gamepolitics: GTA Killer's Death Row Letter Viewable

Game Politics (

gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2005-10-27 17:12:00

Entry tags:

alabama, devin moore, gta killer, jack thompson, jailhouse letter, judge moore, lawsuits, letter, strickland, strickland vs. sony

GTA Killer's Death Row Letter Viewable

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...and the Tuscaloosa News has an excellent piece on Devin Moore's death row letter.

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(75 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	Can't read it tsknf 2005-10-27 09:28 pm UTC (link)
	I find this bloke's writing style hard to read. Oh well. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Can't read it (Anonymous) 2005-10-27 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	His spelling isn't the greatest, either. I type documents for a living and I can't make heads nor tails out of some of his longer words.. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Can't read it -

gamepolitics, 2005-10-27 09:57 pm UTC

Re: Can't read it -

tsknf, 2005-10-27 10:05 pm UTC

Re: Can't read it -

mrfalcon, 2005-10-28 06:28 am UTC

ailes_du_soleil
2005-10-27 09:40 pm UTC (link)

My thoughts? He killed people. Now he's grasping at straws to find a way to get out. VIDEO GAMES MADE ME DO IT! That holds as much water as "The Devil made me do it!" A playstation controller and a gun feel very, very different. Nothing but his own stupidity made him do it. What they need to do is make a video game where you fashoin a noose for your character and hang yourself. Lets see if anyone will leave notes saying video games made me do it then. If thier perrception of reality is so warped that video games make them do things. Then the idiots would have shown signs of it before anyway. Point it society needs something to point fingers at. OMG Metal music sings "I love the devil when you play it backwards". Perhaps we need another round of idiots who think the ninja turtles and the simpsons are the cause of everything wrong. They held more water than this Jack Thompson bullshit.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	amisplacedphile 2005-10-27 10:09 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, but you know, he originally trained with duck hunt. Damn you nintendo. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

locke_cole, 2005-10-28 01:52 am UTC

(no subject) -

amisplacedphile, 2005-10-28 02:16 am UTC

(no subject) -

sir_bissel, 2005-10-27 10:12 pm UTC

(no subject) -

incendis_mind, 2005-10-28 03:53 am UTC

	Cursive quartermaine 2005-10-27 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	sucks. (Reply to this)

	What is this? skemodan 2005-10-27 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	I can't read this shit. It's like fucking a rooster. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! His handwriting sits at some level far below chicken scratch. If anyone has the time and the patience, would they care to transrbie this mockery of script. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: What is this? hilaryduffgta 2005-10-27 11:09 pm UTC (link)
	i was just about to post and ask the same thing??? please someone this is beyond illegiable..and i thought i had bad writing skills (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: What is this? -

daislite, 2005-10-28 12:15 am UTC

Re: What is this? -

automancer, 2005-10-28 04:55 pm UTC

This case doesn't mean anything for anyone but him, and people like him

sedyn
2005-10-27 10:13 pm UTC (link)

If a person is threatened with lethal force and is on the defense, then the use of lethal force does not imply anything about their mental condition. If, on the other hand, the person is the aggressor using lethal force that shows that they are either a violent person or insane. (the or used is non-exclusive)

Now, what a non-normal person does, with pretty much anything, is not a reflection upon the rest of society. Nor should it be.

So, let's assume that this guy was given a pass because of violent video games. That just implies that atrocities committed by problematic individuals is excusable. It does not however mean that video games cause alone violence. Nor should any decision on such a matter factor into content regulation.

For example, the military uses pep pills to make soldiers perform better in combat. Does that mean that anything that aids a persons consciousness attributes to fatalities? If it did, then that means anyone who uses caffeine is more likely to kill then someone who does not (I've gotten pretty pissed off waiting in line for coffee).

If I think about the cases I've heard about where a person murders and is a gamer, they usually sound like they have personality deficiencies that make them loners. What do loners have? Time. What do most people do with spare time? Get entertainment. What is a popular form of entertainment for people under 30? Video Games.

