Halo Killer Sentenced to Life

[OneBig Man]

Here is my output:

1.The "kid" looks like a teenager so I don't see how he could get videogames and real life mixed up.

2.I think the parents might have been a little too stricked on him. Don't get me wrong I belive giving your kid a good beating is good for character building (hell, my parents beat me until I was 8, thats when I learned), but to kill your parents over a game? I think there was more problems at home.
3.For the people who say, "Why was the gun box open?" He could just as easily went in there bed at night and stabbed them with a knife from the kitchen.

 

[Rigs83]

Halo Killer Sentenced to Life

Daniel Petric, the teenager who killed his mother and wounded his father after they refused to let him play Halo 3 [http://www.halo3.com], has been sentenced to life in prison.


Interestingly, the judge did express serious reservations [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88653-Videogames-Made-Halo-3-Killer-Do-It-After-All] about the impact of videogames on the mental well-being of kids in January when he announced the guilty verdict and said he believed they were in large part responsible for turning Petric into a killer. "It's my firm belief that after a while the same physiological responses occur that occur in the ingestion of some drugs. And I believe that an addiction to these games can do the same thing," he said. "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."


Source: GamePolitics [http://www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/06/lorain_county_teen_who_killed.html]


Permalink

Excuse me judge but if believe the boy did not realize shooting his parents with a REAL GUN in REAL LIFE would result in them being REALLY DEAD then maybe he was nuts and you should have judged him as an insane juvenile.
He can't be culpable of murder and sentenced to life if he is insane so you have made judgment that what he did was wrong and he was sane enough to know it was wrong and have to be punished. If he was not playing Halo then he would probably obsess over something else. Politicians flip flop judges can't.

 

[.[B@lL15T1C].]

"He killed his family."

"And?"

"He played Halo 3."

"WHAT? BAN THE GAME!"

lol I don't think he even played it did he? He'd only just bought it and they refused to let him play it

 

[black lincon]

Well, if GUNS WERE ILLEGAL TO OWN, it would probably save his dad's life.

Because I doubt that the kid could've kicked his dad's ass that easily without the whole "point and click" thing.

Knives.

Not instantly lethal and harder to kill people with.

Also, durrr, finger in the eye can be pretty lethal yet it's a LOT less likely that the kid would be able to kill anyone like that.

so your saying if the kid had only stabbed his mom in the chest or back several times and then gone after his father he'd only be facing 2 charges of attempted murder and not 1 charge murder(1st degree I think) and one charge attempted murder?

I find your reasoning specious.

No, but it's clear that he shot them not through stalking them or doing it when they slept, but during an argument over the game. And you've gotta be kidding me if you think that this kid can stab 2 adults to death with a knife as easily as shooting them.

It's not a game. He is not some kind of super-powered protagonist that never dies and fights shitty enemies. He'd probably get disarmed, and even if he stabbed one of them, it's a lot less likely that he'd be able to kill any of them.

You CAN kill anyone with just about anything. A pencil, a pen, a finger, whatever. Guess what? Gun's a lot easier to kill with then a pencil, a pen, a finger or a fist.

he was 17, hardly a child. there's nothing in the article(I read the original on http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/boy_killed_mom_and_shot_dad_ov.html)to indicate that he did it while he was arguing with them, for all we know he could have snuck up on them, and as a 17-year-old, he certainly could have overpowered his parents if they were surprised. I'm saying that while taking the gun out of the equation might have saved his parents we have no way to actually know.

also,

As someone who has grown up with guns in the house, as well as first went too the firing range with my father at the age of 5, I find the fact the strongbox wasn't locked, as well as the fact that there were obviously no trigger locks, appalling. The father clearly wanted leniency for the kid as he felt guilt for his own screwup in this matter.

Also, it seems clear that the father never taught the kid too respect the guns as the deadly tools that they are (the very first thing I was taught before I even loaded that first cartridge into that single shot, bolt action rifle), which I find too be the major problem in the states in general.

This kid was clearly mentally unstable. He should have recieved help months, maybe even years before. I could easily see this kid going crazy for his parents refusing him chocolate, which, of course, would have gotten no media attention.

