In the United States between 1993 and 1998, the number of people on de

Question

In the United States between 1993 and 1998, the number of people on death row continued to increase, but at a rate lower than that of the general prison population.

Which of the following statements directly contradicts this claim?

A) ​The number of death row inmates increased slightly from 1993 to 1998. 
B) ​Among people convicted of murder, the proportion of those who were sentenced to death decreased from 1993 to 1998. 
C) ​Each year from 1993 to 1998, more death row inmates were executed than in the previous year. ​
D) Each year from 1993 to 1998, fewer people were sentenced to death than in the previous year. 
E) ​The proportion of death row inmates among the general prison population rose from 0.6% in 1993 to 0.8% in 1998.

WIKI18 · Answer

In the United States between 1993 and 1998, the number of people on death row continued to increase, but at a rate lower than that of the general prison population.

Which of the following statements directly contradicts this claim?

A) ​The number of death row inmates increased slightly from 1993 to 1998.  Does not state anything about the relative change in the general prison population 
B) ​Among people convicted of murder, the proportion of those who were sentenced to death decreased from 1993 to 1998.  Supports the claim. 
C) ​Each year from 1993 to 1998, more death row inmates were executed than in the previous year. ​ Tricky, since if more and more death row inmates are executed every year, then the proportion of people on death row would decrease. However, this does does not give us any information about the people new on the death row between 1993 and 1998. 
D) Each year from 1993 to 1998, fewer people were sentenced to death than in the previous year.  Does not present any information about the general prison population 
E) ​The proportion of death row inmates among the general prison population rose from 0.6% in 1993 to 0.8% in 1998.  Direct contradition of the statement since death row inmates INCREASED as a percentage of the general prison population. So, by whatever percentage the general prison population increased, the population of death row inmates increased more.

Skyline393 · Answer

E) ​The proportion of death row inmates among the general prison population rose from 0.6% in 1993 to 0.8% in 1998.

In 1993, general prison population was 1000 => the number of people on death row was 6
In 1998, if general prison population increased by 100%, to be 2000 => the number of people on death row was 16 
from 1993 to 1998, the proportion of death row increased 166,7% while the general prison population increased 100% => This clearly contradicted the information given.

RusskiyLev · Answer

I got stuck between E and D, and chose D because it told that each year fewer people were sentenced to death than in the previous year; however, the passage stated that the number of people on the death row continued to increase. I noticed the contradiction between the two, and thus, chose D. Please could some one explain flaw in my logic?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

Even though the passage is only one sentence long, you should have read the question  “Which of the following statements directly contradicts this claim?”  first. Unfortunately, there are many ways to contradict the claim made in that sentence. So there is no point in trying to think of one, and then looking to see if it is one of the five choices. You simply must read each choice, and then, by process of elimination, find the correct one. The passage states that the death row population increased. Choice A confirms this (and says nothing about the general prison population).  Choice A  is incorrect.

Choice B  compares the proportion of new death row inmates to the number of people convicted of murder, not to the general prison population.  Choice B  is incorrect.

Choice C  states that the number of people executed each year went up. If the number of people executed each year went up, the death row population might have decreased (thereby contradicting the first part of the claim), but not necessarily (not if they were replaced by many more people being sentenced to death).  Choice C  is incorrect.

Choice D  doesn’t guarantee that the claim is true, but it comes closer to confirming it than to contradicting it. Even if fewer people were sentenced to death each year, some still were, so the number of people on death row might have increased. Again, this answer choice makes no reference to the general prison population.  Choice D  is incorrect.

Choice E  is a little harder to analyze. Because it refers to an increase, many students would not choose it, thinking it confirms rather than refutes the claim. However, you must analyze it. Having definitively rejected  Choices A, B, C,  and  D,  you know, by the process of elimination, that  Choice E  must be the correct answer. Let’s examine why, in fact, it is.

The passage claims the death row population increased at a slower rate than the prison population did. This means that the proportion of death row inmates in the prison population actually decreased.  Choice E , which states that the proportion increased, is a direct contradiction of that claim.

Answer: E

In the United States between 1993 and 1998, the number of people on de

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In the United States between 1993 and 1998, the number of people on de

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