Authorities say that 25-year-old Echols was playing a war video game with fellow sailor Louis Urbana on Wednesday afternoon at a San Carlos, California apartment. Police detectives have determined that at some point during game gameplay, Echols pointed a gun at the 20-year-old Urbana. The gun went off and Urbana was shot. According to the police, Echols did not immediately report the shooting, and by the time help arrived Urbana was beyond saving.

Echols was taken into custody later that evening, arrested on suspicion of murder.

While it remains to be seen wheether or not this was a simple accident or a deliberate act, there is a lesson to be learned here. Do not handle firearms when engaged in an activity that requires your fingers to make trigger-pulling movements, or better yet, just don't screw around with loaded weapons.

Man Accused of Killing Fellow Sailor During Video Game [Fox News]

The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately. Respondent shall accept no new business from the date this order is filed.

Note that Thompson still has a chance for a retrial, only due to court sanctions the motion must me submitted by a member of the Florida Bar in good standing, and I don't know that anyone wants to touch this one. It's also worth noting that along with disbarment, Thompson has been ordered to reimburse the Florida Bar fees amounting to $43,675.35. Ouch.

We've contacted both the Supreme Court of Florida and Jack Thompson for comment and will update the story if both or either respond.

UPDATE: Jack Thompson has responded to us, at length.

Supreme Court of Florida
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
CASE NOS.: SC07-80 and SC07-354
Lower Tribunal No(s).: 2005-70,305(11F),
2005-71,125(11F),
2006-70,570(11F),
2006-70,766(11F),
2006-70,909(11F),
2007-30,805(11F)
THE FLORIDA BAR vs. JOHN BRUCE THOMPSON
___________________________________________________________________
Complainant(s) Respondent(s)

The referee has filed a corrected report recommending that respondent, John Bruce Thompson, be permanently disbarred without leave to apply for readmission to The Florida Bar. Respondent submitted a petition for review of the referee's report. The Clerk did not accept the petition for review for filing. This action was in accord with this Court's opinion dated March 20, 2008, which sanctioned respondent for abusive filings and barred him from filing on his own behalf. The sanction opinion provided, in pertinent part: "the Clerk of this Court is hereby instructed to reject for filing any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by John Bruce Thompson, unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar other than himself." Fla. Bar v. Thompson, 979 So. 2d 917, 921 (Fla. 2008). The opinion also noted: "in sanctioning respondent, we are requiring him to retain qualified counsel so that his arguments might be properly presented through the appropriate procedures in the appropriate forum. We do not limit such counsel's ability to challenge the referee's findings and recommendations on review." Id. at 919.

Ignoring this bar on self-submitted filings, respondent has submitted numerous filings in violation of the sanction opinion, including the petition for review of the referee's report. The Clerk properly rejected each of these submissions. Thus, there being no authorized petition for review filed, and the time period to seek review has passed, the Court has treated this as an uncontested case. The Court has reviewed the 169-page corrected report of the referee filed on July 16, 2008, for sufficiency and has determined that permanent disbarment is merited on this record. (This report is posted on the Court's public website). The report Case Nos. SC07-80 and SC07-354

Page Two details the extensive misconduct of respondent and his complete lack of remorse. In her report, the referee states: Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, [r]espondent has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes. He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him.