Oh, and btw as someone who lives in Canada, I believe that it's not a problem with gun laws, but a problem with, as mentioned above, people not being taught too respect guns.

Malygris got it wrong. According to the original article the case was locked, the his kid stole the key. although on the other stuff your right, just saying that the guy figured the lock would have been enough of a deterrent.

 

[[Cold-Shoulder]]

Cases like this keeps popping up nowadays. I've only been a member for a short while (around 12 days) and I have seen two cases like this on the escapist without even looking for them. I blame the psychotic kid but don't have much information on his background for all we know he might have psychological problems, I'm guessing this because his reaction to his parents objection to the game but you can't shift the blame. He murdered his own mother and the kid was twisted enough to make a joke about it by saying he had a surprise for them. Plus who in there right mind would leave a gun in an unlocked box?

 

[.[B@lL15T1C].]

"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."

I thought they didn't give out life imprisonment if you were under 18? (Though I may be thinking of the death penalty).

depends on the country.
EDIT- i meant state

 

[SecretTacoNinja]

I'm glad... I can tell that kid was little more than a Neanderthal just by looking at him...

 

[upandal]

A sitting Judge says he doesn't belive a murderer is criminally responsible for his actions and then sentences him to LIFE. That is BULLSHIT!!!! That Judge needs to be removed. Talk about tailoring something for appeal. That ia a total abuse of the justice system.
Some Surgeons actually use video game to keep their hand eye coordination at peak levels. Is the judge inpling that a Surgeon how plays a few minutes of Kill Zone2 is going to go Texas Chainsaw murder on his patient in the middle of an operation?!?!?!?!?! There are no conlusive studies linking video game violence to actual violence or real violence and it has only been a problem when there has been an underlying psychological problem.
Further the parents were monitoring their child, WHOLLY BAT HELL SHIT F*#K BAT DUDE!!! Parents actually parenting their children whats next Ethics in Business, responsible foreign policy, FDA control of nicotine content in cigarettes.
The not so little bastard got what he deserved. I only whis it had happened in Texas so that the murdering douche could ride the lightning.

 

[SomethingInTheWay]

Good, one less moron on the streets. Actually no, it's not so good; that means tax payers are going to be paying to keep this asshole fed and clothed (and maybe even buy him a tv if he behaves)... Why don't they just chain a cannon ball to his leg and throw him in the sea? That'd be a better use of tax payer money.

 

[IxionIndustries]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if some kid shot their dog after playing Duck Hunt.
"AARGH! I CAN'T SHOOT THE FUCKING DOG! COME HERE FLUFFY! *bang bang*"

 

[Zeekar]

I'm about to simultaneously argue against everyone here.

First of all, man is born helpless upon the world and it is only through the ingenious evolution of weapons that we have survived as a species. Your (anyone's) argument that guns should be banned or further limited is ridiculous and speculative. If you did alittle research, you'd see that your initial reaction is incorrect; restrictions on guns cause more deaths than they prevent. Why? Bad guys know how to get guns whether you want them to or not, and guess what all those deadly cartels love to sell on black markets? Drugs and guns. Guess what would instantly shut down said deadly cartels? Legalizing all guns and drugs.

Lack of education is the culprit here, not the weapon. Whether you want to accept it or not, the boy could have found dozens of ways to kill his parents if he was crazy enough (and he was). Poison, easy-to-Google homemade explosives; It could have been anything. However, the stupid father/mother left the gun safe unlocked, so it was that. There is no argument against this fact.

The word you were looking for (whoever you are) is neurotransmitter.

Yes, addiction can happen, and you can get addicted to video games. Yes, the boy's motivation to kill was probably the addiction, although not necessarily so. We don't know exactly what was going on here. For all we know, the parents were abusive and the video games were the kid's only escape.

Regardless, like it's been said before, the kid was crazy, video games or no. To say that they boy didn't know his parents would be dead when he shot them is just...retarded. There is no other word for it. If this kid was 6 years old, yeah, okay. But look at him. He's at least 16. Teens and preteens know what death is and what happens when you get shot with a gun. Hell, they've seen it a million times over on the TV and in games. Guess what, when you shoot an alien in Halo, does it come back to life? NO. Argument rejected right there.

