Lawsuit Filed Regarding "GTA-inspired" Murder

[James]

This may have been discussed before, as it happened in the summer. But I just caught news of it today on TV, as well as information on the lawsuit that was filed on Monday.

To sum it up, a 14-year-old and his 16-year-old stepbrother took shotguns up to the highway, and opened fire on passing cars. They wounded one girl, and killed a man in a different car. They said they were re-enacting something they saw in Grand Theft Auto, and now the families of the victims have filed a $246 million lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart.

News stories from the 5th of September and Thursday here:
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/gma/US/GMA030905Grand_theft_murders.html
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/22/videogame.lawsuit.ap/index.html

A friend of mine said in a rant of her own, "Do they also think they can survive a head-on collision at 75 mph with a fucking diesel? Maybe they should give it a try, and rid the rest of us of their stupidity, and stop breathing our fucking air."

I love how they say they didn't mean to hit people. If you are FIRING SHOTGUNS AT CARS YOU HAVE ALL INTENTIONS OF HITTING PEOPLE. A statement like that should immediately be responded to with police brutality.

I also love that the law states they can only be held at a state juvenile detention center until the age of 19. I am not familiar on this situation, but can someone answer me this: After that date, can they be tried and convicted to a federal prison? Because it really sounds like they cant, and their 3 and 5 years in juvenile hall is the extent of their punishment.

I am sick and tired of people pointing the fingers at video games. MAYBE they did get the idea from the game, but you can't say that for sure. And that is not the point. The decision was their own, and if they were incapable to understand that they were going to hurt people and/or suffer the consequences, they have no right being free to live in society, let alone be in possession of a video game not intended to be played by people in their age range.

This leads me to another question: Did anyone sue The Beatles for Charles Manson's murders? I honestly don't know, and if they did, fuck them.

The point is, it should be made a rule of the justice system that no actions of the accused/guilty can be blamed on a video game, TV show, book, magazine, movie, music, etc, UNLESS the media being blamed contains content that clearly states that real-life actions based on the themes the accused/guilty was exposed are encouraged.

The kids, whether they lack normal human logic or not, are responsible for their actions, and CAN NOT lay blame onto anyone but themselves, or possibly their parents. They did something that was against the law and incredibly stupid, and the only thing to blame is a lack of intelligence and/or psychological issues, BOTH OF WHICH would be present in the person whether they played the game or not. If they took inspiration from the video game, too fucking bad. Go cry over your loved one's grave for the rest of your fucking life, and deal with it. Inspiration is not a viable excuse for a crime, nor for a lawsuit.

However, if the Wal-Mart also included in the lawsuit sold the game to the children, without the parents present, then they should be held responsible for disregarding their civil duty to uphold the ratings system (which may actually be a law rather than civil duty, but I can't remember), by being punished for that and that alone. But they should not be held responsible in a lawsuit regarding murder.

[kahljorn]

Soon there will be video game stores where you get carded before you can buy games :./

[Skulhedface]

Wal-Mart's already in trouble for hiring illegal immigrants.

Oh, what a coincidence! This story was on CNN this morning alongside a bunch of ballyhoo about the Columbine kids. They found some videotape of theirs... blegh.

I wonder where the accountability should start. Obviously if these kids are 14 and 16 years old and they don't know that firing shotguns at cars are deadly, then there's the beginning of their problems: They're fucking morons.

Suing the videogames would be the easy answer, but if we're once again going to stretch logic... Why not sue:

-The Parents. Obviously they aren't doing a good job if their kids are too fucking stupid to realize shotguns + cars does not = Fun Day at the park for passing motorists.

- Automobile manufacturers, for making cars that looked so similar to the ones used in GTA that the kids chose them specifically for their resemblance.

- Gun manufacturers, because they were obviously inspired to create shotguns from that damned Satanic game.

- The school, for once again not teaching these kids how NOT to be a fucking moron.

- Me, for believing that there's any hope of intelligence out there.

