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Do you think this 'Matrix Defense' is justified?

(Court TV) — 'The Matrix Reloaded,' a futuristic action movie about a band of hackers rebelling against their mechanized overlords, has already taken over the nation's movie screens. Now it's threatening to take over courtrooms as well. Just last week, Hamilton, Ohio, resident Tonda Lynn Ansley was found not guilty by reason of insanity after claiming she thought her landlord was part of a conspiracy to brainwash and kill her. Ansley shot the woman several times in the head in July 2002. Last September, a San Francisco man, Vadim Mieseges, made a successful insanity bid after claiming he had been 'sucked into 'The Matrix'' when he chopped up his landlady. And Joshua Cooke, an Oakton, Va., man charged with murdering his parents this February, 'harbored a bona fide belief that he was living in the virtual reality of 'The Matrix,' claimed his defense attorney. Cooke is scheduled to stand trial at the end of June. Even Lee Boyd Malvo, one half of the accused sniper duo that terrorized the Washington D.C. suburbs last fall, reportedly wrote the words, 'Free yourself of the Matrix,' in seized jailhouse sketches. Sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo referred to 'The Matrix' in jailhouse doodles. Though insanity defenses based on 'The Matrix' may grab headlines, experts contacted by agreed defense lawyers shouldn't dash to the cineplex, legal pads in hand, just yet: While these excuses may work for a few defendants, most 'copycat' insanity defenses will ultimately fall flat with jurors...

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