Study Of Criminal Exonerations
Posted by Michelle Moquin on May 22nd, 2012
Good morning!
I thought this write was a good follow-up to yesterday’s post:
Criminal Exonerations: 2,000 Convicted Then Exonerated In U.S. Over Last 23 Years, Says Study
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 2,000 people who were falsely convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated in the United States in the past 23 years, according to a new archive compiled at two universities.
There is no official record-keeping system for exonerations of convicted criminals in the country, so academics set one up. The new national registry, or database, painstakingly assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list of exonerations ever compiled.
The database compiled and analyzed by the researchers contains information on 873 exonerations for which they have the most detailed evidence. The researchers are aware of nearly 1,200 other exonerations, for which they have less data.
They found that those 873 exonerated defendants spent a combined total of more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each. Nine out of 10 of them are men and half are African-American.
Nearly half of the 873 exonerations were homicide cases, including 101 death sentences. Over one-third of the cases were sexual assaults.
DNA evidence led to exoneration in nearly one-third of the 416 homicides and in nearly two-thirds of the 305 sexual assaults.
Researchers estimate the total number of felony convictions in the United States is nearly a million a year.
“We know there are many more that we haven’t found,” added University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross, the editor of the newly opened National Registry of Exonerations.
Counties such as San Bernardino in California and Bexar County in Texas are heavily populated, yet seemingly have no exonerations, a circumstance that the academics say cannot possibly be correct.
The registry excludes at least 1,170 additional defendants. Their convictions were thrown out starting in 1995 amid the periodic exposures of 13 major police scandals around the country. In all the cases, police officers fabricated crimes*, usually by planting drugs or guns on innocent defendants.
Regarding the 1,170 additional defendants who were left out of the registry, “we have only sketchy information about most of these cases,” the report said. “Some of these group exonerations are well known; most are comparatively obscure. We began to notice them by accident, as a byproduct of searches for individual cases.”
In half of the 873 exonerations studied in detail, the most common factor leading to false convictions was perjured testimony or false accusations. Forty-three percent of the cases involved mistaken eyewitness identification, and 24 percent of the cases involved false or misleading forensic evidence.
In two out of three homicides, perjury or false accusation was the most common factor leading to false conviction. In four out of five sexual assaults, mistaken eyewitness identification was the leading cause of false conviction.
Seven percent of the exonerations were drug, white-collar and other nonviolent crimes, 5 percent were robberies and 5 percent were other types of violent crimes.
“It used to be that almost all the exonerations we knew about were murder and rape cases. We’re finally beginning to see beyond that. This is a sea change,” said Gross.
Exonerations often take place with no public fanfare and the 106-page report that coincides with the opening of the registry explains why.
On TV, an exoneration looks like a singular victory for a criminal defense attorney, “but there’s usually someone to blame for the underlying tragedy, often more than one person, and the common culprits include defense lawyers as well as police officers, prosecutors and judges. In many cases, everybody involved has egg on their face,” according to the report.
Despite a claim of wrongful conviction that was widely publicized last week, a Texas convict executed two decades ago is not in the database because he has not been officially exonerated. Carlos deLuna was executed for the fatal stabbing of a Corpus Christi convenience store clerk. A team headed by a Columbia University law professor just published a 400-page report that contends DeLuna didn’t kill the clerk, Wanda Jean Lopez.
*******
Readers: *”In all the cases, police officers fabricated crimes…” I would not be surprised if in the Martin/Zimmerman case, we eventually find out that those new photos of the blood running down Zimmerman’s head were fabricated by police officers, and who knows who else that wanted Zimmerman to get off. I’m no detective but I question the authenticity of the photos.
Thoughts? Blog me.
Hana: I too am praying for our survival, but praying won’t be enough. Nor will HOPE. HOPE is good to have and it can be the driving force, but action is what will bring about change. We’ll see when voting time comes just how many really care about our country.
There are many atrocious things that happen that we are not privy to. I can only imagine what our president must deal with on a daily basis.
Harold: A nice reminder for those who don’t know. Thank you.
Mike: Is this our longtime regular reader Mike? You have such a common name. I have a feeling this is you. If so, I’m wondering if you are willing to add something to your name to distinguish yourself. As much as I would certainly appreciate it, I understand if that is not possible for safety reasons or whatever. No need to address this unless you want to.
