The Matrix Defense

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The matrix defense is a term used to describe the defense strategy of criminal defense of various legal cases . The idea that the world is just a computer simulation - and that the real world is completely different from the reality that is perceived - is taken up. This type of defense is named after the Matrix films , the universe of which is based on this idea.

With this defense, the defendant claims that the crime they committed only because they believed they were in the matrix and not in the real world. With this defense, a defendant can claim that he never intended death for his victim because he believed that the victim would stay alive in the other real reality. This is a version of innocence and is believed to be the descendant of John Hinckley's taxi driver defense , one of the earliest defenses based on the blurring of reality with films.

Regardless of whether the defendant truly believes they lived within the Matrix, this defense has been successfully used to get users into mental health facilities rather than prisons :

  • Tonda Lynn Ansley of Hamilton, Ohio , was found not guilty of being insane with this defense after shooting her landlady in the head in July 2002.
  • Vadim Mieseges of San Francisco gave the police a "matrix" statement after hacking his landlady and was declared too mentally incompetent to stand trial.
  • Joshua Cooke's attorneys attempted this defense in his 2003 trial for the murder of his adoptive parents before he pleaded guilty.
  • Lee Malvo's case also contained references to the film " The Matrix " mentioned in the writings from his prison cell; he is said to have shouted "Get rid of the matrix" from his cell after his arrest and instructed FBI agents to see the film if they wanted to understand it.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matt Bean: 'Matrix' makes its way into courtrooms as defense strategy , CNN. May 21, 2003. Retrieved June 9, 2012. 
  2. ↑ a b c d Mark Schone: The Matrix Defense . The Boston Globe. November 9, 2003. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  3. ^ Profiles: Lee Boyd Malvo , BBC. October 10, 2003. Retrieved June 9, 2012. 
  4. ^ Phil Chalmers: Inside the mind of a teen killer . Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tenn. 2009, ISBN 978-1-59555-152-8 (English).