Man who Killed Daughter Over Xbox 360 Convicted
Once again, video gaming cops the blame
Stats: more boring than murder stories...
Tyrone Spellman, has been convicted of killing his daughter, Alayiah Turman, in Philadelphia on September 7, 2006. He faces 23 to 47 years in prison.
The spark that lead to the murder was apparently that the 17-month-old daughter, "pulled down his Xbox console".
The fact that Philly was also the most violent city in the USA in 2006 but that this crime is apparently the most worthy of media attention due to its 'Xbox' connection indicate that once again video game-related crime tales make quick, easy copy for the mainstream media.
The Press Association using the headline, "Xbox-obsessed father kills toddler" reports Assistant District Attorney James Berardinelli stating that, "He (Spellman) spent six to seven hours a day in there playing Xbox".
A terrible, tragic story regarding the death of a small child. The conviction is being widely reported, and that Xbox link is constantly making the headline. Other stats, however, are seemingly being overlooked.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, reporting on the retirement of Police Commissioner, Sylvester M Johnson, states, "In 2006, there were 406 (murders), the most in 10 years. In 2007, there were 392 murders, and Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate among large U.S. cities".
406 murders in 2006? Let's focus a little more closely using the Pennsylvania State's own 'Uniformed Crime Reporting System' for September 2006. Here we can discover that in Philly, only in that month, there were 38 'Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter offences' reported. That's 38 in the same month.
The Inquirer goes into more detail (and comes up with a list of 34, not 38) - of these 31 murders were committed against African Americans - that's just over 91% or murders were committed against black victims.
Also, how is Philly to live in? AreaConnect also provides some useful comparators. Let's try New York (8,165,001) versus Philly (population: 1,464,576) for 2006 for murders. Well, in 2006, NYC had 596 murders while Philadelphia had that 406.
Look at the population figures... Mmmm... want some more clarification. Well, as a calculation of murders per 100k population, the national average in the USA for 2006 was seven. NYC came in at 7.3. Philadelphia was a massive 27.7.
So, this Xbox connection? Why in a town that has the highest murder rate in the United States is the only story that gets widely reported the one with a video games connection? Could it be simply a convenient cover under which a lazy media and conniving politicians can sweep the real issues? Were there possibly other reasons for a grown man to murder his own daughter?
The spark that lead to the murder was apparently that the 17-month-old daughter, "pulled down his Xbox console".
The fact that Philly was also the most violent city in the USA in 2006 but that this crime is apparently the most worthy of media attention due to its 'Xbox' connection indicate that once again video game-related crime tales make quick, easy copy for the mainstream media.
The Press Association using the headline, "Xbox-obsessed father kills toddler" reports Assistant District Attorney James Berardinelli stating that, "He (Spellman) spent six to seven hours a day in there playing Xbox".
A terrible, tragic story regarding the death of a small child. The conviction is being widely reported, and that Xbox link is constantly making the headline. Other stats, however, are seemingly being overlooked.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, reporting on the retirement of Police Commissioner, Sylvester M Johnson, states, "In 2006, there were 406 (murders), the most in 10 years. In 2007, there were 392 murders, and Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate among large U.S. cities".
406 murders in 2006? Let's focus a little more closely using the Pennsylvania State's own 'Uniformed Crime Reporting System' for September 2006. Here we can discover that in Philly, only in that month, there were 38 'Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter offences' reported. That's 38 in the same month.
The Inquirer goes into more detail (and comes up with a list of 34, not 38) - of these 31 murders were committed against African Americans - that's just over 91% or murders were committed against black victims.
Also, how is Philly to live in? AreaConnect also provides some useful comparators. Let's try New York (8,165,001) versus Philly (population: 1,464,576) for 2006 for murders. Well, in 2006, NYC had 596 murders while Philadelphia had that 406.
Look at the population figures... Mmmm... want some more clarification. Well, as a calculation of murders per 100k population, the national average in the USA for 2006 was seven. NYC came in at 7.3. Philadelphia was a massive 27.7.
So, this Xbox connection? Why in a town that has the highest murder rate in the United States is the only story that gets widely reported the one with a video games connection? Could it be simply a convenient cover under which a lazy media and conniving politicians can sweep the real issues? Were there possibly other reasons for a grown man to murder his own daughter?
