# US ranked #5 - not trying hard enough **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526 "2011-03-30T16:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/1 "2011-03-30T16:46:36Z")
Anyone care to guess what the US is ranked at #5 in the world at? Here is the ranked list for a hint: [ol] [li]China[/li][li]Iran[/li][li]North Korea[/li][li]Yemen[/li][li]United States[/li][li]Saudi Arabia[/li][li]Libya[/li][li]Syria[/li][li]Bangladesh[/li][li]Somalia[/li][/ol] [Answer: Executions](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/death-sentences-and-executions_n_841986.html) That’s some great company to be in, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/2 "2011-03-30T16:47:40Z")
Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/3 "2011-03-30T16:49:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Anyone care to guess what the US is ranked at #5 in the world at? > > \ > > [Answer: Executions](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/death-sentences-and-executions_n_841986.html) > That’s some great company to be in, eh? My first guess was “torture” actually. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/4 "2011-03-30T16:52:08Z")
Yeah well we’re still number one in FAT! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/5 "2011-03-30T16:56:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > My first guess was “torture” actually. I was guessing it was people who believe in Creationism (but I think we are second in that). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/6 "2011-03-30T17:00:40Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Works for me. Even with the knowledge that capital punishment is WRONG, always and everywhere? Why does that work for you? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/7 "2011-03-30T17:02:23Z")
Wish they would have ranked countries on a per-capita basis. Then it ends up looking like this: 1. China: 1 execution per 267,000 (assumes 5000 executions) 2. Iran: 1 execution per 305,000 3. Libya: 1 per 356,000 4. Yemen: 1/445,000 5. North Korea: 1/480,000 6. Saudi Arabia: 1/1,000,000 7. Somalia: 1/1,170,000 8. Syria: 1/1,300,000 9. United States: 1/6,711,000 10. Bangladesh: 1/18,300,000 On a per-capita basis, China is killing 'em 25 times as fast as we are. Even when it comes to capital punishment, you just can’t compete with the Chinese. Feel better? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/8 "2011-03-30T17:02:46Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Even with the knowledge that capital punishment is WRONG, always and everywhere? > > Why does that work for you? It isn’t, so it works. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/9 "2011-03-30T17:04:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It isn’t, so it works. Yes it is, so my question stands. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/10 "2011-03-30T17:04:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Even with the knowledge that capital punishment is WRONG, always and everywhere? > > Why does that work for you? Makes him feel good to be in that elite group of countries maybe? Is perhaps comfortable with that group’s moral and ethical stances, and thinks that the US fits in very well with how those countries are run? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/11 "2011-03-30T17:06:08Z")
If you include deaths by military action then nobody can touch us! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/12 "2011-03-30T17:07:14Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Yeah well we’re still number one in FAT! Nope, as a matter of fact we’re [not.](http://www.good.is/post/chart-the-united-states-is-no-longer-the-fattest-country/) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/13 "2011-03-30T17:10:58Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Even with the knowledge that capital punishment is WRONG, always and everywhere? > > Why does that work for you? “Always” and “everywhere” are pretty strong statements to make. What if you are a soldier and are in enemy territory and learn someone in your squad is a traitor who has been feeding information to your enemy. Do you risk everyone else in the squad and abandon your mission that will save 100,000 lives to drag him back to your side for a trial and imprisonment? If you let him go he will blow your mission that will save 100,000 lives. Betting you’d shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/14 "2011-03-30T17:18:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Even with the knowledge that capital punishment is WRONG, always and everywhere? > > Why does that work for you? Who has that knowledge? I don’t. And it’s sort of a bad list, just because it doesn’t take into account population. The only countries on that list with a population close to the US’s are China (which has about 4 times as many people) and Bangladesh (which has about half as many people.) So, while we’ve executed almost twice as many people as Saudi Arabia this year, we have ten times as many people. So I don’t think you can make a comparison on