Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360 - Kotaku Comments

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Toprem — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:16:12 MST

21 years on death row? Goddamn we seriously need to speed that shit up.

Toprem

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Josh* — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:36:35 MST

@Static-X: LOL

Josh*

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Candlejack — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 08:04:33 MST

@DaiMacculate: Ha! Talk about economics.

@v00deux: Oh noes :(

Candlejack

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

jwitt — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:46:54 MST

Mark

"bad blogger, No Bad Blogger"

Seriously next time write a little more then Arsonist kills 2 year old gets XBOX.

jwitt

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

teh_joe — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:46:31 MST

@Erwin211: reminds me of that South Park episode....

"get this man a baby!"

teh_joe

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Krytha — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 02:31:46 MST

@etchasketchist: And I don't, but this is the same kind of sensationalism that the site decries when video game + violence + Jack Thompson tabs show up in the papers.

Krytha

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Aaron-173 — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:22:22 MST

Anyone else find it ominously fitting that he took such a liking to a game subtitled, "Fires of Liberation"?

Aaron-173

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

ceilingFANBOY — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:02:20 MST

For some reason we just got our first shipment of AC6 in yesterday. I guess we're as far behind as this guy. Shit, we still haven't gotten UT3, Drake's Fortune, or Orange Box for PS3, and those are only the games that we haven't gotten in that I was thinking about getting. We suck at getting games in.

ceilingFANBOY

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

GOLD5 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:49:14 MST

If he thinks he's gonna like AC6 wait till he sees Bioshock! hmmmm. (I am going to hell for that one.)

GOLD5

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

DaiMacculate — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:31:21 MST

@Achaemenid: Oh BTW, in my JPS 101 textbook it said the average cost of executing somebody in the U.S. is over $10m (these were stats as of 2004) to taxpayers, versus less than 150k to imprison them for 60 years. Kanetaker said as much, but those are the figures approx.

Also, Texas isn't scary, there is a reason they're so obsessed with making things bigger, they're...overcompensating, if you know what I mean ;)

Now Alabama, Mississippi and most of Kentucky...thats scary.

DaiMacculate

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

v00deux — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:25:47 MST

@Achaemenid: no, they do.

v00deux

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Candlejack — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:40:03 MST

@KaneTaker: They don't really execute the retarded though do they. That's just from Family Guy. Or is it?

Candlejack

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Bentles — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:35:46 MST

Bit of an extreme reaction from Laserjudas to everyone else's extreme reactions, but given that this guy seems to have been swindled out of a massive chunk of his life, understandable.

U totally agree that people should read up on this before jumping to conclusions. A little disappointed with Mark Wilson's brief synopsis of the story, as it comes across as lazy, alarmist journalism. Perhaps he should consider coming to the UK and working for one of our tabloids. They love to stir things up like that.

Bentles

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

LaserJudas — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:20:07 MST

Considering I know the guy in question, yeah, some of you little pricks need to shut the hell up, let go of your momma's teet and read.

He was imprisoned for 21 damned years of his life for an accident. He was railroaded the entire time and thankfully he's been released. It's just a damned shame that he had to lose a massive amount of his life.

LaserJudas

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Bentles — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:17:34 MST

Wow, considering the knee-jerk reactions on this article, thank goodness it was not Manhunt 2 he wanted.

Bentles

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

busboy33 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:00:07 MST

@Kirbytheslayer: Just Kirbytheslayer:

It's simple, but that's not it. What you described is "Double-or-Nothing", and has nothing to do with Double Jeopardy. At all. Not even slightly.

busboy33

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

guy_jin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:44:57 MST

OK, so he's moving from 1 button and 1 digital stick to 11 buttons, two analog sticks and a d-pad?

Bet you anything this guy ends up with a Wii.

@Witzbold: so why comment?

guy_jin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:32:26 MST

@Forelli_Boy: apparently no one does, they just get phone books instead.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Frank — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:12:49 MST

@Odin: Well, he WAS found guilty despite what people might say about the trial process, so we might as well treat him as such. Besides which, it's hypocritical to put that guy's life above that of the infant that died...

So...if poor sick children get Wiis and convicted killers get 360s, then who gets PS3s? Mad scientists?

Frank

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Snake726 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:55:19 MST

Knowing that a convicted murderer has an Xbox 360 really has made my Christmas.

Snake726

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Ra is on House — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:51:38 MST

@MeanMF: that is a main point lol

Ra is on House

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

etchasketchist — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:34:19 MST

@Krytha: You know you don't have to read and comment on EVERY kotaku post, right? Right?

etchasketchist

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Grave — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:23:30 MST

@maximus9: I'm very glad that you've carefully assessed the situation from both sides.

Grave

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Maximus9 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:19:18 MST

@Edge of Blade:

I doubt you'd say that if you were the girl's father.

I hope his system red rings on him 1 minute into his first play.