[kahljorn]

You forgot the driver of the car, the government for making the roads for the cars to drive on, the tax payers for paying money for the roads, and the entire world for giving birth to the children who pay their taxes! Also God, bacteria, yogurt, spoons fire and Ronald Mcdonald.

I think Ihave a case.

[AChimp]

I applaud the makers of GTA for giving me a boner while driving over pedestrians and shooting pigs.

:worship

[FS]

246 million dollars? Jesus fucking Christ, do they want to buy Texas?

I guess it's a case of dysfunctional, neglected (possibly retarded) kids with shockingly incompetent parents meet ambitious lawyer who smells an opportunity to be the first to sue the creators of a currently very popular videogame. Especially since it's been some time since a videogame was blamed for murder.

Please, judge. Ask them where they got the guns. Ask them who left those guns unattended where they could reach them. Please flood the courtroom with sterilizing gas.

[timrpgland]

If parents can't teach their kids right from wrong then this stuff is always bound to happen. It's a fucking video game, get over it. We don't all try to eat mushrooms to grow large and then sue Nintendo cause those mushrooms were poisonous. It's sounds stupid, but that is the same thing. Guns hurt/kill when you shoot people.... DUH!! You can get the same violence from watching the evening news that you can with any video game. We should start suing the evening news :rolleyes

People need to realize that they are responsible for their own actions. I don't see how these cases even see the light of day when we live in a "free" country. People choose what they want to see/do for the most part. The video game didn't put itself into their console.

[Bennett]

Are you trying to tell me that if I feed my Blob an orange jellybean, it's NOT going to transform into a Vitablaster?!

>: so suing.

[Darko]

Anyone who has seen Bowling For Columbine knows the statistics which prove this lawsuit ridiculous. Japan has the most violent video games and there are less than 100 murders there every year!

Canadians play video games less than us and they have under 50 murders a year. In fact, I think it was in the single digits!

[El Blanco]

Blech, we have been through with that "documentary"

Anyway, no, they didn't get the idea from GTA. They didn't play it one afternoon and say "Hey, this looks like fun to do." They went throught the trouble of hiding the guns from their parents. That shows premeditation.

If I watch Scarface, that does not make me unaccountable if I run through my neighboorhood with a grenade launcher.

[Shoeless joe]

I wanna know how the kids were able to buy shotguns and ammo for them without their parents finding out or even being carded to see if they're of age. Also, isn't there some waiting period on buying guns in the States that prohibits anyone from getting a gun w/o a background check? And shit, even if the guns were in the house, you'd think that the parent(s) would be sure to keep 2 shotguns locked up.

I'd have to say that the action of attaining 2 shotguns, either through stealing them or buying 'em illegally, constitutes that there was a clear intent to hurt people and that they had to of thought their actions out beforehand. I think that it's pitiful that the kids can blaim a game and get away with it, thus leaving them and their equally moronic parents scott free and the finger pointed at our fav game companies. Also, it contributes to the blatantly incorrect view that kids are sponges that can't think for themselves and that parents are always the supportive types when, in fact, they'd have to care little to nothing about their kids to have let things get out of hand like that (remember Colombine? I think so.)

In short, let's ban guns, not games. Hell, i've never seen a drive-by NESing before, nor will i ever. And we may have to do something about that paranoia that the States have developed over time, cause hell, it's become a sort of dependancy for the majority to have enemies. Only then can people get their heads outta their asses and see the true stpidity behind having to anatgonise scape goats and focus on the real problem: themselves.

[El Blanco]

let's ban guns

No, lets ban morons. Responsible gun owners did nothing wrong. Crappy parents doing a shitty job raising kids are unleashing something 10x more destructive than a shotgun.

[Spectre X]

Also, isn't there some waiting period on buying guns in the States that prohibits anyone from getting a gun w/o a background check?

According to The Terminator, you can take big guns home at once, you have to wait for pistols though.

But that's just me saying what I saw in The Terminator.

[mburbank]

I just feel bad for killers who feel they need a video game to inspire them. I say if you can't do your own murder, in your own style, then you shouldn't be allowed to murder at all.

