listened to ‘Israel’s Son’

In a January 1996 murder case, the defendant counsel for Brian Bassett, 16, and Nicholaus McDonald, 18, of McCleary, Washington , claimed that the pair listened to “Israel’s Son”, from Frogstomp , which contributed to the 10 August 1995 murders of Bassett’s parents and a younger brother. McDonald’s lawyer cited the lyrics “Hate is what I feel for you/I want you to know that I want you dead” which were “almost a script. They’re relevant to everything that happened”. The band’s manager, Watson, issued a statement that they did not condone nor intend any such acts of violence. Prosecutors rejected the defence case and convinced the jury that the murder was committed to “steal money and belongings and run off to California.”