By the way, love the moniker BAPF. With respect to your post I found this interesting write, which I doubt is no new news to you:
Jenny: I’m with you on that one 100 percent.
Mikey’s Back: Okay…were you reading my mind? Most of the time I pretty much read and comment contemporaneously. So are you and Mike above the same same? Or am I just confusing the two of you and making the two Mikes into one. :) Again, if this is falling into the category of not honoring your anonymity, no need to answer.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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May 22nd, 2012 at 6:56 am
Antiaging: Hope or Hoax?
“Antiaging” experts are popping up like flowers in springtime, promising to help people look and feel their best.
Many of them are, in fact, doctors, whether MDs, NDs or some other type. You probably have some of these doctors where you live.
But doesn’t the very phrase “antiaging” set off alarm bells? I mean, I’m aging…you’re aging…we’re all aging. Every day, we’re a day older. So, what are all these antiaging docs really able to do? And how do we avoid all the hucksters?
For some answers, I called S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, research associate at the Center on Aging at The University of Chicago. He’s spent 28 years studying aging…and he doesn’t sell a cure for it. His information may surprise you…
NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE
The first thing to know is that the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) does not recognize antiaging as a specialty, so there is no such thing as becoming “board-certified” in the area.
A group of doctors did, however, organize their own association in 1992—the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
According to its site, the Academy offers certification to anyone with an MD, DO, DPM (Doctor of Podiatric Medicine) or MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Science) degree who passes a written and an oral exam and meets some other modest requirements. About 24,000 people have signed up.
But since ABMS doesn’t recognize the Academy or its certification, personally it’s not enough of a credential to satisfy me that a doctor is an expert in the subject of aging.
Dr. Olshansky suggested that an antiaging doctor’s certification, though, is less important than the particular type of treatments that he or she recommends. So let’s take a look at a few of the most common treatments that are offered…
COMMON ANTIAGING TREATMENTS
Dr. Olshansky told me that part of the typical antiaging regimen is based on prescribing three types of hormones—synthetic human growth hormone (HGH), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and bioidentical estrogen.
Though opinions on these hormones vary widely among experts, in Dr. Olshansky’s view, none of them has been scientifically proven to be effective in making people grow younger or live longer.
Specifically…
HGH might help you boost skin elasticity, mental acuity and muscle mass (but not strength) in the short-term,
but its potential side effects include carpal tunnel syndrome, aching muscles and joints, and—most worrisome—heart disease, diabetes and possibly speeding up the rate at which cells turn cancerous, said Dr. Olshansky.
DHEA is said to improve bone density, mental concentration and memory, but there’s no scientific evidence backing up those claims—
plus, studies show that this hormone can reduce HDL “good” cholesterol, cause acne and increase facial hair in women, said Dr. Olshansky.
Bioidentical estrogen is recommended by some antiaging doctors to women because it’s been shown to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, dry skin, reduced libido and other problems.
However, there is no scientific proof that bioidentical estrogen is any safer than synthetic estrogen, which has been linked to a number of diseases, including breast cancer, said Dr. Olshansky.
TRUE ANTIAGING TREATMENTS
We would all like one magic cure-all, but Dr. Olshansky told me that when it comes to maintaining energy, mental sharpness, strong bones, flexibility, clear skin and more as you age,
the only tried-and-true methods are the same ones that you’ve been hearing about since you were a little kid.
Here are the three keys…
Exercise:
Cardio plus weight training provides the same benefits as injecting yourself with HGH, but without its exorbitant cost ($12,000 a year or more) and dangerous side effects, and the benefits are immediate.
Diet:
Choose foods dense in vitamins, minerals and amino acids—these (of course) include low-fat protein and colorful fruits and vegetables.
Medical monitoring:
Dr. Olshansky said that everyone over age 50 should get regular checkups and tests for general health by an MD.
(Dr. Olshansky isn’t familiar enough with current ND practices to recommend seeing an ND instead of or in addition to an MD, but personally, I find that NDs can provide valuable knowledge on holistic care, particularly in the areas of nutrition and hormones.)
If you want or need care above what your general practitioner can provide, talk to a specialist, too.
