Posted on 06/14/2009 8:23:47 AM PDT by JoeProBono
A Charlotte, N.C., man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. In an attempt to elude cops after a botched bank robbery, the Associated Press reports that 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into and hid out in the home of Mary Parnell. Police say he didn't touch Parnell but that she died after suffering a heart attack that was triggered by terror. Can the fugitive be held responsible for the woman's death? Prosecutors said that he can under the state's so-called felony murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person's death while committing or fleeing from a felony crime such as robbery—even if it's unintentional.
But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin A. Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows. Thanks to AHCJ_Pia for the story suggestion.]
Is it possible to literally be scared to death? Absolutely, no question about it.
Really? How does that happen? The body has a natural protective mechanism called the fight-or-flight response, which was originally described by Walter Cannon [chairman of Harvard University's physiology department from 1906 to 1942]. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, dilating the pupils, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from, say, an aggressive jaguar. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans, but the problem, of course, is that in the modern world there is very limited advantage of the fight-or-flight response. There is a downside to revving up your nervous system like this.
Too bad this poor soul didn’t have a submachine gun with which to send this POS back to hell.
Can a person be scared to death?
Haven’t you seen the movie ‘The Tingler’?
All you need is a scary mask and LSD. (no kidding. it was in the movie!)
Just a few weeks after Michael Jackson’s Thriller came out I got to meet Vincent Price and talk to him for ten minutes or so.
He was so cool, humble and nice. Very pleasant. Not at all like a lot of the other “famous” people around at the time.
Lets try water boarding on Obama and find out.
It depends on the person, but yes, people can be scared to death, especially if they already have underlying cardiac issues.
Cool Beans!
“Is it possible to literally be scared to death?”
Heh. Just put me on a roller coaster and you’ll have the answer.
Oh yeah. Many years ago, at age 14, I was on a SMALL roller coaster at the shopping center, and they had to stop it because I was trying to jump off!
Very very bad equilibrium. All my life.
Say "bye-bye," Larry!
Between the ongoing fear-mongering of Algore, the liars for science and Jesus like James Hansen and the Rev. John Houghton, and Obama -- I'm sure there are plenty of law-suits out there (like this one) just waiting to happen.
It might be interesting to do a google search to see if some of their deceased (or mentally / physically traumatized) victims' families can be located and "represented".
Not sure, but: HOW TO START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK
1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it ‘Barack Obama’.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your P/C will ask you: ‘Do you really want to get rid of ‘Barack Obama?’
6. Firmly Click ‘Yes.’
7. Feel better?
... Good, tomorrow we’ll do Nancy Pelosi!
yes.
My folders would be as follows:
Monday: David Letterman
Tuesday: WI governor Jim Doyle
Wednesday: Barney Frank
Thursday: MA senator Ted Kennedy
Friday: The Mainstream Media
Saturday: Sean Penn
Sunday: Michael Moore
My second cousin was found guilty of felony murder at age 16 for doing exactly that during a robbery. The elderly woman, who had been tied up, died of fright.
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