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Comments
SuperSaiyan4 30 Jan 2008 13:14
1/9
Absolutly terrible, its very saddening to see what kind of evil people are out there and what they are capable of :-(
He is lucky he is not in a US state where they would give you the death penalty which is what he should have got, he will be alive whilst the poor young girl is not :-(
He is lucky he is not in a US state where they would give you the death penalty which is what he should have got, he will be alive whilst the poor young girl is not :-(
Alvis 30 Jan 2008 14:45
2/9
SPOnG I salute you. You are the ever present calm in the storm that is the world media. Well. At least when it concerns video games :)
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irritant 30 Jan 2008 14:46
3/9
Evil? You seem to be thinking that this man planned to kill his daughter and was in no way bothered by the act.
I would suspect that this was simply a fit of rage built up by a number of issues and topped off by the xbox incident. He lashed out without restraint and will feel utter disgust and self loathing for the rest of his life.
It's so easy to dismiss people who end up in these situations as evil, but I suspect most of us are capable of losing control every now and then, fortunately for most of us, it will never be in circumstances like this.
I would suspect that this was simply a fit of rage built up by a number of issues and topped off by the xbox incident. He lashed out without restraint and will feel utter disgust and self loathing for the rest of his life.
It's so easy to dismiss people who end up in these situations as evil, but I suspect most of us are capable of losing control every now and then, fortunately for most of us, it will never be in circumstances like this.
deleted 30 Jan 2008 16:21
4/9
You cant buy marketing like this!, jk
Sadly a child has died and the sickest part of it, is the media are using that childs memory in vain to get ratings or sell more papers, who is the real monster?
I also agree that a jail sentence is more punishment than a death sentence, as he will have to live with what he has done, unitl he dies - then he will be judged!
Sadly a child has died and the sickest part of it, is the media are using that childs memory in vain to get ratings or sell more papers, who is the real monster?
I also agree that a jail sentence is more punishment than a death sentence, as he will have to live with what he has done, unitl he dies - then he will be judged!
DoctorDee 30 Jan 2008 16:58
5/9
America is gonna keep having cities where murder rates are high if they keep voting in a president who passes $300 million for educating poor kids (around $20 per child) while at the same time giving rich people an average of $287,000 in tax cuts.
Coincidentally, the USA has roughly the sae number of millionaires as it does poor kids (15 million of each). The USA would be a much better place if he'd given rich people $20 and poor people $278K.
Coincidentally, the USA has roughly the sae number of millionaires as it does poor kids (15 million of each). The USA would be a much better place if he'd given rich people $20 and poor people $278K.
Earl 30 Jan 2008 18:24
6/9
"Xbox-obsessed" with only 6 - 7 hours....
omg i must go to the doctors and get some help
omg i must go to the doctors and get some help
deleted 30 Jan 2008 19:09
7/9
DoctorDee wrote:
Coincidentally, the USA has roughly the sae number of millionaires as it does poor kids (15 million of each). The USA would be a much better place if he'd given rich people $20 and poor people $278K.
figures are little wrong Doc
World Wealth Report 2006, there are about 2,669,000 millionaires in the United States , or about 0.9% of the population, The table below shows the distribution of millionaires in the main regions of the world:
North America - 2.9 million
Europe - 2.8 million
Asia-Pacific - 2.4 million
Latin America - 0.3 million
Middle East - 0.3 million
Africa - 0.1 million
Using CPS data
In 2006, 17.4 percent (53,000,000) of individuals under age 18 lived in poverty. Poverty rates among black and Hispanic children are very much higher than among white children and have been so since the Census Bureau began making separate estimates (see figure).
but using these figures that $20.00 could of been $200.00 per kid, thats 10x better education.
daz 30 Jan 2008 20:19
8/9
some people need to cool down, it's only a games machine, nothing worth killing anything over.
XKaiminalX 30 Jan 2008 21:16
9/9
Ywah but you know what the hardcore 360 gamers are like, They are attached to their 360, They need to wank over it, like my friend he brought a 360 and played on it for 15 hours straight. So now every time he goes on XBOX live i say are you having a nice wank?