An endocrinologist is generally best equipped to address hormone imbalances, and a geriatrician can coordinate treatment of age-related diseases.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Exercise, diet and medical monitoring (along with follow-up) can slow down the manifestations of aging a little or at least make you feel younger, said Dr. Olshansky.
In the future, we might actually be able to slow down aging itself.
Scientists are studying genes to learn how we might turn certain ones “on” or “off” to prevent or delay health problems and live longer.
Caloric restriction is also showing possibility for prolonging vigor, and research continues on how stem cells may someday allow repair of damaged tissue in older people and others.
It is an exciting frontier…but it is a frontier, so don’t believe everything you hear out there, even from doctors.
Source: S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, research associate at the Center on Aging at The University of Chicago and professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
May 22nd, 2012 at 6:58 am
Zen Lil love your writes.
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:08 am
Not all storms heading towards Guam are to be canceled.
While the Emperor may look favorably on those that prevent one from approaching too close, it is expressly forbidden to re-chart a storm by those who would err in an Anomaly way.
Guam is subject to the Anomaly rule as every place else. There are those on the island but for their time dictated deaths could create such.
Some, though they would not perish in a storm, will as a result commit such that will, as it should be, end their existence.
If an Anomaly is detected, it man only be around the periphery of the true disaster, hence you are advised to NOT to interfere with Natural disasters heading Guam’s way.
116k
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:17 am
Michelle, I am not Mike. I am a huge fan though because I have observed the accuracy of his posts.
Actually we are a group that supports his efforts. We call ourselves “OC” meaning Occupy Corporations. We use our hacking skills to dive deeper into Mike’s admonitions and name names if possible.
Sorry if we caused confusion.
Mike, we too feel that you should choose a moniker that will let this blog know who is speaking. We like – MTM – Mike the Mouth.
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:19 am
How cruel and heartless are the Tea Party Republicans in Congress? The extreme right wing leadership of the House of Representatives just passed a budget plan that cuts off 300,000 kids from free school lunches at a time when one in five children lives in poverty.1 And all to give more money to the Pentagon’s already bloated budget.
In last summer’s deal on the debt ceiling, the House and Senate agreed to mandatory future cuts to both the military and social programs. While painful, this represented a much better deal than anything under consideration by the Super Committee because the cuts to military spending were so deep — and it effectively spared Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits from cuts.
But now House Republicans have passed a sweeping budget reconciliation bill reneging on the debt ceiling deal to cut military spending.
Their latest budget bill increases Pentagon spending above the agreed-upon levels in the debt deal that would enact $1.2 trillion in cuts over 10 years, split evenly between Pentagon spending and domestic programs.
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:23 am
“Mikey’s Back”
Great Idea you guys. Any additional information about the bad guys is always good. And also I like the suggestion by both you and Michelle that he get a recognizable moniker. But I like the moniker TMIM – The Mike is Mine.
Jack
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:38 am
This may date me as fan here, but I remember a long while back when one of the then prolific romantic writers to this blog use the phrase – “I told her to spin the balls and speak into the mike” to ask his favorite sweetie to give him head.
If I may turn a phrase, perhaps SIT/Mike(Speak Into The) would be nice.
Emily
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:40 am
The Republican budget is a Tea Party wish list. It increases an already bloated military budget and pays for it by taking away funding for food stamps, wiping out key parts of the federal health care law including health care for children, and slashes funding designated to rein in Wall Street.
Specifically the GOP budget package would cut $36 billion from the food stamp program by reducing benefits and tightening eligibility, $23.5 billion from Medicaid and children’s health care, $4.2 billion from hospitals that serve the poor and uninsured, and $2.8 billion from a program that helps homeowners facing foreclosures.
3. We need to organize today and make sure that this cruel and heartless House GOP budget plan dies in the Senate.
The deal was already made last summer. It was a compromise, but because it mandated equal cuts to military spending and social programs it was a better deal than Democrats imagined was possible on the deficit.
Now we have to defend that deal to make sure Republicans don’t block the required military cuts. If these cuts are rolled back, then all the required deficit reduction will come on the backs of children, the working class and the poor.
It is urgent for us to speak up now to let the Senate know we will not stand for a compromise on the compromise.
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:47 am
Michelle, as usual you are on top of the news. This came today from Huff Post.
