Debbie Schlussel: Why It's a Good Idea Not to Name Your Identical Twins Almost Identically
From the "Their Mother Was an Idiot" Dept.:
Poor Cardelle Hendricks. His mother named his identical twin brother Carnelle Hendricks (a difference of one letter, the "N").
Unfortunately, as the Detroit Free Press' talented Zlati Meyer reported, that resulted in the innocent CarDelle Hendricks languishing in a Detroit area jail for about nine months in 2002, for a crime his brother CarNelle committed. While he repeatedly claimed from the jail cell that he was innocent and that police were really looking for his twin brother, no-one believed him.
Police have probably heard that one before (although a rape case involving identical twins, also in Michigan, has stumped scientists and police from identifying which of the twins' DNA is the rapist's).
CarDelle is suing and has already won a $20,000 settlement. Lesson to mothers with identical twins: Don't name them CarDelle and CarNelle, especially if one of them becomes a hardened criminal, while the other remains a law-abiding citizen.
Posted by Debbie on April 24, 2006 03:42 PM to Debbie Schlussel