Game Politics ([info]gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2006-04-27 10:53:00
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Entry tags:canada, game violence, gta, rod brecht, video-games-made-me-do-it

Another "Video Games Made Me Do It" Defense

The lawyer for a Canadian teen who shot and killed a friend during a session of Grand Theft Auto has plead guilty to the crime of "Criminal Negligence Causing Death." His lawyer blames GTA.

"The video they'd been playing had similar type of unruly behavior"" said attorney Rod Brecht, who is quoted in The Star-Phoenix. "They were all playing around," Brecht continued. "Everybody was getting along. Nobody realized the gun was loaded."

The incident took placed in February, 2005, when the boy, 13 at the time, was hanging out with some friends, drinking, smoking marijuana and playing GTA. The boys found a shotgun under a bed and took turns passing it around.

According to attorney Brecht, his client held the shotgun in a menacing stance as he had seen GTA characters do. The boy then pointed the gun at 15-year-old Preston Martin and - thinking it was unloaded - pulled the trigger. Martin was killed instantly.

Brecht, who is attempting to secure a probationary sentence for his client, said the boy is haunted by nightmares and flashbacks.

GP: My bad for forgetting to mention that GP reader Indystar tipped us off on this one...


(Read 323 comments) - (Post a new comment)

HUH?
[info]gtasatansgame
2006-04-27 09:15 pm UTC (link)
Did I say "more"? Re-read my e-mail, Einstein. I said the game "helped cause the death." Where is the word "MORE" in my email? Can you gamers read carefully, or not?

The game was part of the causal mix. You guys never think anything bad could possibly come from a game. That is a bizarre blindspot in all of your thinking.

They were playing a game that makes that type of gunplay appear fun and consequence-free. If you can't figure out the causal relationship, then there's the proof your frontal lobes are fried by the games. Jack Thompson

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: HUH?
[info]jabrwock
2006-04-27 09:19 pm UTC (link)
They were playing a game that makes that type of gunplay appear fun and consequence-free.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious in the game that pointing the gun at someone's head and pulling the trigger does NOTHING...

If they were really "influenced" by the game, they'd have known that the boy should have instantly died the moment they pulled the trigger. Because that's what happens in the game.

If you're going to bullshit about "unrealistic consequences", then at least do your homework.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]ianc14
2006-04-27 09:19 pm UTC (link)
Re-read my e-mail, Einstein.
Hey Einstein, this isnt an email. Duh.

You guys never think anything bad could possibly come from a game.
Jack, its sad that you think the game is more of a fault here then the drugs and alcohol.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]gatz111085
2006-04-27 09:21 pm UTC (link)
As you Jack believe that bad things only come from games.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]brendanthejedi
2006-04-27 09:31 pm UTC (link)
My question here Jack is why did this kid have a loaded gun?

I think I'll be going with Mr. Moore here. Guns are the problem. Bullets too.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: HUH?
[info]beacon80
2006-04-27 09:34 pm UTC (link)
I'm not big on guns, but I have to disagree. The gun wasn't the problem. The bullets weren't the problem. The fact that the gun was under the bed, and the bullets were in the gun, now THAT's the problem. Presumably, it was a parent who owned the gun, loaded the gun, and hid the gun under the bed.
What a shock, the REAL cause is bad parenting... as usual.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: HUH?
[info]brendanthejedi
2006-04-27 09:36 pm UTC (link)
Actually, I say we agree. This is a problem of Gun Control. The Gun was in a place the morons could easily grab it. It is the parents fault for that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: HUH?
[info]whitedingo
2006-04-27 09:45 pm UTC (link)
No, I think the Morons were in a place where they could be morons. Still that parents' faults.

I can't help it; I'm not an NRA member, but the fact will always be that guns don't kill people, people kill people.

The guns help, though.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Consequence free? I'd say not.
[info]lowe0
2006-04-27 09:37 pm UTC (link)
Hmm? Let's see what happens when you point a gun and pull the trigger.