There's a link that leads violent people to video games, but that does not imply that video games cause violent people.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: This case doesn't mean anything for anyone but him, and people like him (Anonymous) 2005-10-30 11:27 pm UTC (link)
	Actually, the military uses amphetamines to pep up the soldiers. Amphetamines have well know psychological side effects including visual and auditory hallucinations & agression http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine_psychosis http://www.biopsychiatry.com/amphpsycho.html Just so we're on the same page pep pills do not = caffeine (Reply to this) (Parent)

	coldacid 2005-10-27 10:30 pm UTC (link)
	If anyone who can actually make heads or tails out of those pen scratches deigns to make a transcript that we can actually read, I'm sure everyone would be grateful. If such a person exists... :p (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dudelovenext 2005-10-27 10:34 pm UTC (link)
	That's just about what I was gonna say. I'd be impressed with those that could interpert that... (Reply to this) (Parent)

disasterchild
2005-10-27 10:33 pm UTC (link)

Here's the first page... I tried to get or guess what the actual words were but I may not have gotten it all right. There are some parts that I can't read at all due to the left side being cut off by the fax or whatever.

DisasterChild

-------------------------------------------------------------------

John [J] Thompson,

My name is Devin D. Moore and I've been convicted on 6 cap.[ital] charges. I'm pretty sure you're familiar with my harges and my case. I was writing concerning the legal the legal documents I recieved today. There were a lot of offensive statements made in these papers towards me but I can understand why you or the would feel this way. There are a lot of people speaking [on] my behalf but none of them [are] being heard. A lot of this don't make [???] to me but I've been taking it one day at a time. I would like to talk to you about the statement "Life [is] like a video game, we all have to die someday' but I don't [know?] if it would be wise. I don't think that I have a [???] for presenting me in this matter. Hopefully you'll respond to this letter explaining to me what's going on in "[???]" terms/ I know there's a lot happening because of me but I have to no idea what it is. After reading these documents I came to the understanding your name has been slandered [???] to past weeks. I don't know what they are but that's no my point. During my trial, my plea was not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity or mental defect. A major part of my defense rested on video games and the effect it had on [???] [??]. Judge Moore of Fayette County ruled that the Video [game?] evidence was ineligible in court because these was no [creditable?] basis to support my evidence. Judge Moore said he had no knowledge of anything in the medical of Video Games, P.T.S.D and violent behavior. Very Untrue!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

disasterchild
2005-10-27 10:47 pm UTC (link)

Page 2: I think I'm getting better at this

--------------------------------------------

In the past I received a 57 page complaint for wrongful death in which the majority of the complaint contains psychological facts that numerous doctors have discovered between violent videogames and the effect it has on teens. There was even a section talking about P.T.S.D. in these studies. Everything arguement to argue was in this 57 pg. complaint and no one noticed it as medical evidence, not even my lawyers (Public Defender). This crippled my defense severly and my lawyer had to make "last minute" arrangements on how he was going to present my case. He wasn't notified until the first day of of actual trial that he couldn't say anything about Video Games in my defense. You'd think that's the kind of information he's be given before hand.

While I'm on the subject of trial nothing was fair about it. Every black juror was struck for one reason or another. Some reasons decent some indecent. The whole jury were white and non of the were my peers. Some of the jury-jurors blatantly said that they couldn't give me a fair trial but when cross examined by the defense attourney, said they could and would. The jeudge let many of the jurors sit in the jury anyways. They had already told what wa in their heads but the D.A. convinced these people to say "I'll be fair." That's just a few of the many errors that took place in my trial. How fair can it possibly get in a small predominantly white town. Demographics show only 11% blacks. That's not the purpose of this letter but it's the response to Devin Moore.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

disasterchild, 2005-10-27 10:56 pm UTC

(no subject) -

coldacid, 2005-10-27 11:56 pm UTC

*sigh* - (Anonymous), 2005-10-28 02:27 am UTC

Re: *sigh* - (Anonymous), 2005-10-28 06:07 am UTC

(no subject) -

jindewinter, 2005-10-28 02:08 pm UTC

Are you saying black jurors would have believed his video game defense? - (Anonymous), 2005-10-30 06:39 pm UTC