Among the extensive findings of fact presented in the report, the Court takes particular note of the following which occurred during the three-year period at issue in five counts in these cases: (1) respondent made false statements of material fact to courts and repeatedly violated a court order; (2) respondent communicated the subject of representation directly with clients of opposing counsel; (3) respondent engaged in prohibited ex parte communications; (4) respondent publicized and sent hundreds of pages of vitriolic and disparaging missives, letters, faxes, and press releases, to the affected individuals; (5) respondent targeted an individual who was not involved with respondent in any way, merely due to "the position [the individual] holds in state and national politics;" (6) respondent falsely, recklessly, and publicly accused a judge as being amenable to the "fixing" of cases; (7) respondent sent courts inappropriate and offensive sexual materials; (8) respondent falsely and publicly accused various attorneys and their clients of engaging in a conspiracy/enterprise involving "the criminal distribution of sexual materials to minors" and attempted to get prosecuting authorities to charge these attorneys and their clients for racketeering and extortion; (9) respondent harassed the former client of an attorney in an effort to get the client to use its influence to persuade the attorney to withdraw a defamation suit filed by the attorney against respondent; and (10) respondent retaliated against attorneys who filed Bar complaints against him for his unethical conduct by asserting to their clients, government officials, politicians, the media, female lawyers in their law firm, employees, personal friends, acquaintances, and their wives, that the attorneys were criminal Case Nos. SC07-80 and SC07-354 Page Three pornographers who objectify women.

The Court concludes that the facts, as even more extensively detailed in the referee's report, support the referee's numerous recommendations as to guilt. The referee cited various cases indicating that disbarment is an appropriate sanction and recommended permanent disbarment because "[r]espondent has repeatedly stated in these proceedings that he will not change his conduct" and she "finds no evidence whatsoever to indicate that [r]espondent is amenable to rehabilitation, or even remotely appreciates the basis upon which a need or purpose for such rehabilitation is warranted." Indeed, as noted by the referee: Respondent has repeatedly failed to follow the appropriate rules and orders throughout these disciplinary proceedings as evidenced by the granting of the Bar's Motion for Sanctions and the Supreme Court of Florida's orders of February 19, 2008 and March 20, 2008, wherein the Court found that [r]espondent "abused the legal system by submitting numerous, frivolous and inappropriate filings," despite being warned not to do so. In fact, the referee reported that respondent walked out of her courtroom at the final hearing in this matter because she would not allow him to "to turn the [d]isciplinary proceeding into a press conference." Based on the record before it, the Court agrees that respondent is not amenable to rehabilitation. Further, the Court approves the referee's recommendation that permanent disbarment is the appropriate sanction.

The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately. Respondent shall accept no new business from the date this order is filed. Judgment is entered for The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, for recovery of costs from John Bruce Thompson in the amount of $43,675.35, for which sum let execution issue. Case Nos. SC07-80 and SC07-354 Page Four Not final until time expires to file motion for rehearing, and if filed, determined. The filing of a motion for rehearing shall not alter the effective date of this permanent disbarment. Consistent with this Court's sanction order, no motion for rehearing will be considered unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar other than respondent. QUINCE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, LEWIS, BELL, and CANADY, JJ., concur. A True Copy Test: cic Served: HON. DAVA J. TUNIS, JUDGE JOHN F. HARKNESS, JR. KENNETH LAWRENCE MARVIN SHEILA MARIE TUMA BARRY S. RICHARD JOHN BRUCE THOMPSON

Some researchers are convinced that repetitive play of violent games instructs kids in violence, making violent acts more likely. But others argue that video violence is a cathartic replacement for real violent crime, which has gone down since the advent of video games.

While the article does spend a great deal of time dealing with the issues of violent video games, calling out the usual suspects - Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, etc., it also addresses the fact that there are constructive games out there like SimCity, social games that let you play sports like golf and baseball, and even games that are "just plain fun" like Guitar Hero. These are all titles you hardly ever see mention in writings dealing with the negative aspects of gaming, since so many choose to stick with the negative and forgo the positive completely.

Of course the article isn't without some more sensationalist speak, such as this tidbit from Pastor Kody Kirchhoff of the LiveWire Youth Ministries at Calvary Lutheran Church:

“Aside from the violence, obscenity and negative themes, the larger and greater problem lies in the fact that video games control many people’s hearts and minds, creating a monotonous, zoned-out new reality,”

But even an accusation like this is quickly brought into focus by the follow up.

“God, family and friends do not exist in many games,” he says. “Activities like camping, playing catch with Dad, swimming, or just being a kid have vanished.”

