Violent Death Study
Let the nitpicking begin!
The CDC has released a study of violent deaths:
Guns were used in nearly half of the slayings studied in the most comprehensive examination of violent deaths in the United States.
More than half of those deaths were due to suicide while 30 percent were the result of homicide, according to a study released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The remainder were from undeterminable causes, such as poisoning, and accidental discharges of a firearm, according to the study of nearly 16,000 violent deaths in 16 states.
African-Americans and Native Americans were killed at rates about 50 percent higher than whites, while Asians had violent death rates about 60 percent lower than whites.
The Hispanic violent death rate was about 15 percent lower than that of whites.
Males were more than three times more likely to die violently than females, with an overall violent death rate of 31.9 per 100,000 people.
Men were most commonly murdered because of an argument or during the commission of a crime. Women were most commonly killed by a current or former intimate partner.
Men were also the suspects in 90 percent of the cases where more than one person was killed and women were the victims in 74 percent of murder-suicides.
Just half? The antis always tell us it’s like almost all of them. Interesting. Other than that, nothing new really.
Is suicide really a violent crime?
April 11th, 2008 at 9:02 am
It’s usually illegal, and it’s typically violent (or at least messy).
I don’t think it’s a particularly useful number to toss around, simply because it doesn’t follow the same pathways as other violent crimes, and the victim usually doesn’t consider it quite as harmful.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
The family of a suicide victim have had a crime committed against them or so the reasoning goes.* It is a violent crime as violence is involved. I guess you can redefine “violence” but far be it for that to happen. For example, guy kills himself and leaves note to wife: “I did this because of you.” That’s aggressive and abusive. Or: a guy shoots up a BurgerKing then turns the gun on himself. The people he killed or injured had an act of violence perpetrated against them, but so did the rest of society as his suicide prevents justice from happening.
*I would argue that it is also abusive to the responders to the scene inasmuch as not matter how “tough” cops and paramedics try to act, there is nothing quite like seeing someone who put a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Blood, especially the amount that comes from a wound to the head, smells awful.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:26 am
We should change the definition of a crime to include a victim and a perpetrator. It takes two to tango…
April 11th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Damn, we need more Asians.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:32 am
“Men were most commonly murdered because of an argument or during the commission of a crime.”
/interest spikes
April 11th, 2008 at 11:13 am
30% of 50%? Doesnt that mean 15%?
But I guess it’s easier to scare people if you use bigger numbers.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Metulj, I wonder what more justice you want for society, The expense of a trial followed by several years caring for the killer IF convicted. What juctice is served by having a trial so that society can maybe pronounce him guilty. I am not saying we should have a trial for the dead killer- he can not defend himself in court, but I don’t need a guilty verdict to call him a killer either.
On the topic, What? No breakdown by baseball bat and evil assault weapons?
April 11th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
“But I guess it’s easier to scare people if you use bigger numbers.”
As in, “100% of the suicides were committed with a gun in 30% of the cases.” Statistics can be bent in any direction, depending on the wording.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Well the State of Tennessee seems to think it is violent enough to provide a justification for threatening or using force to prevent sucide. Thankfully, they realize that using deadly force would be futile.
Also, note the report doesn’t show how many of the “30 percent were the result of homicide” were justifiable, e.g., self-defense, versus criminal, e.g., murder, voluntary manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular homicide.
TN Code 39-11-613. Protection of life or health. —
A person is justified in threatening or using force, but not deadly force, against another, when and to the degree the person reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other from committing suicide or from the self-infliction of serious bodily injury.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Thomas: Justice is not an outcome. As for calling a dead person “killer,” it’s hard to care what people think about you, when you are dead.
April 12th, 2008 at 8:37 am
It sucks that attempted suicide is a crime. Good thing I didn’t get caught.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Wasn’t the CDC told to cut this shit out like 10 years ago?
April 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
ie, told by congress? I distinctly remember congress withdrawing funding for gun control research from the CDC/NIH budget. I don’t remember it going back in.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Nearly half means less than half.