just raw numbers. Here’s the complete list from the Amnesty International report, btw, in case anyone in curious. China (1,000s) Iran (252+) North Korea (60+) Yemen (53+) USA, (46) Saudi Arabia (27+) Libya (18+) Syria (17+) Bangladesh (9+) Somalia (8+) Sudan (6+) Palestinian Authority (5) Egypt (4) Equatorial Guinea (4) Taiwan (4) Belarus (2) Japan (2) Iraq (1+) Malaysia (1+) Bahrain (1) Botswana (1) Singapore (unknown number) Vietnam (unknown number) 67 countries sentenced people to death. Here’s the list of that, unsorted: > [@](#): > > Afghanistan (100 +), Algeria (130+), Bahamas (5+), Bahrain (1), Bangladesh (32+), Barbados (1), Belarus (3), Benin (1+), Brunei Darussalam (+), Burkina Faso (1+), Cameroon (+), China (+), Central African Republic (14), Chad (1), Democratic Republic of Congo (+), Egypt (185), Equatorial Guinea (4), Ethiopia (5+), Gambia (13), Ghana (17), Guatemala (1), Guyana (1+), India (105+), Indonesia (7+), Iran (+), Iraq (279+), Jamaica (4), Japan (14), Jordan (9), Kenya (5+), Kuwait (3+), Laos (4), Liberia (11), Lebanon (12+), Libya (+), Madagascar (2+), Malaysia (114+), Malawi (2), Maldives (1), Mali (14+), Mauritania (16+), Morocco/Western Sahara (4), Myanmar (2), Nigeria (151+), North Korea (+), Palestinian Authority (11+), Pakistan (365), Saudi Arabia (34+), Sierra Leone (1), Singapore (8+), Somalia (8+), South Korea (4), Sri Lanka (+), Sudan (10+), Syria (10+), Tanzania (5+),Taiwan (9), Thailand (7+), Trinidad and Tobago (+), Tunisia (22+), Uganda (5+), United Arab Emirates (28+), United States of America (110+), Viet Nam (34+), Yemen (27+), Zimbabwe (8), Zambia (35). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/15 "2011-03-30T17:22:02Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > “Always” and “everywhere” are pretty strong statements to make. By Jove, i think he’s got it! The numbers on the list aren’t particularly meaningful because of the difference in scope. The list itself is meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/16 "2011-03-30T17:30:31Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > What if you are a soldier and are in enemy territory and learn someone in your squad is a traitor who has been feeding information to your enemy. > > Do you risk everyone else in the squad and abandon your mission that will save 100,000 lives to drag him back to your side for a trial and imprisonment? > > If you let him go he will blow your mission that will save 100,000 lives. > > Betting you’d shoot him. That’s not capital punishment, which is execution through the judicial process. Your example is “vigilantism”. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/17 "2011-03-30T17:30:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > By Jove, i think he’s got it! > > The numbers on the list aren’t particularly meaningful because of the difference in scope. The list itself is meaningful. Why is the list itself meaningful? Because a lot of “bad” countries are on it? Japan and Taiwan are on it too. Both those countries execute. So are Mali and Botswana, which are two of the more democratic and human rights respecting African countries. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/18 "2011-03-30T17:34:31Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > On a per-capita basis, China is killing 'em 25 times as fast as we are. Even when it comes to capital punishment, you just can’t compete with the Chinese. I was going to say we were slackers compared to the plucky lads from Yemen, but it turns out it’s a bigger population than I thought. Although I oppose the death penalty in all situations (well almost all, there’s one I come very close to accepting it for in theory, but back away from it in practice) in a weird and twisted way there’s something refreshing about one aspect of its use in China. When a Chinese businessman (who doesn’t have the right connections of course) through incompetence/corruption causes death and misery for customers, he gets a dose of government induced lead poisoning. Here the same person gets told he is a naughty boy, receives a golden parachute and a few years later is practicing the same sleazy behavior with another company. ETA - interesting - I didn’t know the Japanese still had the DP on the books. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/19 "2011-03-30T17:39:47Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Why is the list itself meaningful? Because a lot of “bad” countries are on it? Because Americans pride themselves on having a country that is more committed to justice and superior to countries like China and Yemen and North Korea from a human rights perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526/20 "2011-03-30T17:40:16Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > That’s not capital punishment, which is execution through the judicial process. Your example is “vigilantism”. It’s not vigiliantism either; it’s an expedient measure taken to protect a “must not fail” mission. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ranked-5-not-trying-hard-enough/576526.md?page=2)