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2005-10-27 10:59 pm UTC

(no subject) -

disasterchild, 2005-10-28 12:29 am UTC

hidingninja
2005-10-27 10:57 pm UTC (link)

I'm going to start robbing houses. If I ever get caught, no biggie. A scene from my trial: Defense Lawyer: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, over the course of this trial, I intend to show you that my client was not responsible for his own actions. It is the result of spending hours playing 'burglar simulators--' role-playing videogames that trained him to walk into a house and simply take what he wanted..."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

disasterchild
2005-10-27 11:07 pm UTC (link)

Would this give me an excuse to trample people's lawns everytime I see a mushroom?

"It's coming right for us"
*jumps on top the alleged moving mushroom*
*sees his neighbor's pet turtle and start running towards it...*

Also... I'm play the game Evil Genius... does that make me a world dictator in training?
--------------------------

Seriously though. If what Devin says in his statement... that the judge ruled that there is no evidence regarding video games and violence, does this set a precident for evidence tying video games and violence as being inadmissible?

And as far as what I've experienced as far as video games and violence goes... I live with my girlfriend and her kids. The 10 year old is hyper and often doesn't know how to contain his frustration. I got him an X-Box and well... he's doing a lot better now... sure he complains about losing to me in Halo 2 but he's not out pushing his sister or other kids around.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) -

hilaryduffgta, 2005-10-27 11:21 pm UTC

(no subject) -

baldynomad, 2005-10-27 11:27 pm UTC

Sara - (Anonymous), 2005-10-27 11:34 pm UTC

(no subject) -

another_neko, 2005-10-28 03:05 am UTC

	(Anonymous) 2005-10-27 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	you know, it occurred to me, if Jack really believed that video games were to blame, and really were a Christian, he would try to save the life of a man, instead of trying to get money out of the whole deal... how 'bout it Jack? put your money where your mouth is. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	im waiting for him to say hilaryduffgta 2005-10-27 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	Yes but Jesus Took People to court so can i.... Jack thompson ace video game attorney... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: im waiting for him to say -

disasterchild, 2005-10-28 12:48 am UTC

(no subject) -

joshdavis271, 2005-10-27 11:43 pm UTC

... -

_jeckel, 2005-10-28 12:27 am UTC

	-Vader (Anonymous) 2005-10-27 11:53 pm UTC (link)
	Stupid school didnt teach me cursive... Well I dont like reading other peoples letters... (Reply to this)

	darn it evirustheslaye 2005-10-28 12:02 am UTC (link)
	darnit i need a transcript... i cant read cursuve... (special ed classes intrupted the time when i was supposed to learn cursuve) (Reply to this)

Still guilty, no matter what he says

yukimurasanada
2005-10-28 12:07 am UTC (link)

Moore may want to claim that he was wrongly convicted, but the fact is he is still guilty. It was his actions that cost those officers there lives, he still must pay for his crime.

As far as the civil suit goes, I doubt it will get anywhere, the Judge from the criminal case is handling it, so the Vidoe games made me do it Defense probably won't fly there either.

The fact is, and sony has this to back it up, Devin was convicted of his crime regardless of what he did in regards to GTA, so trying to blame them for it is redundant. I know the burden of proof is differet in a civil case, but I doubt seriously that it will change the outcome.

