Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/25/online-gamer-takes-rpg-a-little-too-far-attacks-player-in-real-life-with-a-hammer.html
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How is that attempted second degree murder? Shouldn’t it be first degree? He flew to Florida to do it, brought a weapon; that sounds like premeditation to me.
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Even in-game attacks can result in jail time.
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I’m not saying this guy is justified or anything… but this particular MMO is rife with opportunities for trollish interactions. I say this from personal experience.
IANAL and laws vary by state but I believe “Murder in the Second Degree” often covers crimes where someone carries out a premeditated assault with the intent to “only” cause bodily harm but not necessarily to kill.
So I guess the legal rationale here might be something like “we know the attacker premeditated this assault, we know it could have easily turned fatal, but we aren’t sure we can prove that the attacker actually intended to kill the victim.”
In any case, it’s still a serious charge for a serious crime.
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