What was going through James Christopher Stitt’s head when he murdered two of his roommates three years ago? One can only imagine, but what we do know is that he was allegedly playing Grand Theft Auto until the wee hours of the morning. The defense hopes this will get Stitt sentenced to life imprisonment in lieu of the death sentence. His psychiatrist Dr. Moira Artigues testified in court, “He went in and killed George and Jenna in a state where he was like an automaton, not in control of his actions at the time.”

Other court testimony presented facts of Stitt had frequent behavior problems as a young child. He was without his parents for a time, and eventually dropped out of school in the eighth grade. Around that same time Stitt was kicked out of his home for stealing from his family. It seems like all this is a more likely reason to contribute to a person’s violent actions than playing a videogame. So blaming these acts of a disturbed individual on Grand Theft Auto is a stretch to say the least.

Anyway, I have doubts on whether this defense will hold up. Especially since earlier testimony made no mention to Grand Theft Auto at all. Seems like the desperate last effort to save the man’s life.