Devin Moore

Devin Moore (born Devin Darnell Thompson on May 15, 1985) is a convict from Alabama who sparked a large controversy over the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City when he committed three acts of first-degree murder in the Fayette, Alabama police station in 2003. Moore killed two policemen (Arnold Strickland and James Crump) and a dispatcher (Leslie Mealer) after being booked on suspicion of stealing a car. He then fled in a patrol car.

Moore was apprehended several hours later in Mississippi. According to the Associated Press, after his recapture he said, "Life is a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime." Once in custody, Moore quickly confessed. He told detectives that he shot the men because he didn't want to go to jail.^[2]

The controversy involving his relation to Grand Theft Auto was revealed during an episode of 60 Minutes on March 6, 2005. In the episode a student demonstrated Grand Theft Auto to them, showing them the adult nature of the game.. Moore, who had recently graduated from high school, had never been in trouble before. He had enlisted in the Air Force and was due to leave for service at the end of the summer.^[3]

Legal proceedings

Moore faced trial in 2005 and pleaded not guilty.^[4] The trial judge barred the defense from introducing evidence to the jury that Grand Theft Auto incited Moore's shooting spree. Moore's attorney, Jim Standridge, contended that Moore was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder at the time of the crimes. Standridge argued that Moore had been emotionally and physically abused by his father as a child.^[5]

In August 2005, Moore was convicted as charged. On October 9, 2005, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Jim Standridge appealed the case. On February 17, 2012, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Moore's conviction in a 5-0 decision.^[6] The case will automatically be appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, and can then be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

References