishment. The kid most likely had violent tendencies anyway.
From this article:
"According to prosectors, Petric, 16 at the time of the shooting, was forbidden to buy Halo 3 by his parents, Mark and Susan Petric. The teen snuck out to purchase the game anyway, and was caught by his parents upon his return. The game was locked up in Mark's lockbox, along with a 9mm handgun."
So no, a history of violence wasn't mentioned in the articles I have seen so far. However, it also says he didn't have a copy of the game.
From the same article:
"Lawyers for the accused delivered a brief statement at the opening of the trial, explaining that their client had be under a large amount of stress after being homebound for a year due to a snowboarding accident with nothing to do but watch television and play video games."
So, presumably he hadn't been playing the game elsewhere.
But don't worry...
"Dad, I'm so sorry for what I did to Mom, to you and to the family," Daniel Petric said, according to his father. "I'm so glad you are alive."
"You're my son," Mark Petric responded. "You're my boy."
Dad forgives him...