Just my thoughts. Oh, and to all GP readers , HI!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Still guilty, no matter what he says (Anonymous) 2005-10-30 11:29 pm UTC (link)
	Civil Suits have a lower standard of proof Its a "preponderance of the evidence" vs "beyond a reasonable doubt" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Uhhh... ace_ofspade 2005-10-28 12:51 am UTC (link)
	All those fuggin' squiggly lines. Can someone decipher it's strange code? (Reply to this)

	To Devin Moore andrew_eisen 2005-10-28 01:01 am UTC (link)
	You killed three people. You have no defense. Andrew Eisen (Reply to this)

Smart move for Devin
(Anonymous)
2005-10-28 01:17 am UTC (link)

What I see here is Devon grasping at straws at a way to either overturn his conviction, or at least the sentencing. Essentially what he's doing is "cluing" Jack into other information for his case. If by some miracle Jack manages to win his case using this information it could set a new precedent for using a "videogame defense" allowing Devin to appeal his case and if nothing else possibly get a stay of execution in favor of life or being sent to an asylum.

And of course Jack would probably take up this case too. After all Devin is obviously a Christan seeking repense from this letter. And Jack would probably end up on CNN or 60 minutes again or something.

(Reply to this)

	thought this would give us all a laugh..(not jt related) hilaryduffgta 2005-10-28 01:33 am UTC (link)
	Enjoy...Dennis can delete this one if need be no biggie..just thought it would be a good laugh..http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6739710473912337648 (Reply to this)

	Bill would punish filers of frivolous lawsuits quartermaine 2005-10-28 02:06 am UTC (link)
	Watch out Whacko Jacko! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_go_co/congress_lawsuits (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Bill would punish filers of frivolous lawsuits hilaryduffgta 2005-10-28 02:11 am UTC (link)
	Hell yea if that passes he is screwed (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Bill would punish filers of frivolous lawsuits -

automancer, 2005-10-28 05:14 pm UTC

Few things from the letter

amusingman
2005-10-28 02:20 am UTC (link)

Thanks Dennis for posting the entire letter.

Why is Mr. Moore saying "it won't be wise" to tell Jack Thompson about the comment "Life is a videogame"?

Mr. Moore appears to have become religious all of sudden?

Mr. Thompson apparently ignores the 10's of million people who have played videogames and never harmed a soul but he is taking the opinion of one murderer as evidence that videogames causes violence? Why did he alert Dennis to the existence of the letter?

Devin Moore is just but one disturbed individual from a broken home who experimented with drugs and crime. If it was GTA or violent videogames, we would have hundreds if not thousands of Devin Moores running around...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Few things from the letter gamepolitics 2005-10-28 02:28 am UTC (link)
	I don't claim any insights into Devin Moore's mind. He could be not wanting to actually discuss details of the murder which could be used against him in an appeal. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Questionable philosophy
(Anonymous)
2005-10-28 02:40 am UTC (link)

Jack spits on all the gamers like us who'd never hurt a fly, calls us "drooling morons", and tells us we're all on drugs. He lambbastes us for no good reason in the media and on our own turf, without any provocation. He seeks legal action to "destroy" us because we're not on his side.

Jack defends all the gamers like him who have killed people, saying it's not their fault and essentially that God is on "their" (that being killer gamers and Jack Thompson) side.

The message I'm getting here from Jack Thompson is that it's better to kill people.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Thompson Not Defending Moore mrfalcon 2005-10-28 07:01 am UTC (link)
	Contrary to popular belief, Jack Thompson is not defending Devin Moore. Never was. Jack is suing "the videogame industry" on behalf of the family of Devin Moore's victims. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Thompson Not Defending Moore -

gamepolitics, 2005-10-28 09:38 am UTC

Trauma Center made me do it...

antmason
2005-10-28 03:16 am UTC (link)

For starters, watch the news...I'm gonna crack any day now and try to break into the hospital and perform heart surgery...and when I get pissed, stab them in the heart with a forcep...I swear, Trauma Center made me do it...

Secondly...you can obviously tell that this guy thought about this video game defense before he even committed the crime. It was already a hot topic and he was stupid enough to think it was a solid defense. The whole "GTA made me do it" thing popped up way too quick after he got caught. He already thought it out.

