GTA Blamed for Columbine-style Massacre Planning 120
bippy writes "A Miami attorney claims that a teen accused of plotting a massacre used GTA to prepare for the attack, RedAssedBaboon reports.
Attorney Jack Thompson is the same guy who is trying to link the murder of Stefan Pakeerah last year to Manhunt. Pakeerah was beaten to death with a claw hammer by a friend who, Thompson claims, was inspired by Manhunt. The uproar surrounding the case led to the game being pulled from many British store shelves and Prime Minister Tony Blair looking into a link between violence and video games. It looks like Thompson has found himself a niche." Update: 10/10 19:25 GMT by T : Peter Endean writes "It might be worth noting that in fact in the case of the murder linked to Manhunt, it was the victim who owned the game."
The irony was (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/04/manhunt_m
GTA does NOT promote killing cops (Score:2, Informative)
Such bullshit (Score:4, Informative)
Re:GTA does NOT promote killing cops (Score:4, Informative)
And for the record, killing real life cops is evil. Support the police. Su-su-suport the police.
Crank (Score:5, Informative)
Pakeerah was beaten to death with a claw hammer by a friend who, Thompson claims, was inspired by Manhunt.
Yeah, and everybody seems to overlook one fact: the "damning evidence" that the police found the game in the kid's bedroom was, in fact, found in the victim's bedroom.
That wasn't the first time Thompson has been involved in cases like this; he's a well-known crank who foists himself on the families of victims and convinces them that the games are to blame. In one case, he tried to persue a case against the wishes of the victim's family. He's also harrassed people and had restraining orders taken out against him. He's a crank of the highest order [tripod.com]. You want to know why you hear so many stories about "evil games"? It's him and people like him.
wrong (Score:5, Informative)
But you are right odds are the lawyers never played the game.
Re:GTA does NOT promote killing cops (Score:5, Informative)
It should be pointed out (Score:3, Informative)
Civilian and Police Kills not Central to GTA (Score:3, Informative)
The article shows that Jack Thompson says:
I've played the newer GTA games, and critical to winning the game is to avoid killing civilians or police, as the police will come down harder on you if you do. Mr. Thompson may have a valid point in linking video games to violence, but this outright lie undermines his credibility.
Contact info (Score:3, Informative)
Or, if you prefer a more direct approach, he can be reached via phone at: 305-666-4366 or by email at jackpeace@comcast.net.
And finally, if you really feel like you need to meet him and tell him how much you agree with what he preaches, feel free to visit him at his office located at:
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, FL 33146
Re:ban sticks (Score:3, Informative)