The man has a point. I seem to remember a lot more children outside playing when I was a kid. After school you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a child, a fact that used to make my after school times truly special. While I don't think video games are to blame for the lack of kids screaming at each other outside my window every afternoon, I do think they make a very convenient babysitter for parents who don't have time to play with their children and are too terrified by the concept of child predators to let their babies go outside unattended. If anything, the mainstream media - who often target video games themselves - are to blame, scaring parents out of their minds with special reports about the dangers their children face crossing the street every day.

I digress. This isn't about my opinion. This is about the opinion being distributed to Christian newspapers this month, and the final message from Center for Fathering CEO Carey Casey is one I can really get behind.

“Parents should place limits on children’s media use, including when, where, and how much they can participate. And we should be ready to address common myths that are often portrayed in the media: such as the myths that to be worthwhile you have to be beautiful, that money buys happiness, that sex is merely recreation and has no consequences, and that violence solves problems.”

Getting serious about gaming [ChristianExaminer Online]

"It was determined that they were emulating the character in that Grand Theft Auto game, going on a crime spree" using weapons and tactics inspired by the controversial video game, said Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau police spokesman.

"We got certain admissions" from the boys, Repalone said.

Good luck on using the old GTA defense boys. It might just work, unless of course the prosecutors play the "You are all obviously f***ing morons" card.

Cops: Video game inspired crime spree [Newsday.com]

They dealt with it with a videogame called Hitman that he used to watch, and it was a video game where you got impressions that you would kill somebody - hit them from their backside, where they were not aware that they were being killed.

CNN Video Report On Trial [CNN via GamePolitics ]

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.

NZ man 'used hedgehog as weapon' [BBC - Ninja Girlden]

"The Wii's fluffy flowers and bright peach-colored sunlight glorify chasing precious talking rabbits with plungers," Greer said. "What kind of message is that sending to our children? That it's 'cool' to act like some kind of electrical elf or banana fairy?"

Wii Video Games Blamed For Rise In Effeminate Violence [The Onion - Thanks Kenneth!]

"Exposure to violent video games, even E rated video games, increases aggressive thoughts, increases pro-social behavior and increases general arousal," said Dr. Greg Snyder, a psychologist at Omaha's Children's Hospital.

Probably not what he meant mind you. Snyder went on to theorize that exposure to violent video games desensitize our children to the real thing.

"The more normal it is, the more likely it is they're going to activate or engage in those behaviors when provoked or even unprovoked," Snyder said.

"Just like any new media, it gets attacked. When any new genre of music comes out, it gets attacked. TV will, of course, get attacked. I'm sure, way back when, books got attacked," Miller said.

Video Games Normalize Killing, Doctors Say [KETV 7 - Thanks Everyone!]

What's worse is this isn't the first Lineage II-related death in Russia. Back in January one player stomped another to death while he was trying to break up a fight sparked during a real life meet-up.

What's even more crazy is that members of the Coo-clocks continue to harass the dead man's family, going as far as to threaten the life of his sister. That's some pretty insane clan loyalty right there if you ask me. One isolated crazy I can understand, but once a member of your clan beats a man to death...that's generally when you want to back off on the team spirit. Hit up the link below for the full story. More fuel for the fire.

Online game rivalry ends with real life murder [Russia Today via Game Politics]

"There are cultural implications for feeding porn to kids in this way," and "when you do this, you're teaching them a distorted lesson about human sexuality and human dignity. These are lessons that they will take with them into adulthood and ultimately society," Ruse said.

Could she be right? I certainly hope not, as it would be horrible for children to grow up thinking that one day they might form a deep bond with someone and engage in sexual activities - especially if said activities involve someone of another race or similiar gender. That would be terrible. Media specialist Bob Waliszewki with Focus on the Family agrees.

"We never shy away from sexuality in the media. It's just a question of how is that sexuality portrayed. One can use the media to portray some very healthy forms of sexuality. And when done wisely with taste and age-appropriateness, it can be done well."