Again, if Jack Thompson is speaking "on behalf of God" that wants him to insult every one thats ever picked up a controller, slander industry officials, and then act like a 5 year old with the "don't talk to me or I'll sue you..." argument. If that's what his god is like...I need to find a different one. Seriously...someone had to rape this man with an Atari controller when he was younger.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Trauma Center made me do it... autumnoffering9 2005-10-28 04:15 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, that joystick is still up his ass. (Reply to this) (Parent)

The Soul still BURNS

yukimurasanada
2005-10-28 03:32 am UTC (link)

ok, so this is a little of topic. Given devins claims that GTA was what caused this event, does he really think that it matters now since a judge has already thown that argument out?

You can saw a game can teach you to kill, but we all know that the facts don't Support it.

If that were true, then I should be a master swordman from playing Soul calibur 1-3 for so long.

I'm not. I'm still just getting my basic style formed and learning to make my moves flow.

Games are a medium for entertainment, nothing more. However, I feel that this whole debate will die out soon enough. For my thoughs on this, check out todays live journal entry, and feel free to comment.

Have a good night all, I gotta go practice my sword style.

(Reply to this)

	rachelo 2005-10-28 04:05 am UTC (link)
	The death penalty is too harsh for this kid. The practice of sentencing people to death should be discontinued. Read the following facts if you disagree. http://www.msjdominicans.org/Justice/Myths_Facts.pdf (Reply to this) (Thread)

andrew_eisen
2005-10-28 05:52 am UTC (link)

The death penalty is too harsh for this kid.

I disagree with that statement and believe the opposite to be true so I read the article you linked to and provided my thought below.

Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime.

The point of the death penalty is not to deter others from committing crime but to prevent the condemned from committing any more. So far it has worked perfectly.

The death penalty is a lethal lottery: of the 22,000 homicides committed every year 300 people are sentenced to death.

This is wrong. Of the 22,000 homicides (assuming 22,000 individual murderers) there should be 22,000 people put to death.

California judges have the option of sentencing convicted capital murderers to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

All that does is waste money and take up space.

It costs more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life.

Good point. It’s always best to be sure before executing someone. I’d say the money’s worth it.

However, executions do not help these people heal their wounds nor do they end their pain...

Once again, that’s not the point of executions.

Families of murder victims would benefit far more if the funds now being used for the costly process of executions were diverted to the provision of counseling and other assistance.

While it does cost more than it should, the actual execution does not cost that much.

Although isolated passages of the Bible have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral.

So what?

The vast majority of countries in Western Europe, North America and South America--more than 95 nations worldwide--have abandoned capital punishment.

The vast majority of those other countries have a significantly lower occurrence of capital crimes than we do.

So, what do you think Devin Moore’s fate should be?

Andrew Eisen

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Well... -

rachelo, 2005-10-28 08:12 am UTC

Re: Well... -

andrew_eisen, 2005-10-28 05:03 pm UTC

Re: Well... -

rachelo, 2005-10-29 01:28 am UTC

Re: Well... -

andrew_eisen, 2005-10-29 02:11 am UTC

Hey... Jack

autumnoffering9
2005-10-28 04:14 am UTC (link)

Blow me, Jackie Boy.

You're judgemental...and the bible and God says not to be judgemental of people. What do you do? Judge us.

By your logic, all lawyers are airheaded pricks like yourself. Remove head from sphincter Jack. But, I'm guessing you don't know what "sphincter" is, because you can't spell anything correctly, so I'll put it in common mans terms, "Jack, get your head out of your ass."

I give you two thumbs down and the middle finger

(Reply to this)

	Penny Arcade update quartermaine 2005-10-28 08:27 am UTC (link)
	http://www.gamespot.com/news/6136737.html (Reply to this)

	Re: Penny Arcade update joshdavis271 2005-10-28 11:38 am UTC (link)
	Arrest gabe? nah, he done nothing wrong, nobody is going to jail and they will not get arrested, they are not guilty of extortion plain and simple. (Reply to this)

(75 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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