[Vibecrewangel]

I just feel bad for killers who feel they need a video game to inspire them. I say if you can't do your own murder, in your own style, then you shouldn't be allowed to murder at all.

This is why I :love Max!

[incurable paranoiac]

i guess it's easier to sue one company than it is to admit that our entire system is so flawed that we would be best off filling the colorado river with kerosene, then bombing the hoover dam. you know, to give the napalm something to work with.

[Anonymous]

I guess it's easier to sue someone than to just go to your job everyday and eke out a meager existence like the rest of us.

[Immortal Goat]

Jesus fucking Christ! I have had it with people so pathetic that they need to find a scapegoat for everything that happens to them! "McDonalds made me fat.", "GTA made me murder.", "It's that 'Devil Music' that did it." JUST FUCKING OWN UP TO YOUR OWN SHORTCOMINGS!! If you are so weak as to blame other people for your decisions, then just take that goddamned shotgun and fucking shove it up your ass and pull the trigger!

I am an avid gamer! I take offense to this shit! I don't go around with a sword throwing people into the air and then shooting the living shit out of them and then blame Devil May Cry, do I?! The video game industry is not forcing people to do this. If they were, than EVERYONE who has EVER played a viloent game would be committing unspeakable crimes every day! As it is, all we have are a few snot-nosed, shit-for-brains asshole kids fucking other people up! SOMEBODY KILL THOSE FUCKERS NOW!!!



Where's the Tylenol...?

[FS]

The people to blame in these cases aren't even the idiots and the lawyers who apply them. It's the judges and jurys that decide that claiming stupidity is a valid defense. When someone breaks into another person's house and says in court "I didn't know breaking in was against the law", does he get off? No. If all these cases had been thrown out without question, people wouldn't still be trying to become multi-gazillionaires over the backs of other people.

[Perndog]

Anyone who has seen Bowling For Columbine knows the statistics which prove this lawsuit ridiculous. Japan has the most violent video games and there are less than 100 murders there every year!

Canadians play video games less than us and they have under 50 murders a year. In fact, I think it was in the single digits!

You dumbass. Japan has less than 100 *shootings* every year, and several hundred murders via stabbing, strangling, etc. This is because the public has almost no access to guns but plenty of access to knives and all that fun stuff. And everyone in Japan is Japanese; imagine if they had 100 different races that all hated each other, like there are in the States.

And Canada had 582 homicides in 2002. (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031001/d031001a.htm) Single digits my ass.

Anyway, LOOK AT THE FUCKING PARENTS. PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IF A TEENAGER IS FUCKED UP, IT'S BECAUSE HIS PARENTS ARE LETTING HIM GET FUCKED UP.

[James]

Well, I do imagine the case will get thrown out, to be honest. The lawsuit was filed, but it hasn't gone to court yet.

Usually in cases such as this, they are either thrown out, or the company/companies being sued settle out of court. In the CNN article, it states that a lawyer for the victim's also headed a lawsuit last year about a "game-releated" school shooting, which he lost.

[Skulhedface]

Anyway, LOOK AT THE FUCKING PARENTS. PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. IF A TEENAGER IS FUCKED UP, IT'S BECAUSE HIS PARENTS ARE LETTING HIM GET FUCKED UP.

Well, obviously with accountability and all, it's already been decided that the children themselves are unaccountable for their actions. By stupidity, or whatever reason, the kids sure didn't make their own decisions.

Oh man... these mass marketed murder lessons are ruining our great country, aren't they? I mean, you sell this game to SEVEN MILLION PEOPLE, and TWO RETARDS might go out and try to KILL someone!

It's been awhile since I was in any kind of math class, but let's see...

2/7,000,000= 1/3,500,000.

So geez, for every 3.5 million copies this game sells, some retard will shoot somebody over it! WE CAN'T HAVE THIS HAPPENING! Never mind the other 3,499,999 people that are craving for video entertainment and are responsible enough to know that putting a bullet in someone's car MIGHT not be a good activity, that ONE RETARD must NOT get that chance!

