The Innocence Project

This week's TIME Magazine profiles Barry Scheck's involvement with The Innocence Project, which is controversial despite its success rate: 254 post-conviction exonerations through DNA testing.

The article claims that Scheck's efforts on behalf of incarcerated people who were found guilty have contributed to the rise of "The Innocence Agenda," but that not all people are happy about it. Scheck is often perceived as either a threat or a nuisance.

But Scheck points out that while DNA is basically infallible, all other forms of evidence are NOT incontrovertible. It's ironic that the idea of innocence could in itself become a debate in the legal system. Isn't everyone fighting for the same thing? To exonerate the innocent? Scheck's project seems to have exposed some ironies within the labrynthine court system--not everyone is in it to prove innocence.

On the website, The Innocence Project offers ways that the average citizen can get involved to help those who are imprisoned for crimes they never committed.

The Mystery of Fate

There are many mysteries that are rooted in plain old destiny--in the way things are. One of these is the mystery of extinction. I read yesterday that a rare aquatic mammal in China called the Yangtze Dolphin is now extinct, basically driven into non-existence by pollution, cruel fishing practices, and human apathy. TIME's article by Peter Ritter suggests that the dolphin was rare, nicknamed "the goddess of the Yangtze," and considered "auspicious" by fishermen. So here is the mystery: if the fishermen valued this creature, who didn't value it enough? Will extinction increase due to environmental concerns? Will the human race become extinct?

Okay, those are pretty deep mysteries, so here's a lighter one: the mystery of birth days. I have a theory of birthday clusters: that somehow we are drawn to groups of people who repeat patterns of birth anniversaries. For example, today is my father's birthday, but August also marks birthdays for my mother, my brother, my son, my godson, my grandfather, my father-in-law, and several of my friends. October and December have similar clusters. My husband tells me this is mere coincidence, and it may well be--or perhaps are we drawn to people who make their imprint on the world at a certain time, in certain months? Do any of you have birthday clusters in your lives?

And happy birthday to my father, who is 76 today.