"Unfortunately," he said, "Mass Effect doesn't do that and even goes so far as to allow homosexuality to be on par with heterosexuality and heterosexuality outside of its proper context of marriage."

The article continues predictably. Waliszewki cites various reports linking video games to violent behaivior. Ruse calls out BioWare for putting the sex scene in to generate revenue without regards to what happens to the children who shouldn't be playing it in the first place. Bob does manage to talk some sense towards the end, cautioning parents to take a hands-on approach to their children's entertainment, but then Cathy comes back in for one last bit of foaming outrage.

Ruse noted that "most states have what's called 'Harmful to Minors' laws on the books that say that selling sexual material that a jury would deem 'patently offensive to minors, which lacks literary, artistic, political or scientific value.' ... might be prosecutable."

"I'm really pleased to screen the movie at VGXPO," said Spencer Halpin, the filmmaker behind the work, "and I envision us having a panel discussion with participants from the documentary debating the matter thoroughly."

Controversial Documentary about Video Game Violence Debate to Screen at VGXPO

'Moral Kombat,' First High Definition Feature-length Documentary Debuts in Philadelphia

October 3, 2007 - (Philadelphia, PA) - The much-debated subject of violence in video games is the subject Freshman Director, Spencer Halpin, chose to tackle in his upcoming feature-length documentary, 'Moral Kombat' which is premiering at the VideoGame Expo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 3, 2007. The film was the first high-definition documentary shot entirely in HD three years ago using state-of-the-art technology and cutting edge special effects. The content couldn't be a more timely or more appropriate subject matter and is sure to draw strong reactions from both sides of the debate.

'Spencer Halpin's: Moral Kombat' is a probative work that examines interactive entertainment as a medium and seeks to objectively portray the debate in a fair and poignant fashion. It blends masterfully-imposed in-game action and cinematics with compelling testimony from leading figures from the video game industry, legislators, activists and others central to the matter. Though the film itself is not intended to be controversial, it has struck such a chord from those who are pro and anti-games.

"I'm really pleased to screen the movie at VGXPO," said Spencer Halpin, the filmmaker behind the work, "and I envision us having a panel discussion with participants from the documentary debating the matter thoroughly." Referring to the subject of the panel, Halpin went on to state, "the interviewees were so thoughtful and passionate about their perspectives that we just didn't have time to include as much of the dialogue in the final product as I would have liked, which gave me the idea of holding panel discussions; allowing the film to jump to life and the audience to engage in the debate."

Other notable figures from the film who will be attending include: Jack Thompson, one of the most prominent anti-games advocates and central legal figure from the "con" side of the argument. Jack is the mass media's go-to expert on violence video game legislation and has himself authored bills which sought to restrict the sale of "Teen" and "Mature" rated games to minors. Lorne Lanning, perhaps one of the most celebrated game developers and co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants, is the voice of artistic expression in the film and seeks to show viewers, and now attendees, that games are an art form - no different than music or movies - and therefore deserving of the same protections and respect. Lorne may be best known for his hit, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysse, a multi-award winning title which spawned four sequels. The panel will be moderated by esteemed journalist N'Gai Croal from Newsweek, who also authors a popular game-related blog called Level Up on the Newsweek.com site. N'Gai has also written for The Washington Post, Details Magazine, The Source, Momentum, and Theater Week.

America's VideoGame Expo will take place November 2-4, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. For more information regarding VGXPO, visit us on the web at www.VGXPO.com

This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of "Madden '08" or "NFL Blitz," or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

It's not unusual to see small, saucer-eyed children as conventions in the horror genre; in fact, it's common. Young girls in particular make very good devices in survival-horror video games, either as archetypes of feminine vulnerability (for who needs you more than a damsel-in-distress except a little damsel?) or as strange aggressors, all the more fearsome for their innocuous appearance. The genre of BioShock is already the subject of much debate, but for the topics discussed here, it cleaves rather closely alongside survival-horror story elements.

