Klamath Falls man convicted of killing boy:
It seems that the “Mortal Kombat” defense of Patrick Morris (3rd story down) didn’t pan out. He was convicted in the murder of 15-year-old Diego Aguilar.
Defense attorney Robert Abel said violent video games, a history of emotional and behavior disorders and the use of mind-altering mushrooms affected his client. Morris, he said, had a diminished mental capacity, couldn’t understand the consequences of his actions and should have been convicted of manslaughter, not murder.
Before Morris took the stand, his mother, Irma Espitia, told the judge her story about a troubled son, whom she tried to reach out to over and over. “He would just go into his room and play those video games,” she said.
The prosecution’s expert witness, Dr. Michael Knapp of Ashland, said it was ridiculous to blame video games. Moreover, he said, while you usually can’t predict violent behavior, other risk factors in Morris’ life, such as his drug use and his emotional disorders, were stronger factors.
But I’m sure the video games were a much bigger factor than his drug use. [/sarcasm]
Morris could be paroled in 25 years.
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Another victory for common sense.
Has this defense ever worked?
No. The real question is, why haven’t defense attorneys learned yet?
Diego is my nephew so I felt compelled to comment. The video game defense was all his attorney could come up with. It’s hard to defend someone who murders a boy in cold blood by shooting him 5 times then spitting on his body!!! In my opinion … his attorney knew it was ridiculous but didn’t feel the need to spend too much time pulling together a ‘real’ defense for someone who could not be defended. If it had worked that would have brought him some publicity so what did he have to lose? Anyway .. just my opinion.
Thank you for your comment and I’m sorry for your loss.
And fairly logical, if cynical, reasoning. Sadly enough, you’re probably right on the mark.
Hopefully he never sees the light of day again.