I truly wonder who'd get blamed for it if video games WERE banned and yet another retard comes along and blows someone away. He won't have no one to blame but the voices in his head!

Sound ludicrous? "Fucking Moron And The State Of Whatever VS. Fucking Moron's Inner Thoughts is now in session!"

*sighs*

[oedipus_wrecked]

Oh man... these mass marketed murder lessons are ruining our great country, aren't they? I mean, you sell this game to SEVEN MILLION PEOPLE, and TWO RETARDS might go out and try to KILL someone!

I think this just shows, as others have said, how bad some people are at being parents.

Blaming a video game for your child's actions is avoiding responsibility for your own poor parenting and/or decisions. I find it interesting that parents blame this sort of thing on a game that, in many cases, THEY bought for their kids without bothering to look at ratings or content. If parents are so worried about video games corrupting their kids, why do they buy the games for them without doing a little research? And why don't they tell them that there is a difference between fantasy and reality? Little things like that could possibly prevent a huge problem later on.

[James]

Well, the kids themselves said they were inspired by the game.

But like I said, inspiration is not grounds for a lawsuit, criminal charges, or even a letter from an angry soccer mom saying, "Shame on you!"

When 50,000 people of no relation to one another burst into rage all at once, and kill people by stabbing them with GTA disc shards, then I'll believe that it's to blame.

[soundtest]

Why did these kids start shooting at cars? Because they had access to guns, that is all there is to say. Blame whoever allowed them access to guns through stupidity or neglect, or change the gun laws so it won't be an issue.

Virtually every other country in the world has GTA, The Matrix, 'devil music', and everything else that is attributed to child violence, yet these type of crimes are almost specific to the US. The only other variable is the access to firearms.

[Ninjavenom]

I'm just going to start walking around kicking 12-14 year olds in the dick. Maybe i'll kick the right one on accident.

[El Blanco]

yet these type of crimes are almost specific to the US.

No. Only the asshole defense is.


The only other variable is the access to firearms.

Actually, several other countries have access to firearms for citizens, but have no reported incidents like this.

Don't try and find another faceless object to blame. Thats what these poeple are doing.

[soundtest]

READ:

I'm not blaming guns, I'm blaming the idiots who are careless with them and their care.

Which countries have access as open as the US?

[El Blanco]

Off the top of my head: Switzerland. You have to spend time in the military and join the militia to be a citizen. Everybody keeps an assault rifle in their closet and is trained how to use it.

[Perndog]

Why did these kids start shooting at cars? Because they had access to guns, that is all there is to say. Blame whoever allowed them access to guns through stupidity or neglect, or change the gun laws so it won't be an issue.

Virtually every other country in the world has GTA, The Matrix, 'devil music', and everything else that is attributed to child violence, yet these type of crimes are almost specific to the US. The only other variable is the access to firearms.

Now that you clarified yourself, I kind of agree. Stupid people should not get firearms, and the difference between America and other countries (as far as I can tell) is not that guns are controlled better elsewhere but that citizens are more responsible. I think the variable is not access to firearms so much as cultural stupidity.

And while we're at it, I think they should not be allowed access to air or water either.

[kahljorn]

I think what's funniest is after they get the 246 million they'll have enough money to buy every violent video game/movie ever produced. OH GOD NO, WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?

I think it would be ironic if they did reward them with money, but then only gave them(and their parents) access to barney and other lovey dovey things... under strict probation. If they violate the terms they will goto jail for a few years.

No eatting meat either, cause it was violently slaughtered.

[ginmortal]

I don't know much about anythig, however, I have the feeling that bad parenting is the source to most problems.

Let's look at some other lawsuits that have been filed,
WWE sued by parents of kid that ended paralyzed from practicing "backyard wrestling" (I can picture it, Mom, can I borrow the cheese grater to use it on Jimmy's face?)

