Comments on: Unheeded Innocence http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/257 Notes from the intersection of law, society, technology, economics, and culture Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:08:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: Tedd McHenry http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/257#comment-8822 Tedd McHenry Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:13:40 +0000 http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/257#comment-8822 It's worth noting that the "hall of shame" is rigged against countries with larger populations, such as the U.S. and China. If you adjust the numbers for population (using the latest CIA World Factbook data) China drops to 6th and the U.S. to 10th. What's important to note here is that, with the information provided, there's no way of knowing how many countries with smaller populations would jump to the top of the list, surpassing the U.S. and even China. I'm not arguing for capital punishment, just noting that the DPIC's argument is considerably weakened by using rigged statistics. It gives the appearance of a rhetorical argument rather than a well-reasoned one. It’s worth noting that the “hall of shame” is rigged against countries with larger populations, such as the U.S. and China. If you adjust the numbers for population (using the latest CIA World Factbook data) China drops to 6th and the U.S. to 10th. What’s important to note here is that, with the information provided, there’s no way of knowing how many countries with smaller populations would jump to the top of the list, surpassing the U.S. and even China.

I’m not arguing for capital punishment, just noting that the DPIC’s argument is considerably weakened by using rigged statistics. It gives the appearance of a rhetorical argument rather than a well-reasoned one.

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