————————
National Registry Of Exonerations: More Than 2,000 People Freed After Wrongful Convictions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/national-registry-of-exonerations_n_1534030.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=052212&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeatureTitle&utm_term=Daily%20Brief
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:57 am
Michelle,It should not be lost on your readers that more than half of the wrongful convictions turn out to be black men. Just like with Trayvon Martin, we are singled out for prosecution.
It seems that it is easy for whites to find us guilty of whatever a white justice system accuses us of. It stems from the white attitude, “if he didn’t do that, he did something else, so why not convict him for this.”
That is why white america is so comfortable with the incredibly harsh sentence given to OJ Simpson.
That is also why the coverup exist to prevent the discovery of the true murderer of his ex wife and her dope dealer.
Paul
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:59 am
America already has the world’s biggest economy and the most advanced and powerful military. No other country — including China — comes close.
Reining in the Pentagon budget won’t change that. Keep in mind our military and defense spending played a significant role in increasing the national debt — over the last decade.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed to record deficits. The U.S. defense budget is six times that of China’s and equal to that of more than the next 17 highest spending countries combined.4
A consensus appears to be emerging among Americans with overwhelming support for military spending cuts. A recent nationwide poll showed that “not only does the public want deep cuts, it wants those cuts to encompass spending in virtually every military domain — air power, sea power, ground forces, nuclear weapons, and missile defenses.”
5. According to that poll in which respondents were told about the size of the budget as well as shown expert arguments for and against spending cuts, two-thirds of Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats supported making immediate cuts.6 A chorus of security experts have also come out in support of a more streamlined military budget.7
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:08 am
I, too, received the Huff Post Crime issue. This line in the article said the bulk. – “But many stories involving tainted evidence, malingering law enforcement and mistaken eyewitness identification never become common knowledge. The cases outlined on the new National Registry of Exonerations are likely just a fraction of the wrongful imprisonment cases in the United States, researchers told The Huffington Post.”
===================
The fact that most of these wrongful convictions are blacks when blacks make up less than 10% of the nation should be more of an issue. But frankly most of us who are not black don’t care.
Shirley
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:24 am
Michelle, how about the 13 major police scandals that arrested 1,170 people wrongfully.
More that 60% of these were black men almost 50% of the false accusations were for murder. Many of these innocent black men will be put on death row.
When the white justice system uses Perjury and false accusations to convict innocent black men, it is winked at when the criminal conduct of the police and DA’s are discovered.
The jUStice system is working as those who have devised it as such. A way for racists to get rid of those they are bigoted against.
Helen
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:29 am
How about the catholic church being included in your Just- US- justice system. Here the white cardinals and bishops are out in force against Obama.
They are going to court claiming government interference when they really just want to alarm their flock so they will vote republican.
Donna
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:29 am
Says alot about the disproportionate number of African Americans in the prison system. How many are innocent. As we see with the Trayvon Martin case no black offenders are above suspicion.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:30 am
“Murder on a Sunday Morning” is a good documentary that focuses on a case of wrongful conviction, the Brenton Butler case, and delves into how something like this could happen
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:32 am
Since reinstating capital punishment in 1978, Pennsylvania has executed 3 and released 8 from death row to freedom, and it took over 18 years average to finally get a “judge” to do their job in accordance with their solemnly-sworn oath of public oaffic and the Constitution — the Commonwealth has been wrong in 73% of death penalty cases and shouldn’t even be allowed to operate a kangaroo kourt system.
CRIMINAL JUST US.
The famous 1963 US Supreme Court precedent of Brady vs Maryland requires the government to search for the TRUTH, NOT seek convictions, but prosecutors and “judges” are politicians seeking to further their political careers, the TRUTH and the Rule of Law become minor inconveniences and insignificant technicalities and the Constituion becomes the prosecutors’ and “judges’” personal roll of toilet paper.
Government misconduct (“judicial” casefixing, prosecutorial perjury and “evidence” falsification and exculpatory evidence concealment or destruction, and police perjury and evidence falsification and exculpatory evidence concealment or destruction, deliberate legal malpractice of public defenders) and perjuring “snitches” play a big role in wrongful convictions, especially in Pennsylvania.
CRIMINAL JUST US.
