Imran Ali of the Trinidad & Tobago Express has issued the following report:

Marcus Daniel (photo), a 28- year-old Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago mechanic, grabbed headlines last week when he was convicted of murdering his teenaged cousin. In his defence, he claimed he was high on drugs and possessed by a demon planted in him by hardcore rock music.

It was the first time that such a defence had been mounted in a local court, but the issue of the influence of rock music on impressionable minds has gained prominence in other shores, where-according to some-these devilish lyrics had led to even more sadistic crimes.

Marcus Daniel found himself at the age of 14 in this world. At his trial, he said he had already dropped out of school and began listening to rap music and "soft" rock songs.

Soon enough, he said, he started drinking rum and his taste in music veered to the hardcore.

Rock music became his favourite and he developed a taste for a particular genre known as black metal — typified by SLIPKNOT's music.

Although the jury found this no excuse, Daniel allowed this music to dominate his life. He painted his room black and plastered it with pictures of demons, tombstones, skeletons and dark metal bands including MARILYN MANSON.

He said the music would make him lose control to the point where he would go on violent rampages. He tattooed himself with various symbols he believed to represent the Antichrist and lost his faith in God.

It was all these factors, he said, that skewed his judgment so much that he stabbed his cousin, 16-year-old Suzette Gibson, to death. This was the cousin whom he was closest to and would go out often with.

But not even science is agreed that listening to certain types of music on their own can encourage anti-social behaviour in a receptive audience. All the leading studies seem to show that these lyrics-whether contained in rock, rap, dancehall or soca-can do is to make a listener more predisposed to aggressive behaviour.

In his 1997 testimony before a Senate Subcommittee in Columbia, Dr Frank Palumbo — representing the American Academy of Pediatrics — spoke about the social impact of music violence.

"Make no mistake about it, music can summon a range of emotions, most of which are wonderful. Yet there is some music that communicates potentially harmful health messages, especially when it reaches a vulnerable audience," he said.

He made a number of recommendations which included urging the music video to portray more "positive themes" in videos including racial harmony, drug avoidance, nonviolence and good sexual health practices.

Dr Palumbo also urged that music artists should serve as positive role models for children and that parents should take an active role in monitoring the music their children listen to and the videos they watch.

"Ultimately, it is the parent's responsibility to monitor what their children listen to and view," he stated.

When she address the jury on her client's behalf last week, Pamela Elder SC indicated that society had failed Marcus Daniel and that he was not totally to blame for what he did.

"Where were the social workers when he dropped out of school at the age of 14 and began drinking rum? Where were his parents and extended family when he started using drugs and decorated his room with symbols of the Antichrist?" she asked.

Could more have been done to help Marcus Daniel and others like him?

Was he really a victim of circumstance? Clearly the 12 jurors who heard his trial found that while music had the power to make someone shake his waist, it was not enough to make him kill.

Read the entire article at TrinidadExpress.com.