The Matrix defense is a legal defense based on the premise of the film franchise The Matrix, in which reality is a computer generation and the real world is different from what reality is popularly perceived to be.

A defendant using this defense claims that they committed a crime because they believed that they were in a simulated world (the Matrix), and not in the real world. A defendant could allege they never intended death for their victim because they believed the victim to be alive in the other reality. This is a version of the insanity defense and considered a descendant of the Taxi Driver defense of John Hinckley, one of the first defenses based on blurring reality with films.[1]

Regardless of whether the defendant believes that they were living within a simulated world, this defense has been used in cases where the accused were sent to mental-care facilities instead of prisons:

See also

References

  1. ^ Bean, Matt (May 21, 2003). "'Matrix' Makes Its Way into Courtrooms as Defense Strategy". CNN. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Schone, Mark (November 9, 2003). "The Matrix Defense". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Profile: Lee Boyd Malvo". BBC. October 10, 2003. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  4. ^ Chalmers, Phil (2009). Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-59555-152-8.
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