Lawsuit
In early 1999, the parents of three victims represented by Jack Thompson filed a $33 million lawsuit against two Internet pornography sites, several computer game companies and makers and distributors of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers and the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries. They claimed that media violence inspired Carneal and therefore should be held responsible.
The case was dismissed in 2001. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was "simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom." Both Thompson and 79th United States Attorney General John Ashcroft claimed Carneal's proficient marksmanship was due to practice in violent video games.
Read more about this topic: Heath High School Shooting