Maximus9

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

akwinters — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:19:15 MST

Some of you are being too harsh on this guy, assuming he was guilty. Lest we forget the fact that there's plenty of evidence supporting his INNOCENCE and that his trial was a sham.

The only reason he filed "no contest" to the charge of manslaughter (he didn't plead not guilty, it's just interpreted as that by the courts) is because the state of Ohio won't admit there was a miscarrige of justice when there obviously was, and his only alternative to the no contest was the death penalty. If you were innocent, don't you think you'd take any hope of survival out there?

Cut the guy some slack, he was jailed for 21 years over a crime he probably didn't commit.

akwinters

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

2th — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:15:41 MST

while i dont know the whole story behind his killing a 2 year old i do think instead of a commercial the story needs to be a LIFETIME movie. however that would require the guy to become girl and to have been beaten by her husband.

2th

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:15:07 MST

21 years. I'm willing to bet that most of the ignorant posts here are by people who haven't yet reached that many years of life. 21 years is an insanely long time to pay for a crime that you apparently didn't commit. That's probably half (or more) of his life gone because the world needed a patsy at the time of his trial. I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of soaring around in jets is representative of freedom this guy had long given up on having.

Even if he did it, unless he's clinically insane, I'd say the man's done his time. Let him fly.

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

JimmyHACK — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:11:46 MST

ha...
don't count on him saving any lives in games

JimmyHACK

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

FyroniK — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:59:53 MST

Mr Wilson, Mr Wilson... As I look through all of your postings, I see alot of PS3 favorable posts, and then I see this post here, in which your underlying point was some negativity towards the xbox, of all the negatives you could come up with, you choose to associate it with a murder story... Where's your imagination?

FyroniK

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Erwin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:55:41 MST

@KurtSubvert: Yes.

Erwin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

KaneTaker — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:53:00 MST

@Achaemenid: Texas is, I believe, also the only state that will execute the mentally retarded. That and the fact that I can think of 3 executed prisoners who were proven guilty after execution makes Texas SCARY.

KaneTaker

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:49:28 MST

baby burners get 360's and AC6? ok...?

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

DELICIOUS BUNNY — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:46:22 MST

I'll be sure to hit him up on Live. So hey buddy, how's your pilots license comin' eh?

DELICIOUS BUNNY

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

qbix — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:42:41 MST

Confirmed: playing the Atari video game drives people to burn 2 year old babies alive. I can't wait until Jack Thompson uses this to justify his idiotic point of view.

qbix

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Candlejack — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:42:11 MST

@Kirbytheslayer: Just Kirbytheslayer: Ah. Cheers.

@KaneTaker: Thanks to you as well. If anything I learned where not to commit crimes. Texas.

Candlejack

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

TOCATL — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:41:21 MST

@Roflcopter_Down:You are the first one that ive seen that uses the expresion "a la" correctly, everybody writes "ala"...

Who nows maybe he will get and endeless "RRoD curse" on avery 360 he gets, or maybe he just skiped death penalty to die of a long agonizing and painful disease...

TOCATL

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Odin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:41:06 MST

Also it's a little mean that most commenters are automatically declaring him guilty, if you go look up a few things about the incident then you can see the majority of it is based on flimsy testimonies and circumstansial evidence.

I mean it's not like some cases where the muderer is just sitting there telling them he didn't do it while his hands are covered in blood. There's a ton of serious doubt about his case and most people think it's a sham.

Odin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

dv8godd — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:40:38 MST

For what it's worth:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Not taking sides one way or the other, but it's not exactly quite so cut and dry. Obviously he was convicted... though it seems somewhat debated that he was ever truly "proven" guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Seems like something of a clusterfuck of a legal case either way.

I'd probably not publicize it though. I guess it's nice that someone in his family bought him a 360, just as anyone buying anyone a 360 would be nice... but yeah... go away quietly. :/

dv8godd

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

robinhood1013 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:37:37 MST

haha..i hope the 360 RRODs right when he turns it on...that bastard....

robinhood1013

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

KaneTaker — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:37:17 MST

@KaneTaker: Let me footnote that by saying THANK GOD this guy was not put to death now that its coming out that he did NOT do it. Poor bastard.

KaneTaker

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

KaneTaker — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:36:05 MST

@Achaemenid: The American legal system is a mess. With all the appeals and paperwork that go into an actual execution, most states (read: EVERYONE BUT TEXAS) rarely actually put anyone to death. Can take years (obviously) and according to a study I once read its cheaper to just put them in prison for the rest of their lives instead of wasting all the legal money trying to kill them.

KaneTaker

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

KurtSubvert — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:35:20 MST

I like how they describe him as a "retro gamer."
Is everyone who has been in the clink since the 80s a retro gamer?

KurtSubvert

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Sollus — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:34:20 MST

Gotta love my wonderful state of Ohio keeping the man in jail for 21 years for an accident. I bet the jury was full of Ohio State grads.

