awful

"The sole issue here is the extent of the child's mental intention when he stabbed the baby"

can we all agree he was mentally effed up?

Huh? I don't see what the computer game has to do with it. If the kid was trying to thread a needle would the headline be Boy Appears In Court After Stabbing Baby Over Sewing. I very much think not.

I THINK I'M HAVING A MORAL PANIC ATTACK! I'M PANICKING. LOOK! I'M PANICKING!

I don't know dodgy; every time I try to sew something, I feel like stabbing somebody. This may be a sleeper trend.

I'm wary of the video games-as-every-other action argument, dodgygeezer. Sure the kid if effed up, but I saw some strange fights over Mario Brothers back in the day. Hard to imagine such violent and particluar disagreements about a stitch. I mean, you can put a needle and thread aside for a moment and your avatar won't bite it.

On preview, what taz said, with less humour.

At the time of the incident the boy's step-father was sleeping and his mother was visiting a friend.

[...]

Prior to the incident the boy was caught playing truant, and told a teacher: "There is a lot going in my head."

Crying, he explained that his family was caring for a baby who was noisy, saying: "The baby is doing my head in." He also told teachers that he was being bullied.

so... the baby was crying, and the parents weren't around. seems like more of a shaken-baby death than video game -inspired murder, where the 'caretaker' becomes so frustrated/anxious/whatever from the colicky baby that they just flip out in order to do *something* to stop the crying. if you've ever had to care for a baby that cried for long periods of time, surely you understand how maddening it could be. throw in the fact that this boy was already having some problems, and that his parents' own parenting skills seem a bit questionable.

afaik, the incredibles are more or less age-appropriate for an 11 year old, and don't feature or promote stabbing as a means of problem solving or conflict resolution. but, it makes a nice scape goat, eh?