Mcdonalds sued by fat kid's parents (Mom, I'm hungry, could YOU please fix me something? I'm kinda tired of Big mac's? What? No, ok, I'll have the quarter pounder with extra large fries with dripping oil and extra sugary sprite)

Those are the other fivolous lawsuits I can remember right now.

In all cases, where were the parents when these kids got the Videogame?, I can't remember buying a videogame by myself at the age of 16, it usually meant going to the store with my mom or dad and basically having to run the story behind the game before he/she bought it for me, sure it was embarassing, but now I know that it worked for them, because they were getting informed of what type of game I was playing. I landed my first real job at 18 and by that time I was well aware that you couldn't pull off somebody's skull from the body just like depicted in Mortal Kombat.

It's usually the parents that have to attend to several things at the same time that forget to supervise the children, most parents think that videogames are a simple cartoonish fantasy that will get the kids off their backs so that they can have time to manage the household and leave time to play cards or watch the game.

Shit, if my parents hadn't paid attention to me, I'd probably would be prize fighting brazilian green mutants, hindu stretching men or Spanish gay bullfighters with hokey masks.

It's pathetic

[AChimp]

You parents didn't pay attention to you. They coddled and babied you.

Controlling what games you played when you were 16? Gay. >:

[The One and Only...]

Am I the only one here who realizes that as gun ownership has increased in the U.S., the violent crime rate has decreased? Or how about Britain (or was it just England?), whose violent crime rate has been increasing since they passed complete gun control?

[Skulhedface]

Well sure, because the amount of good games out there that also happen to graphically depict brutal murders is declining.

If you want your statistics to catch up, call your video game companies RIGHT NOW and tell them to not make their next bloody violent death-fiesta so sucky.

[Anti-Xocial]

Jesus fucking Christ! I have had it with people so pathetic that they need to find a scapegoat for everything that happens to them! "McDonalds made me fat.", "GTA made me murder.", "It's that 'Devil Music' that did it." JUST FUCKING OWN UP TO YOUR OWN SHORTCOMINGS!! If you are so weak as to blame other people for your decisions, then just take that goddamned shotgun and fucking shove it up your ass and pull the trigger!

I am an avid gamer! I take offense to this shit! I don't go around with a sword throwing people into the air and then shooting the living shit out of them and then blame Devil May Cry, do I?! The video game industry is not forcing people to do this. If they were, than EVERYONE who has EVER played a viloent game would be committing unspeakable crimes every day! As it is, all we have are a few snot-nosed, shit-for-brains asshole kids fucking other people up! SOMEBODY KILL THOSE FUCKERS NOW!!!


Exactly right! COMPLETELY bloody correct!!! Further more, Ginmortal hit it right on the head as well when pointing at the parents!!

I think that if it were up to most parents today, they would just rather find someone else to give birth to their children, just so they don't have to take the responsibility anymore!! The same thing applies to the upbringing of their children...it always HAS to be someone elses fault when THEIR kids mess up!!
Talk about over-used rhetorics to avoid the TRUTH: "its the schools that are to blame", "its the teachers that are to blame", "it is a MUSIC LYRIC that is to blame", "it is a VIDEO game that is to blame" I am so sick of hearing that kind of BLAH bullshit!

It really makes me wonder, after all these years of gaming, why I (or ANY of the many people who I know like to play games) haven't picked up a weapon and gone completely bezerk.

When will parents grow up and face THEIR bloody responsibilities, so that the rest of us can live in peace?!?!

:explode

Maybe, when I have "off'ed" a few of these kids and got busted, I can say: Well, its because, I was learning from these parents see? ......

[kellychaos]

I blame Ozzie Osbourne for all the ills of our youths! He's been spreading evil for decades and did anyone think to stop him I ask you?! >:

[Anti-Xocial]

I blame Ozzie Osbourne for all the ills of our youths! He's been spreading evil for decades and did anyone think to stop him I ask you?! >:

:lol @ Kellychaos

[Skulhedface]

Off the top of my head: Switzerland. You have to spend time in the military and join the militia to be a citizen. Everybody keeps an assault rifle in their closet and is trained how to use it.