Sollus

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:33:55 MST

@Achaemenid:
Okay, I guess this does need backstory.

Here in the US, even when sentenced to death, it's rare for somebody to get the penalty immediately. A ton of them die in prison before they ever actually get the chair. They hire lawyers and go through all sorts of appeal processes, and essentially delay the date repeatedly. 21 years is pretty common. Tookie Williams, the founder of the Crips, one of the bloodiest gangs in LA, spent over 20 years in jail(and wrote children's books), before he actually got lethal injection.

The reason he didn't want to die is because he enjoyed living. It seems kind of odd that they got him for murder, which is also probably why he was able to extend it so long.

The point of the article is that right when he got released, he got a free Xbox 360.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Grave — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:31:01 MST

touch = such. Whoops. That reads a little differently than I had planned.

Grave

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Odin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:30:38 MST

Well considering his trial was a joke, the evidence was messed up and he probably didn't do it compounded with the fact he's already been in there 21 years. Cut the guy a little slack.

Odin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

cernex — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:30:10 MST

"Wow, now that's an Xbox 360 commercial if I've ever heard one."

Unless it is for "Assasin's Creed", I doubt it would work. After all, the guy did kill a 2-year old, ya' know???

El Cernex

cernex

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Grave — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:29:49 MST

@Edge of Blade: Thank you.

Seriously, people, the man did the time for his alleged crime. For those of you who still want him to suffer, stop being touch an internet tough guy and please try to place yourself in the situation.

Grave

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Candlejack — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:29:24 MST

Wait a second. Someone explain. He was sentenced to death but was kept in prison for 21 years until now? How does this work in the US of A again?

Also, the only reason he didn't want to die was a videogame? Is that the point? Not trying to bash the point that it's posted here but I just don't get it. Stupid Eurasian here.

Candlejack

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Furious_Liver — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:23:52 MST

He learned how to kill through the Atari...Think of the horrors he will cast upon society with AC6! :O

Furious_Liver

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:22:36 MST

When game bloggers start thinking toddler killers have enough in common with gamers to the point of feeling that killers can speak to the "gamer" through a personal experience, a little part of me dies, another little part thinks that Jack Thompson was right, and finally, a little part thinks it's ef'ing awesome to see how many people this will twist into a frenzy.

@Mark:
*shakes head in condemnation* For shame Wilson, this is a missed opportunity. I would have spiced it up to pull out more venom.

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

MeanMF — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:21:19 MST

Meh, who the F puts commas in URLs... Google it :p

MeanMF

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Hired-Hitman — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:19:03 MST

WOW - 21 yrs dude.....hard core. Knowing his luck the 360 would probably ROD in 2 days. He would probably kill himself after that.

Hired-Hitman

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:18:41 MST

@Edge of Blade: We all know what double jeopardy is. I bid $500. If I'm right, I get $1000, if I'm wrong, I lose it all.

It's pretty simple.

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:17:50 MST

What a touching story.

Man possibly burns down house, pleads guilty to manslaughter, get s a free 360.

Think about the publicity!

Kirbytheslayer: In-Kirby XMB

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Static-X — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:17:47 MST

He should have to retrieve the 360 from a giant incinerator like in the movie Saw 2.

Static-X

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Edge of Blade — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:16:45 MST

Ok, this guy paid his dept to society. Lay off him. Too bad the court of public opinion has no concept of Double Jeopardy.

Edge of Blade

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Josh* — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:15:29 MST

"Oh, so they make games in 3D now!"

Josh*

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Erwin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:14:45 MST

@MeanMF: Nevermind? I'll just shut up now.

Erwin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:14:06 MST

@MeanMF: Try again. Your commas broke the URL-detection mechanism.

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Erwin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:13:52 MST

@Erwin211: I should read my posts. I sound like I'm supporting him.
Crap.

Erwin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Krytha — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:12:53 MST

Um... yeah, it's video game related, but you guys know you don't have to post EVERYTHING that mentions a system or title, right?

Krytha

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

MeanMF — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:12:51 MST

Critical missing bit of information: his conviction was overturned and he probably didn't do it.

[www.guardian.co.uk],,2230506,00.html

MeanMF

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Erwin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:12:38 MST

"Games: Popular with (falsely accused) toddler killers."
Eh, could be worse.

Erwin

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

valoisian — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:12:31 MST

I'd hate for it to explode in his face.

Just hate it.

valoisian

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

yashichi8bit — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:10:50 MST

I would have given him an NES and told him he needs to work his way up to a 360.

Oh yeah, and this guy can go to hell.

yashichi8bit

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:09:59 MST

Too bad AC6 is kinda boring.

On a more serious note: it's just like being frozen through time and when you wake up, everything has changed a la Futurama.

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

wayneofspades — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:08:20 MST

Hurrah ... ?

wayneofspades

Merry Christmas, You Live, Here's an Xbox 360

Witzbold — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:07:43 MST

Hmmm...no comment.

Witzbold