After taking down Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick earlier this year, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy took aim Monday at violent video games. Worthy released a Top 10 list of the "most violent video games played by teens," and tied video games to a gruesome murder and decapitation in suburban Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In the process, she missed an opportunity to take the discussion of video game violence beyond mere scare tactics and publicity stunts.

TOO MUCH FOR TEENS?

Kym Worthy's list of violent games:

• Blitz: The League II

• Gears of War 2

• Saints Row 2

• Dead Space

• Fallout 3

• Far Cry 2

• Legendary

• Left 4 Dead

• Resistance 2

• Silent Hill: Homecoming

Worthy's list (see right) is an exact replica of a list released earlier this year by the National Institute on Media and the Family. The difference? NIMF used the list to warn parents not to let their kids play these violent games, while Worthy seems to assert that teens already are playing them, despite their "M" for mature rating.

Worthy also linked violent video games to the death of Daniel Sorensen in suburban Detroit. J.P. Orlewicz and Alexander Letkemann were convicted of murder for stabbing Sorenson multiple times, decapitating him and setting his torso on fire.

During the trial, Orlewicz adopted a "video games made me do it" defense, with his lawyers arguing that the game Hitman inspired their client.

To my knowledge, their is no decapitation in Hitman, and some theorized that his lawyers mistakenly cited the game in lieu of Manhunt.

Regardless, Worthy's assertion once again opens up the door to the age old question — do violent video games cause violent behavior?

The answer is more complicated than a simple 'yes' or 'no.'

In 1961 cognitive psychologist Albert Bandura laid the foundation for contemporary aggression-related research. Bandura exposed children in his experimental group to aggressive behavior from an adult and then left them in a room with several toys, including a Bobo Doll (a toy weighted at the bottom that bounces back up after being hit). He found that children exposed to the aggressive behavior where much more likely than their typical peers to act out violently against the Bobo Doll.

Ok, so children observing real-life aggressive behavior may be inclined to replicate that behavior. But what about observing, or acting out, such behavior in video games?

Contemporary psychological research indicates that violent video games do not directly cause the sort of violent behavior Bandura documented, but they do clearly cause an increase in physiological arousal and aggression-related thoughts and feelings linked to aggressive behavior.

Now, I for one firmly believe I can appropriately channel that physiological arousal and those aggressive thoughts. In fact, at times I'm happy for such responses that snap me out of ennui. But others, perhaps those less mentally stable, may not have or know of an appropriate channel.

Worthy's list might help raise awareness in parents, but the ESRB already rates games, and responsible retailers everywhere are already doing their part to keep violent games out of the hands of children.

There's a healthy discussion in the scientific community over whether video games cause violent behavior. Unfortunately, Worthy added little to that discussion.