I also find the hypocrisy here alittle entertaining. If this was an adult, you'd all be screaming for blood and vengeance. Because the kid is young, you all (almost) believe he's fixable. Guess what? There is no evidence that teenagers are more prone to rehab than adults. If you want fairness and compassion, you must want it for EVERYONE, or you're just a lousy hypocrite.

TL;DR: Guns - not the culprit
Games - not the culprit
Crazy/Stupid - Always the culprit

 

[squid5580]

I don't think this had anything to do with video games! it was just a child being a spoiled brat!

It had to do with addiction. From What I can gather the kid was either plain out psycho or was addicted to halo, and if it was the latter his parents taking it away would trigger an event like this. that's not saying it was the games fault, if he had been addicted to a movie or a TV show and his parents took it away the same thing could have happened.

Wow I love the world today. We can blame everything on addiction. Lets just take any personal responsibility and throw it out the window. Soon gamers are gonna be at the corners of Gamestop lookin for thier next fix. Maybe grind up those DVDs and snort them. Use the instruction books as rolling papers and smoke them puppies.

Read what I said to the other guy and stop being so smug in your lack of knowledge.

What lack of knowledge. That fact that I believe that if you find something you like doing that doesn't effect your brain in any physical sense (like cocaine) you can't get addicted to it? Not without having a lot of other psychological issues to boot.

Once again, you lack knowledge. You can get addicted to things mentally. You are capable of convincing yourself that you need them. Ask members of the staff here, some of them were addicted to games, they even made a video about it for one of the magazine issues here! Ask the other guy who was rebutting me but realized what I was talking about, he said he was addicted to games. Go ask a doctor, you can get addicted to things mentally, it's simply a fact, and if your not willing to recognize that the conversation ends here.

And what I am saying is that a mental addiction is a part of a bigger psychological or physical problem (like your brain producing to much endorphines). It is not as simple as slapping the label addiction on it.

*sigh* go read my other statement like I told you to so long ago and realize you've been trying to argue the same point as me.

Now also your wrong, addiction is it's own problem however the kid also had anger issues, if you want elaboration go read post #36.

Ehh I probably am. It just seems that it is being used as an excuse. That what he did is wrong but it is Ok because "he's an addict." I am a smoker if I go on a rampage and kill someone I can't turn around and say "well it is because I didn't have any smokes." That defense would get laughed out of court so fast heads would be spinning.

 

[wwjdftw]

The kid was in a rage. He just would have used some weapon. Don't get me wrong, the other weapon may not have been fatal (though he probably could have killed them with a knife to). But we really don't need to blame the death on guns. The problem we want to solve here is stupidity. Make people realize that keeping your guns locked in a secure place is important.

Kwah, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." I think it would really help if you took the guns out of the equation. Guns can kill you at a distance and almost instantly. Knives, you can go hide. And I'm fairly certain that there are statistics proving that countries where guns are prohibited among the general public have lower gun murder rates.

well no shit sherlock all that gun laws do is keep guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, the criminalls dont give a flying fuck if guns are illegal, they are still going to use them.

 

[hippykiller]

I don't think this had anything to do with video games! it was just a child being a spoiled brat!

i agree with this guy 100% do not blame video games for crimes committed by gamers. instead blame the people who are really at fault. like the public school system. and what about the parents? how do we know that they weren't asking for it?

 

[black lincon]

I don't think this had anything to do with video games! it was just a child being a spoiled brat!

It had to do with addiction. From What I can gather the kid was either plain out psycho or was addicted to halo, and if it was the latter his parents taking it away would trigger an event like this. that's not saying it was the games fault, if he had been addicted to a movie or a TV show and his parents took it away the same thing could have happened.

Wow I love the world today. We can blame everything on addiction. Lets just take any personal responsibility and throw it out the window. Soon gamers are gonna be at the corners of Gamestop lookin for thier next fix. Maybe grind up those DVDs and snort them. Use the instruction books as rolling papers and smoke them puppies.

Read what I said to the other guy and stop being so smug in your lack of knowledge.

