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April 13, 2011
TWICE THE LIFE
Tammy would have been thirty-eight years
old today. That means her killer and those in
collusion with him have gotten the chance
to live twice as long as she...
This week also saw another murder in
Yankton.
I've heard a great deal of speculation about
the case as to motive and circumstances, but
I'm withholding my own judgment until all
the evidence comes to light.
Some people have said that doesn't sound
like me at all, but I am quick to remind them
that it was over a decade before I spoke
publicly about Tammy's murder.
I will address one thing though.
A friend of mine suggested to me the other
day that "there's murder everywhere and
that Yankton is no worse than anyplace else"
-- a fallacy of hasty generalization.
Some new statistics came out recently that
seem to suggest that murder isn't
everywhere in equivalent proportion, as my
friend tried to suggest.
A study was done across the nation citing
the least and most violent states.
Several states surrounding South Dakota
make the top ten most peaceful states in
which to live. These states included Iowa,
Minnesota, and North Dakota, their violence
rates much lower than many other places in
the U.S.
(South Dakota ranked number fourteen.)
Interestingly, South Dakota saw the
greatest rise in violence over the past fifteen
years out of any of the United States.
Also of interest, Kabul, Afghanistan, right
now, according to Time magazine, has a
much lower murder rate than Washington,
D.C. The murder rate in D.C. is 22 victims
per one hundred thousand citizens. The
murder rate in Kabul: 9 per 100,ooo -- a
number closer to Yankton's murder rate.
My point is that we can't simply rationalize
any sort of crime away by saying that it
happens elsewhere in similar or greater
numbers. Such logic is simply wrong.
m.c. merrill
TWICE THE LIFE
Tammy would have been thirty-eight years
old today. That means her killer and those in
collusion with him have gotten the chance
to live twice as long as she...
This week also saw another murder in
Yankton.
I've heard a great deal of speculation about
the case as to motive and circumstances, but
I'm withholding my own judgment until all
the evidence comes to light.
Some people have said that doesn't sound
like me at all, but I am quick to remind them
that it was over a decade before I spoke
publicly about Tammy's murder.
I will address one thing though.
A friend of mine suggested to me the other
day that "there's murder everywhere and
that Yankton is no worse than anyplace else"
-- a fallacy of hasty generalization.
Some new statistics came out recently that
seem to suggest that murder isn't
everywhere in equivalent proportion, as my
friend tried to suggest.
A study was done across the nation citing
the least and most violent states.
Several states surrounding South Dakota
make the top ten most peaceful states in
which to live. These states included Iowa,
Minnesota, and North Dakota, their violence
rates much lower than many other places in
the U.S.
(South Dakota ranked number fourteen.)
Interestingly, South Dakota saw the
greatest rise in violence over the past fifteen
years out of any of the United States.
Also of interest, Kabul, Afghanistan, right
now, according to Time magazine, has a
much lower murder rate than Washington,
D.C. The murder rate in D.C. is 22 victims
per one hundred thousand citizens. The
murder rate in Kabul: 9 per 100,ooo -- a
number closer to Yankton's murder rate.
My point is that we can't simply rationalize
any sort of crime away by saying that it
happens elsewhere in similar or greater
numbers. Such logic is simply wrong.
m.c. merrill
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