Youth Gets Life for Slaying; Blames Film

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A teen-ager was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for stabbing and strangling a friend in a crime he said was influenced by repeated viewings of the film “A Clockwork Orange.”

Michale Anderson, 18, was convicted June 21 of first-degree murder in the Oct. 27, 1989, death of 17-year-old Karen Hurwitz. She had been strangled and stabbed in the chest half a dozen times with a martial arts sword.

Anderson’s lawyer said his client was incited to kill by repeated viewings of the 1971 film, which starred Malcolm McDowell as Alex, the leader of a group of hooligans.