Another
Grand Theft Auto-related lawsuit has arisen in relation to video games and violence, this time in Jasper, Alabama. Notorious anti-game industry lawyer Jack Thompson is suing several companies on behalf of the victims in the case of Devin Thompson (no relation), who was allegedly inspired by the games to kill three police officers in 2003.
The games have become the target of the lawsuit, both because Devin Thompson supposedly said that "Life is a video game. You've got to die sometime," after being arrested, as well as the fact that he was under 17 when he purchased the M-rated games from retailers.
Thompson bought
Grand Theft Auto III from Gamestop and
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City from Wal-Mart, thus explaining why the two companies are named as defendants in the suit, along with Take-Two Interactive, the publisher, and Sony Computer Entertainment America, who of course manufactures the PlayStation 2 hardware.
"What has happened in Alabama is that four companies participated in the training of Devin ... to kill three men," said Jack Thompson, prosecuting attorney in this case and
many other suits related to music, movies, and games in the past.
