Don't Worry, Soledad O'Brien Can't Kill Your Children

[Sinisterniik]

I was watching a (pseudo-)news story on CNN concerning the Atlanta Child Murders. The show’s host and journalist, Soledad O’Brien was asking whether or not Wayne Williams was wrongly convicted of murdering several black children in Atlanta, GA during the late 1970s and early 1980’s.

During the interview she asks him whether or not he is physically capable of killing someone (implicitly a small child, although she never clarified) using a “choke hold”. While Williams ducked the question, O’Brien emphatically says :

That’s a straightforward question. I can answer that. My answer would be, no, sir, I do not know. What’s your answer to that?

This seems like a bunch of bull to me. What do you guys think? Could Soledad O’Brien kill a little kid with a chokehold? How about a full-grown man?

How much psi is required? For that matter, is psi even the right way to measure this?

[aruvqan]

Good question, then you have to add in something like did you get the victim stoned/drunk/drugged into incapacity first. I think almost anybody could choke somebody if they were tranked off their ass and couldnt fight back. I dont remember the details all that well, but I really don’t remember any real discussion of if the kids were drugged first or not and for some reason crime library is timing out on me so i really cant check.

[UncleBill]

Crushing a larynx takes round about ten pound of pressure on an adult, less for a child focused on a relatively small area. Without medical care, death can be quite a common result. Soledad can do it.

[TheChileanBlob]

That’s a straightforward question. I can answer that. My answer would be, no, sir, I do not know. What’s your answer to that?

Not a very straightforward answer.

[njtt]

And this from a woman who, apparently, is unfamiliar with the word “Tuesday”:

Originally posted by Soledad O’Brien:
Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally she said leave me alone. One year later, the day after Monday, the two of them were married.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

I know you’re not serious (at least I hope I know that) but that quote is wrong. (Being Wiki it’s not only wrong, but the footnote goes to a dead link.)

GUIDEPOSTS, April 2004
“The Church Across the Street”
by Soledad O’Brien

My parents were both immigrants—my mother from Cuba, my father from Australia—studying at Johns Hopkins University. And they both attended daily Mass at the church near campus. Every day my father would offer my mother a ride. Every day, she declined. Finally she said yes. One year later, the day after Christmas, the two of them were married.

[Sinisterniik]

@TheChileanBlob

Not a very straightforward answer.

Here’s the quote I should have used:

[Soledad O’Brien]: It’s actually a very simple question. Can you kill someone with a choke hold? And when you were 19 years old –

WAYNE WILLIAMS, SUSPECT IN ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS: You probably could. You probably could under the right circumstances.

O’BRIEN: I know for a fact I could not.

[Brown_Eyed_Girl]

How does she know for a fact? Has she tried and failed?

That is odd. It seems she changed the goalposts. Her question seemed to ask if it is physically possible to kill someone with a chokehold. Her answer appears to have indicated she couldn’t morally do it. Else she’s actually tried and failed.

[Sinisterniik]

@Brown_Eyed_Girl

How does she know for a fact? Has she tried and failed?

That is odd. It seems she changed the goalposts. Her question seemed to ask if it is physically possible to kill someone with a chokehold. Her answer appears to have indicated she couldn’t morally do it. Else she’s actually tried and failed.

She’s talking about being physically able as well as being “trained”:

O’BRIEN: Yes, interesting. You know, he – one thing that was very interesting for me to see was his size. Because, of course, that was relevant in the trial. And it was relevant to – could a guy his size be able to do a couple of things. One with, you know, push a body, throw a body, over into the river? Could someone that size be able to grab somebody across the chest or across the neck and kill them with a choke hold? These were all things being alleged.

So I wanted to kind of see what does he look like? What is his size like? He is small. He is probably about 5’7’. And you know, he is wiry. He has lost some weight that he had during his trial. Very interesting, and I won’t give it away, but we had a long conversation about whether or not he was trained in the choke hold. Kind of went back and forth on that, because he – he claims he has claimed in some ways that he was, which, of course, would change his ability to be able to kill someone.

[Malacandra]

If an eleven-year-old child can do it, a grown woman should have not the slightest difficulty. It’s not like no grown women have ever murdered children. :rolleyes:

[Superhal]

Maybe she just has incredibly weak wrists and can’t open jars or cut meat.

[LSLGuy]

No, she has an incredibly weak mind.

One not able to construct a real question with a real answer. Or at least one unable to remember the question long enough to wait for the interviewee’s answer and then answer the same question again herself.

[Stan_Shmenge]

Maybe she just has really bad Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

[Gorsnak]

@UncleBill

Soledad can do it.

Great. Just freaking great. Now, on top of everything else, I have to worry about protecting my kids from having their throats crushed by Soledad O’Brien. And I don’t even have kids!

I don’t need this shit, I really don’t.

[Monty]

@Gorsnak

I don’t need this shit, I really don’t.

You’d better stay off Captain Midnight’s list, then!

[Chronos]

How much psi is required? For that matter, is psi even the right way to measure this?

Only if you’re killing them with your mind.

[Sailboat]

@Brown_Eyed_Girl

How does she know for a fact? Has she tried and failed?

I think we have to go with that, it’s the only logical interpretation. Surely the police will want to question her, at least.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@Sailboat

I think we have to go with that, it’s the only logical interpretation. Surely the police will want to question her, at least.

And whether she was Glenn Beck’s accomplice when he allegedly raped and killed a girl in 1990.

[thirdname]

@Gorsnak

Great. Just freaking great. Now, on top of everything else, I have to worry about protecting my kids from having their throats crushed by Soledad O’Brien. And I don’t even have kids!

I don’t need this shit, I really don’t.

Hey, it would be an honor to have one’s children strangled by the one and only Sun Microsystems Infogal.

[whole_bean]

@Sinisterniik

She’s talking about being physically able as well as being “trained”:

When did 5’7 become small? I’m 5’8. I’m shorter than average, sure, but not small (I realize, he could, in addition to being 5’7, also be slight in build, but she seems to be offering his height as evidence of his smallness - 5’7 is no midget)