Alabama killer Devin Moore convicted
Lawyers for "Life is a video game" killer lose with GTA defense; wrongful death complaint still pending.
More than two years ago, then-18-year-old Devin Moore shot and killed three Fayette, Alabama, police officers. In his murder trial, Moore pled not guilty by reason of mental defect. Over the course of his trial, attorneys brought evidence of his being abused as a child, as well as being affected by repetitive playing of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (which defense attorneys were not allowed to address directly).
When arrested, Moore told the arresting officers: "Life's like a video game. You've got to die sometime." Both elements were presented to the jury in hopes it would acknowledge the negative effect the abuse and games had on Moore and would therefore absolve him of responsibility for the shootings. In Fayette yesterday, a jury needed only an hour of deliberation to decide that, on the contrary, Moore was guilty as charged. A lawsuit filed by attorney Jack Thompson (among others) on behalf of relatives of two of the victims--which relies heavily on the impact the two Rockstar-published games had on Moore--remains unresolved. Defendants named in that wrongful death lawsuit include Sony Corp., SCEA, Take-Two Interactive, Wal-Mart, and GameStop, Inc.
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