Daniel Petric
On Tuesday I posted about 16-year-old Daniel Petric shooting his parents over Halo 3. Petric shot them both in the head, killing his mother and wounding his father. Now Petric is pleading momentary insanity and laying the blame right at the feet of Halo 3.
The defense attorney brought forth Petric's sister, Holly, to testify that Daniel Petric had become addicted to videogames when he was laid up for a year due to a snowboarding injury. Petric's close friend, 17-year-old Jonathan Johnson, testified that Daniel Petric would come over to his house and play Halo 3 for at least seven hours a day. They also held a weekend marathon, playing the game 16 to 18 hours a day.
Of course, this all contradicts the findings of an adolescent forensic psychologist who find Petric completely sane. In fact, when Petric's friend Johnson was directly asked if Halo 3 caused the defendant to do what he did, he said no.
When this story broke, I know a lot of gamers were hoping that it wouldn't go this way, but it did. I can only hope that someday people realize how ridiculous it is to blame videogames, and that the "Mario Defense" - as I have coined it - becomes the new "Twinkie Defense."
Petric waived a jury trial, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge, so let's hope that judge sees through this bullshit excuse and administers the correct punishment.
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