A Louisiana State Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers and film director Oliver Stone that had been brought by the family of a convenience store clerk who was paralyzed during a crime spree in 1995. The eighteen-year-old girl who was convicted of shooting the clerk stated that she and her boyfriend repeatedly watched Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers before starting off on their own binge of murder and mayhem. The lawsuit had gone all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which sent it back to Louisiana. The judge's summary decision in favor of Stone and Warner Brothers can be appealed, so the case is not necessarily over, but it is highly unlikely that the Judge's decision will be reversed.
The victim's lawyers argued that Stone and Warner Brothers should have known that the film would inspire others to emulate the violent acts of the Natural Born Killers thrill-seeking couple played by Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. Lawyers for the studio countered that no evidence ever existed that Oliver Stone or the studio intended for anyone to reenact the film's bloody shootouts. The Judge agreed with Warner Brothers, and his decision leaves plaintiffs in similar suits with the difficult job of proving that the artists (filmmakers, authors, etc.) created their work with the 'intention' of creating harm. This decision, though sparked by a film could have ramifications for comics (many of which contain violent content), anime (likewise), games, or any other depiction of violence. God forbid that the next high school shooter has a closet full of Punisher comics, but if he does, the precedent set by this decision could come into play.