*digs out GTA:SA, puts in Xbox 360

Okay, I've got a lock. Wow, this is easier than a real gun. Just pull the trigger... BLAM! Now the guy I aimed at is falling, and there's some blood... looks like he's dead. And a cop just saw me, so he's coming over to beat me down and arrest me. End result, the guy I shot at dies, and they haul me off in cuffs. Isn't that what happens in the real world?

Now, following that, the game punishes me, and dumps me out to try again. That's because that's how games work. They punish failure, and then give a second chance, because otherwise no one would enjoy them. Anyone who doesn't understand that particular mechanism, or distinguish it from reality (where you carry failure with you forever) simply should not be playing games, video or otherwise.

Saying that games caused this is like saying that street racing deaths are caused by go-karts or the Indy 500. It's not the game's, or the car's, or x's fault. Some individuals simply don't display any regard for the well-being others in their behavior, and people around those individuals tend to suffer or die for it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Consequence free? I'd say not.
[info]goodrobotus
2006-04-27 10:11 pm UTC (link)
Indeed, the whole concept of 'Learning through play' for children is to create a safe environment where those mistakes will not hurt other people. It's a commonly established fact about how play and interaction between children works. In a play situation you can 'Pick up where you left off'. Like kids playing 'War', once the game is over, everyone gets up and goes home.

This is what play is for.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]goodrobotus
2006-04-27 09:38 pm UTC (link)
But to offer up the least effecting part of the 'mix' as you describe it as the main cause doesn't strike you as more than a bit far-fetched?

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]jdecamp
2006-04-27 09:40 pm UTC (link)


image macros for the win!

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Re: HUH?
[info]lost_watcher
2006-04-27 09:44 pm UTC (link)
This isnt E-Mail jack... its a Blog Bulletion board.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]bennyboy371
2006-04-27 09:45 pm UTC (link)
Actually, when performing crimes in the game, the police show up and attempt to stop you. Hell, after a while, more and more levels of the police force show up. Finally, the army tries to stop you. How does that equate to "consequence-free"? As usual, the facts don't sway Jacky boy! Sure there were small kids smoking pot and playing with a shotgun, but no, it was the video game! GOD you're an idiot. Games don't kill people. Guns don't kill people. STUPIDITY kills people. Remember that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: HUH?
[info]beacon80
2006-04-27 09:47 pm UTC (link)
While we're at it, let's remind everyone that the only way you're "rewarded" for killing people in the GTA games is an insignificant amount of cash for civilians, or a handgun (the weakest, easiest weapon in the game) from a police officer. Anybody who attacks people specifically to get these "rewards" has no clue how to play the game.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]ithmarvin
2006-04-27 10:28 pm UTC (link)
Any proof that you were a rational person has just been blown away entirely with this post.

Get disbarred, please.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
What?
[info]enmitywithin
2006-04-27 10:44 pm UTC (link)
all those ad hominem attacks, you really must be out of ideas.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]bayushisan
2006-04-27 10:47 pm UTC (link)
No it wasn't part of the mix. What caused the death, and pardon me if I offend in any way, was the complete stupidity of the people involved. Hey lets get high and mess with a shotgun. Clearly the pot was the most influencing factor and you know it. Also why exactly where there no parents around? And WHY for heaven's sake did someone leave a loaded gun unattended?

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]natch42
2006-04-28 01:35 am UTC (link)
Actually, it didn't say more. He said it helped cause the death.

He's more or less admitting the pot and beer DID contribute to the action.

But that still doesn't give you a right to insult us Jack.

And the rest of his argument seems weak to me.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
If only it WAS an email...
[info]winnie_tee
2006-04-28 06:57 am UTC (link)
...then we could merely activate spam block and never hear from the jackass again!

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: HUH?
[info]boffo97
2006-04-28 12:54 pm UTC (link)
It isn't that we think nothing bad can come from a game. It's just that we're realistic about what can happen.

It's that you think EVERYTING bad comes from a game.

Marijuana + alcohol + loaded shotgun + kids = BAD regardless of whether GTA is there or not.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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