Self-policing by the legal profession is a self-serving fraud that fosters the atmosphere of corruption that permeates the “judiciary” and prosecutors’ offices.
There should be mandatory permanent disbarment for misconduct along with mandatory criminal indictment and maximum incarceration for subverting justice and the Constitutional Rule of Law.
When a wrongfully convicted person is exonerated, the “judge”, prosecutor, and arresting cop should do their prison time.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:36 am
I think we’ll find prosecutors and ADAs have a salary motivation for getting convictions for even minor cases.
The more convictions they get the better their annual reviews. The better the reviews the better the raises. Getting the right guy just doesn’t matter, that’s a side effect. Justice doesn’t enter into it.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:36 am
Indeed, the saddest truth of all is that truth doesn’t matter. In most cases, the legal teams are pitted against each other as sport. Winning is all that matters.
Imagine the number of people not mentioned in this article… Those who should have been exonerated but were not.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:42 am
If you don’t think blacks more often are incarcerated for longer periods of time, take notice of Melissa Alexander, a black woman who had never before been arrested, senteced to 20 years because the judge found Stand Your Ground (in Florida) did not apply to her.
On Aug. 1, 2010, she was estranged from her husband, Rico Gray, and had a restraining order against him, even though they’d had a baby together just nine days before. Thinking he was gone, she went to their former home to retrieve the rest of her clothes. An argument ensued, and Alexander said she feared for her life when she went out to her vehicle and retrieved the gun she legally owned. She came back inside and ended up firing a shot into the wall, which ricocheted into the ceiling.
Gray testified that he saw Alexander point the gun at him and looked away before she fired the shot. He claims she was the aggressor, and he had begged her to put away the weapon.
A judge threw out Alexander’s “stand your ground” self-defense claim, noting that she could have run out of the house to escape her husband but instead got the gun and went back inside. Alexander rejected a plea deal that would have resulted in a three-year prison sentence and chose to go to trial. A jury deliberated 12 minutes before convicting her.
As U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Jacksonville, said: “The Florida criminal justice system has sent two clear messages today.” … “One is that if women who are victims of domestic violence try to protect themselves, the `Stand Your Ground Law’ will not apply to them. … The second message is that if you are black, the system will treat you differently.”
/SB
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:44 am
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rose up last week and blasted the House Republicans for trying to fatten up the Pentagon spending at the expense of our kids, seniors and so many others who could least afford it.
He called them out on the Senate Floor for failing a “basic moral test” and said that pushing a “one-sided solution to across-the-board cuts would take from the many to give to the few.”8
It is time for rest of Senator Reid’s colleagues in the U.S. Senate to come out and denounce this budget as a non-starter.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:47 am
Social Butterfly, your article speaks for most of the experiences of blacks facing white america’s racist justice system.
I have experienced it first hand.
Thomas
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:53 am
How Loneliness Can Be Deadly
If you have a friend who’s lonely, it’s easy to understand how isolation can raise the person’s risk for mental and emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety.
New research shows that feeling alone doesn’t just downgrade your friend’s mood—it can actually make your friend sick and shorten his or her lifespan.
But you can easily do something about this!
If you have a friend or loved one who is essentially all by himself—and this can be someone of any age, by the way—you might literally save his life by reaching out and sending the message, “You aren’t really alone—you do have a support system.” And don’t worry—there are simple and fast ways to do this!
TOO MUCH ALONE TIME LEADS TO SICKNESS
For more than 20 years, University of Chicago social psychologist John T. Cacioppo, PhD, has studied loneliness, publishing numerous studies as well as the book Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection.
And Dr. Cacioppo noted that among the many people he has evaluated to determine their levels of loneliness, the more lonely a person was, the more likely that person was to have…
High blood pressure.
When you’re chronically isolated, your arteries stiffen, which makes your heart work harder, raising your blood pressure and damaging your blood vessels.
Increased stress.
Dr. Cacioppo and his team detected elevated levels of the stress markers cortisol and epinephrine in urine samples in lonely individuals.
Trouble sleeping.
Many lonely people toss and turn, wake repeatedly and almost never rise feeling refreshed.
Decreased immunity.
Lonely people have increased activity in genes that promote inflammation and a slowdown in genes that reduce inflammation. This reduces the body’s resistance to viral and bacterial invaders.
