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Halo 3 Criticized In Murder Conviction

Posted by Soulskill on from the master-chief-charged-as-an-accessory dept.

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.

3 of 839 comments (clear)

  1. Re:guns by hobbit · · Score: 1, Troll

    WRONG. One slice of a good sharp knife across the external carotid artery is all it takes for a very swift death by knife. Equally, one good full swing bash to the head with a 20 pound sledge hammer is equally deadly. It takes nothing more than a tiny bit of knowledge

    ALSO. One swift run over 100m in less than 9.69 seconds is all it takes to be the new sprint world record holder. Armed with this new knowledge, what are you waiting for?

    --
    "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
  2. Re:Sure, 17 year-olds believe this because of a ga by LordKaT · · Score: 0, Troll

    I'm still at a loss for why that borderline suicidal person shouldn't just go and kill himself.

    If you really feel like you're THAT worthless, DO IT. Just make sure to get it on webcam so the *chans can have a laugh.

  3. Re:Sure, 17 year-olds believe this because of a ga by Nursie · · Score: 0, Troll

    Sounds to me like he had parents that suffocated him and tried to stifle any sort of privacy or development as an individual.

    Not that I'm condoning his actions, but if he was essentially being denied any free will or "personhood" I can imagine the frustration.