Chalk up another unashamed victory for money grubbing lawyers and stupid teenagers. In 2007, 17-year old Daniel Petric shot both of his parents – killing his father – after they took away his copy of Halo 3. The good news is that the judge dismantled his insanity defense. The bad news is that the judge ruled there to be a serious mental defect of another nature:
And I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea, at the time he hatched this plot, that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever.
This author would like to make note that Microsoft has sold well over 8 Million copies of Halo 3. There’s no way to accurately measure the number of trade-ins and subsequent re-sales. Bottom line is that tens-of-millions of people have played (and continue to play) this game, myself included. A teenager acting out of gross negligence isn’t anything new, either.
While this story has a tragic ending, I’m dismayed to see our judicial system conclude its findings the way it has.
[Image courtesy of Joystiq]
[Full story on GamePolitics]
Discuss in our forums - (27) Posts
