Judge finds 'gaming consciousness' evidence admissible at Vancouver murder trial
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:21:51 +0000
A judge has found that a defence expert’s opinion at a double-murder trial that the accused may have been in a “gaming consciousness” at the time of the slayings is admissible.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow handed down the ruling on Thursday in the case of Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam following a so-called voir dire, or trial-within-a-trial.
Kam, 29, pleaded not guilty to the September 2017 first-degree murders of Richard Jones, 68, and his wife, Dianna Mah-Jones, 64, in their Marpole home.
He testified in his own defence and admitted to the judge that he had randomly attacked and killed the couple. His lawyers said, however, that at the time of the killings, Kam’s mental state was impaired due to an addiction to video games and comics and argued that he did not have the intent to commit murder and was guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter instead.
To back up their case, Kam’s lawyers called Dr. Edward Shen, a Richmond clinical psychologist, to testify about his opinion of Kam’s mental state.
During the voir dire, Shen offered the opinion that at the time of the slayings, Kam may have been functioning in a “gaming consciousness” and thought he was in a video game while he killed the couple.
The Crown opposed the admission of Shen’s opinion on the grounds that it was not necessary to help the judge and that Shen was not properly qualified to give evidence of Kam’s state of mind at the time of the killings.
Dianna Mah-Jones, 65, and Richard Jones, 68, were found dead in their Marpole home.
Shen, who interviewed Kam five times from September to December last year, said that in his opinion, Kam’s history of isolating himself in fantasy in the form of video games and comic books could have loosened his perception of where reality begins and ends.
He coined the term “gaming consciousness” to describe the altered state that the accused may have been in at the time, a term that he conceded was not a scientific or commonly accepted term, and noted as well that it was Kam himself who concluded he may have been influenced by the video games.
The psychologist said that when one is in a gaming consciousness, the primary goal is to win the game and provided the opinion that when Kam carried out the killings he was achieving a certain goal, which was similar to how he achieved his goals in the computer games.
Shen was unable to identify any trigger that might have caused Kam to enter into a gaming or altered state, and did not know when it began or ended.
In ruling that Shen’s opinion was admissible, the judge noted that Canadian courts have been extremely cautious to restrict an accused’s ability to call evidence in their own defence, a reluctance founded on the fundamental tenet that an innocent person must not be convicted.
Kam’s lawyers argued in the voir dire that Shen’s evidence was necessary because it provided information which was likely to be outside the knowledge and experience of the judge, an argument that Gerow accepted.
“Dr. Shen’s opinion about Mr. Kam’s mental status in the context of the issues this case raises is relevant,” said the judge. “The fact that Dr. Shen conducted his interviews and assessments a considerable time after the offence is a concern in determining whether his evidence assists in understanding Mr. Kam’s mental state at the time of the offence. However, that issue goes to the weight to be given to his opinion, not to admissibility.”
The judge found that Shen was properly qualified to give his evidence and accepted that his opinion was admissible at the trial proper. Final submissions by Crown and defence are expected Tuesday.