BREAK THE TRAP OF ISOLATION
It’s easy to imagine how you could help a lonely person feel less lonely and therefore be much healthier—spend lots of time with him—but, being realistic, none of us has an unlimited supply of precious time!
And your lonely loved one might live clear across the country. So I asked Dr. Cacioppo to tell me, based on his deep knowledge of the effects of loneliness, what are the most effective and efficient ways to brighten up a lonely person’s life.
Here are his suggestions—they’re not hard to do, and they can be fun, to boot…
Go visit as little as once a month.
It’s great if you can show up more often than this, but in reality, even monthly visits lasting just a few hours can have a profound effect on a person’s loneliness, Dr. Cacioppo said.
And there is no need for your activity together to be exotic, either. You can ask your lonely friend or loved one to join you for a walk, dinner out, a book club meeting or a volunteering gig at a local center.
If the person is homebound, plan a menu together and then go over and cook (together if possible!). Or just bring over a deck of cards or a board game.
Dr. Cacioppo notes that the most meaningful time to visit is around holidays, when loneliness tends to peak.
Provide company from afar.
If you live too far away from the lonely person or your schedule is too busy for a monthly visit, there are alternative ways to provide company.
But you have to go the extra mile.
Many people think that simply “friending” a lonely person on Facebook or including a lonely person on a group e-mail is enough to make him feel better—but it’s not, says Dr. Cacioppo.
It’s not just about reaching out—it’s about interacting and engaging with the lonely person on a personal level.
For example, picking up the phone and asking “How was your day?” once a week can help. Or perhaps you can play a game of “Words With Friends” on your computers or cell phones…e-mail (only that person) photos…or even make CDs of your favorite music and send them in the mail.
Connect the person to others.
If you feel that a family member or friend is overwhelmingly isolated, contact the person’s local community center to see if there are any groups that he could join, depending on his interests.
You can greatly multiply your power to help your loved one by bringing others into his life—it’ll be better for your friend and it’ll take some of the burden off your shoulders!
Call a therapist.
When all else fails, coax him to make an appointment with a therapist, because, said Dr. Cacioppo, a therapist can provide a third-party, unbiased opinion and is trained to offer advice that has been proven by research to help people.
Also, your loved one is more likely to listen to a therapist, because he is a professional (rather than a friend or family member). Sweeten the pot by offering to provide transportation and lunch afterward.
Sources: John T. Cacioppo, PhD, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, department of psychology, director, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago.
He is the coauthor of Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection (Norton), the founder of the field of social neuroscience and president of the Society for Social Neuroscience. Dr. Cacioppo presented some of his most recent findings at the Social Psychology and Perception meeting in San Diego this past February.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:56 am
Michelle, thanks for your concerns. I don’t think selecting an identifier would expose me to additional danger. I will think about an alias.
I like some of the suggested ones. Perhaps I will pick one of them.
Mike
May 23rd, 2012 at 6:33 am
Luc, I it has been 34 years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978. That is a long wait for three year old to step up to the plate and hit one out of the park.
I kept my bet on I’ll Have Another because you didn’t tell me to switch. Well the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown is about to happen. So I’m just checking to see if you have another favorite.
I do want to thank you for the 7 plus figure income I made placing bets on your selections. I haven’t mentioned to my pards where I got the tip.
I’m more than willing to share with you, however you wish. Actually it is the win I’m most interested in. I’ll be “filthy” rich regardless.
However, with all the side possibility bets because of the Triple Crown possibilities, we could take home between 7 to 9 figures on my combination of bets with just a little help from you.
How daring you want me to go in placing my bets will depend on what you say in the next few days. Please don’t react like that pussy Howie and complain or insinuate that I’m pressuring you.
I’m only saying, if it is something you care to do, I’d be willing to share in the winnings. You tell me how much how and when.
And rest assured I’m not stupid, hence I wouldn’t attempt to cross the Extraterrestrial.
Anon-1
May 23rd, 2012 at 7:22 am
Anon-1, I like the way you worded that. It’s clearly a request, not a demand. I hope Luc responds to your request favorably, this time I will make a bet and enjoy a day at the races! I would be willing to share the wealth as well…though I have a feeling Luc likely gets what Luc wants/needs.
- ZL