Does video game violence cause real violence

[MDM4AU 336]

Lawsuit claims video game violence led to Fayette police deaths

The Associated Press

2/15/2005, 4:08 p.m. CT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- A lawsuit claims the video game "Grand Theft Auto" led a teen-ager to shoot two Fayette police officers and a dispatcher to death in 2003, mirroring acts of violence depicted in the video.

The suit announced Tuesday seeks damages from the game's manufacturers and two retail stores that allegedly sold it to the teen.

An attorney representing relatives of two of the victims said 18-year-old Devin Thompson, who is charged with capital murder in the three deaths, had watched the video game repeatedly.

Thompson is accused of killing police officers Arnold Strickland and James Crump and dispatcher Leslie "Ace" Mealer on June 7, 2003, after being brought to the Fayette police station on suspicion of driving a stolen car. Thompson allegedly grabbed one of the officer's guns, shot him and the other two, then fled in a patrol car.

The suit alleges that Thompson purchased "Grand Theft Auto III" at the Jasper Gamestop and "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" at the Jasper Wal-Mart when he was under 17. The video games, which depict police killings and other acts of criminal violence, are rated M, meaning they are appropriate for those 17 or older.

"What has happened in Alabama is that four companies participated in the training of Devin ... to kill three men," attorney Jack Thompson of Miami, Fla., told The Tuscaloosa News, which reported on the suit's filing.

The attorney represents Steve Strickland, brother of Arnold Strickland, and Henry Mealer, brother of Leslie Mealer.

Named in the suit are Wal-Mart Stores and Gamestop along with Take-Two Interactive Software, the manufacturer of the games, and Sony Computer Entertainment, the maker of the PlayStation 2, which is the video game console on which the games are played.

Messages left for officials with Take-Two Interaction Software in New York City, Wal-Mart Stores in Bentonville, Ark., and Sony Computer Entertainment in San Mateo, Calif., were not immediately returned. There was no answer at the listing for Gamestop in Grapevine, Texas.

"We know (Devin Thompson) played these games day after day after day for hours and hours, filling his head and heart with a cop killing game," Jack Thompson said.

He said it's possible in one of the games to escape police custody in a police station, grab a gun, shoot officers and escape in a police car, which Devin Thompson is alleged to have done at the Fayette Police Department.

At a December hearing, authorities said that Devin Thompson, when he was apprehended after the killings, told officers, "Life is a video game. You've got to die sometime."

www.al.com

[BamaGrad03 0]

I clicked no...only because the "HELL NO" option wasnt there.

[vatz22au 142]

Ya right...its bad families that create bad kids....

If you raise a son or daughter to be so much of an idiot that there just gonna imitate everything they see like a monkey...well then you have failed in being a good parent.

[WarTim 3,457]

Hmmmm.....In tuscaloser.....Imagine that!

[jaydubb121 22]

I clicked yes because sometimes I have to beat the hell out of my son so I can get a chance to play.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I feel that sometimes violent/abusive music and games might be a reflection of one's personaltiy...but hardly a cause of it.

People my want to play those games because they REINFORCE what they ALREADY feel or believe...but no normal kid was sitting around playing GTA one day and said...oh i want to shoot someone now. To me thats lazy parenting. Oh oh oh...im a crappy parent, so why dont i stir up the media and world by accusing VIDEO GAMES of making my kid murder someone. That will take the spotlight off of my accountability. We have become a country of reflected and projected accountability...its always someone else's fault.

[TitanTiger 20,511]

Human behavior just isn't as simple as a yes/no answer with regard to this subject. Do I think that repeated play or use of games and images like this desensitize kids to real violence? Probably? Could it be the thing that pushes a vulnerable kid over the edge? Possibly. Does it contribute to an overall devaluing of human life in our culture? I think most definitely.

Is it enough of a correlation to warrant damages in a lawsuit? I don't think so.

[WarEagleFL 0]

I clicked yes because sometimes I have to beat the hell out of my son so I can get a chance to play.

146791[/snapback]

[Tigermike 3,053]

I clicked yes because sometimes I have to beat the hell out of my son so I can get a chance to play.

146791[/snapback]

I clicked YES because sometimes when baby sitting for my daughters twin boys and listening to them argue and whine about who plays next I am tempted to distribute extreme bodily harm.

[TexasTiger 13,021]

Human behavior just isn't as simple as a yes/no answer with regard to this subject.  Do I think that repeated play or use of games and images like this desensitize kids to real violence?  Probably?  Could it be the thing that pushes a vulnerable kid over the edge?  Possibly.  Does it contribute to an overall devaluing of human life in our culture?  I think most definitely.

Is it enough of a correlation to warrant damages in a lawsuit?  I don't think so.

146810[/snapback]

Exactly right.

[AURaptor 1,126]

I challenge anyone playing XBox and who has been beat down in Halo2 by some wise cracking , prepubescent little brat who likely is being raised by his t.v. instead of a 2 parent household to not get at least a bit violent.

Not that it's ever happened to me, mind you....I'm just saying.

But is it an excuse for committing murder? Hardly.

[vatz22au 142]

I challenge anyone playing XBox and who has been beat down in Halo2 by some wise cracking , prepubescent little brat who likely is being raised by his t.v. instead of a 2 parent household to not get at least a bit violent.

Not that it's ever happened to me, mind you....I'm just saying.

 

But is it an excuse for committing murder? Hardly.

146841[/snapback]

Lol I know what you mean....I get on halo 2 and play kids that have to be at MOST 10 years old....and they are cussing up a storm, saying racist things....its unbelievable the language i hear from a 10 year old on an online gaming session.... Bad parenting.

[Auburn85 432]

Just another reason thrown out to shift blame: zoloft causes people to kill people,video game violence causes people to kill people, insanity, ect. balh, blah, blah

How about taking responsibility? But who wants to do that

[channonc 466]

Human behavior just isn't as simple as a yes/no answer with regard to this subject.  Do I think that repeated play or use of games and images like this desensitize kids to real violence?  Probably?  Could it be the thing that pushes a vulnerable kid over the edge?  Possibly.  Does it contribute to an overall devaluing of human life in our culture?  I think most definitely.

Is it enough of a correlation to warrant damages in a lawsuit?  I don't think so.

146810[/snapback]

Totally agree.

[Wishbone 0]

No, however I do think that nintendos and play stations have made for a dumber generation. The kids who grew up on those things missed out on alot.

[jared52 4,354]

Everyone knows it's not video games, or TV, or even people that cause violence. It's guns.

[aufan175 13]

has anyone played grand theft auto for x-box and is it good?

[BustemBigBlue 178]

No. Not unless your retarded and cant understand the difference.

[AUslug 1]

I grew up playing video games but my parents have done a great job of raising me, and I have never wanted to imitate a video game and kill a person. The media just wants to blame someone because if they suggest it might be a parenting problem then people will be forced to actually notice what is happening with the younger generations. I have played XBOX Live and I get a little disturbed by the amount of young kids playing it who curse and say other things but they are just acting like the older guys on Live who do the same things, what little boy doesn't want to act bigger than his age. Ron White's view on video game violence is the best commentary I have heard in a while.