Little girls in horror stories: creepy yet vulnerable, fearsome yet innocuous. It's an interesting look at the genre as a whole and the role of the Little Sisters in particular - and rather refreshing when compared to the 'mainstream' focus on the creepy kids.

The Aberrant Gamer: 'Suffer the Little Children' [GameSetWatch]

The goal was to present players with difficult choices, 2K Boston President Kenneth Levine said.

''As a piece of art, we want to deal with challenging moral issues and if you want to do that, you have to go to some dark places,'' Levine said. ''And 'BioShock' certainly does go to some dark places.''

And killing little girls is a pretty dark place indeed. I do like how Levine pulls out the work of art card. Seems to be the norm whenever the violence of a video game is questioned these days.

The article goes on to explore gaming violence, spewing out some of the same things we've posted here time and time again. Studies, incidents, court cases, etc. Pretty much all an outsider sees of the gaming industry. What the article doesn't touch on is this one, overwhelming fact. Giggling little girls are pretty damn creepy.

Would you kill 'Little Sisters'? Quincy company challenges taboos with game violence [The Patriot Ledger via Joystiq]

I always try to differentiate my stories from their sources, but I am with Game Politics on this one. Uh-oh.

Dr. Phil Taping Video Game Violence Episode [Game Politics]

And, by the way, at any moment, if some kid in West Virginia goes and blows away 32 people, and they find out that he played a video game, guess what, we've got a problem again. Just as if he had watched a movie and then done that. Or just as if he had read "Catcher in the Rye" and blamed it on J.D. Salinger. . .

Gaming exec assesses impact of technology, legislation [Miami herald via Game Politics]

The two had been playing a sports video game when an argument erupted over who would play the next game, according to Lansdowne Police Chief Daniel J. Kortan Jr. "It was a dispute over the use of a video game," he said.

Not that it is amazingly important, but I'd be interested to know what they were playing. Tony Hawk? Tiger Woods? Either way, the fact that it was a sports game and not an FPS or GTA game tends to support the theory that the younger boy, still being held at a Delaware County prison, was simply one troubled individual. Many of you in the comments section of the first story were asking where the parents were, but what parent would expect their child to kill over a sports franchise?

Also there was some confusion as to how many times the older brother was stabbed, with some papers reporting twice and others only once. I believe the source of the confusion there is that the coroner's report sites the cause of death as a single stab wound to the heart. According to the original story I cited he was stabbed once in the lung and once in the heart. Only the heart wound was fatal, hence the coroner's report indicating a single stab wound.

We'll keep you informed if any more information surfaces.

Teen held in brother's slaying [The Philadelphia Inquirer via Game Politics]

"I don't believe the actual game itself was the cause of it. I don't believe they were acting out in any way or mimicking anything in a video game. I believe it was actual use of the game and whose turn it was," said Lansdowne Police Chief Daniel Kortan.

It sounds like he phrased that response specifically to ward off a potential wave of violent video game outcry, doesn't it? It's nice to see that situations like this can be resolved without immediately tossing the blame on our favorite hobby.

Thirteen year-old Jahmir Ricks was arrested at the scene, tearfully confessing to police upon their arrival. He is being charged as an adult with murder in the first degree. Something failed in this situation that had absolutely nothing to do with video games. Normal people don't go from arguing over who gets to play a video game to murderous rage in the blink of an eye.

Brother Kills Brother in Video Game Dispute [6abc.com - Thanks Dru]

Oh no, of course not. On the Lyndon Larouche website a new item is running entitled, "Bush Administration Issues Cover-Up Report on the VA Tech Massacre", which claims the games industry is praising the report for excluding any game-related information in the report. Sheer craziness.

Imagine you are writing a book report on, for instance, Mesopotamians, and in your research someone offers you a story about digital watches, which has nothing to do with the subject of your report. Then they get angry you didn't include it in the text. "Fahey Covers Up Mesopatamian Digital Watch Connection." Politicians are whacky. Michael Fahey

LaRouche Followers Claim Cover-up in Feds Virginia Tech Report [GamePolitics.com]