I think that's the whole point right there: The Swiss are TRAINED how to use them.

A 14 year old kid waltzing into his grandfather's arsenal room has not had formal training in weapons combat or anything of the sort.

The problem also is, either the kid was blatantly stupid ("who knew I'd hurt someone by shooting them?"), uninformed (but then, soccer moms hardly have time for life's little lessons, hmm?), or that this kid was just straight out of the gate sadistic.

Now, if the third choice is the case, could you feasibly sue a game manufacturer because your kid is a fucking nutcase?

[Zbu Manowar]

Blaming guns is just another way to heat up this debate. These kids were responsible for their actions because in their retarded minds, they thought they were being cool.

But to really prevent this from happening again, let's do this: every parent can win millions with these kinds of lawsuits if they do the following:

1) Give up any right to your children legally. Sign them over with no chances of getting them back. Winning the settlement requires this, no loopholes. You are too unfit a parent if you honestly believe your children is this stupid and you have 'no effect on his behavior.'

2) Your child--or ex-child--will be considered too retarded to interact with society and will spend the rest of his life in a drug-induced coma to prevent any further 'outbursts.' The coma will insure he receives no further 'inspiration.' If chosen, your child could be put to sleep at age 40 to prevent wear and tear on the American economy.

3) Both parents will be sterilized immediately. Since their child is 'uncontrollable' it stands to reason not to let these two people procreate anymore to produce more defective children. Both parents will field the expense of this punishment.

4) Fellow siblings will be sterilized and placed into drug-induced comas or on fifteen-year suspended sentence. Any criminal action will result in the former of those sentences.

5) All immediate family members will be moved to a detainment center in the middle of Montana, a five mile by five mile square of land in which, removed from the society they cannot be trusted to enjoy, they will live out their lives until dead. Extended family members will pay double their taxes plus a $10,000 yearly restitution which will incur fines if not paid by the due date.

6) All possessions (including stocks and bank accounts) will immediately be seized, excepting settlement which will be used to pay punishment fees (if applicable).

There. If people don't want to take responsiblity for themselves, they they should not be allowed in society at all. A bit extreme, but I doubt anybody will try to get rich after that. A few million dollars will hardly be useful if comatose or in the middle of nowhere to spend it on.

[DJ Potatoe]

I'll pretty mcuh just say ditto. Everyone has pretty much said what I feel.

[Schimid]

http://guidesarchive.ign.com/guides/12865/images/ditto.gif

[Zbu Manowar]

Should I just title that 'Modest Proposal 2' and leave it at that?

[The_Rorschach]

I don't see a problem here, really :)

[James]

Well, it's nice to see that there's little debate here on the stupidity of the situation. But let's shift gears to another aspect of thise story.

They are sentenced to a juvenile facility, and will be released when they're 19. And as far as I know, that's it. They commit that kind of crime, and serve 5 and 3 years, then are released back into society.

Am I the only one who sees what's wrong with that? They're 14 and 16, and they fired shotguns at passing cars, killing someone. They should be old enough to be tried and sentenced as adults, given their sage and the severity of the crime. And unless I'm missing something, they're getting away with it.

[Zbu Manowar]

Isn't it common procedure to sentence them to a harsher sentence? Most of the time the children are treated as adults and given heavy sentences that really put a dent in any chance of a future. Maybe because in this case of the GTA lawsuit?

Either way, throw the book at them. Fuck it.

[Drev]

I wish one day they can sentence people to death just for an overabundance of stupidity that cause them to do stupid actions and their reason (or blame) is stupid.

I really hope this lawsuit gets thrown out, and the morons put to death at the age of 19 (It won't happen :(). They probably just did it for the money thinking it'll work, and it slowly seems to be working.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised that a parent sues Namco for having a child OD on pills while he was playing Pac-man OR he took pills, thought his brother was a ghost, and proceeds to resort to cannibalism. :/