What lack of knowledge. That fact that I believe that if you find something you like doing that doesn't effect your brain in any physical sense (like cocaine) you can't get addicted to it? Not without having a lot of other psychological issues to boot.

Once again, you lack knowledge. You can get addicted to things mentally. You are capable of convincing yourself that you need them. Ask members of the staff here, some of them were addicted to games, they even made a video about it for one of the magazine issues here! Ask the other guy who was rebutting me but realized what I was talking about, he said he was addicted to games. Go ask a doctor, you can get addicted to things mentally, it's simply a fact, and if your not willing to recognize that the conversation ends here.

And what I am saying is that a mental addiction is a part of a bigger psychological or physical problem (like your brain producing to much endorphines). It is not as simple as slapping the label addiction on it.

*sigh* go read my other statement like I told you to so long ago and realize you've been trying to argue the same point as me.

Now also your wrong, addiction is it's own problem however the kid also had anger issues, if you want elaboration go read post #36.

Ehh I probably am. It just seems that it is being used as an excuse. That what he did is wrong but it is Ok because "he's an addict." I am a smoker if I go on a rampage and kill someone I can't turn around and say "well it is because I didn't have any smokes." That defense would get laughed out of court so fast heads would be spinning.

read what I said again. It wasn't just about addiction it was about that combined with anger issues. It was his fault but with therapy it won't happen again.

 

[Florion]

The kid was in a rage. He just would have used some weapon. Don't get me wrong, the other weapon may not have been fatal (though he probably could have killed them with a knife to). But we really don't need to blame the death on guns. The problem we want to solve here is stupidity. Make people realize that keeping your guns locked in a secure place is important.

Kwah, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." I think it would really help if you took the guns out of the equation. Guns can kill you at a distance and almost instantly. Knives, you can go hide. And I'm fairly certain that there are statistics proving that countries where guns are prohibited among the general public have lower gun murder rates.

well no shit sherlock all that gun laws do is keep guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, the criminalls dont give a flying fuck if guns are illegal, they are still going to use them.

Yes, of course. But the point is to keep the law-abiding citizens from killing themselves. You are more likely to be injured by your own weapon than by an assailant. It's all very well to be stuck in a house with a hit man and wishing you had a gun, but it's even worse to be handling a gun, screw up, shoot yourself in the foot/head, and wishing you didn't.

 

[CUnk]

Did the kid drink orange juice?

Yes.

And he killed his parents?

Yes.

HOLY FUCK ORANGE JUICE CAUSED HIM TO KILL HIS PARENTS!!!!

Grow up.


Come on people.

I hope they don't put you on the team when it comes time to debate this in public. Your analogy is completely irrelevant and does nothing to shed light on the situation. It's not like they randomly targeted video games simply because he happened to play them. The murder was directly related to a disagreement over a video game and this kid's refusal to accept his parents' authority.

If he was getting hammered on screwdrivers every day and they took away his orange juice because they knew he'd never drink vodka straight and then he killed them to get his orange juice back don't you think people would be scrutinizing teenage alcohol consumption and the affects it has on proper judgement?

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Pointless loss of life is always sad. When young people go to jail is sad, not that they don't deserve it, but that it comes to it, they've lost their life about as much if they had been killed.

What if it was something else that they told him no on? A girlfriend or something? Not saying a girlfriend is the same as a videogame, but kids have done the same thing over girlfriends. Even if the girl was a drug-dealing hooker, people say "poor kid was in love and confused".

Note, the parents didn't let the kid play the game, maybe not even the first two. He didn't learn anything from Halo 3 to have that behavior. Maybe something else was wrong? I mean, perhaps just keeping kids away from "bad" things isn't enough. Maybe we need to be teaching them other things as well? Maybe explaining rules instead of just making them? Just because they never played a game where they kill people and they come back doesn't mean that they then automatically know death is permanent. Not being exposed to violence doesn't mean they automatically know other methods to solve problems.

As for addiction, I hate that cop-out. I think too many people confuse "lack of self-control" as "addiction".

Also,

with a 9 mm handgun his father kept in an unlocked lock box

What? no... this is... nothing... look! Over there! Video games! Get them!