Infamous Florida-based lawyer and anti-gaming crusader Jack Thompson has returned with a new wrongful death suit in the trial of Albuquerque teen Cody Posey, citing Sony, Rockstar and publisher Take-Two as defendants in the case.
Posey was charged in 2004 for the murders of his father, step-mother and 13 year old step-sister at a New Mexico ranch, after an alleged long history of parental physical and sexual abuse. He was convicted of first degree murder in February of this year and has since been serving a juvenile sentence.
According to reports by the Albuquerque Tribune, the new 68-page $600 million countersuit, filed today by Thompson on behalf of the remaining members of the Posey family, names Posey, Rockstar, Sony, and Take-Two as defendants, claiming Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City gave the teen simulated weapons training and made him an "extraordinarily effective" killer, adding, "Posey essentially practiced how to kill on this game. If it wasn't for Grand Theft Auto, three people might not now be dead."
The tactics are strikingly similar to the Alabama case Thompson took on late in 2005, which blamed Sony, Take-Two and retailer Wal-Mart for contributing to the murders of Fayetteville police officers by Devin Moore, said to have been 'trained' by Grand Theft Auto III.
In that case, Thompson's involvement in the trial was soon derailed when defense attorneys filed a motion to have him removed from the case, on the grounds that his multiple press releases attacking the defense attorneys was against court decorum and in violation of legal ethics. Thompson removed himself from the case soon afterward, and presiding Judge Moore ordered the circuit clerk to notify the state bar association that Thompson's temporary Alabama law license would be revoked. In March of this year, the state Supreme Court rejected the game industry's appeal, but have granted the right to hear the industry's claims that the Alabama courts do not have the power to hear the case.
