Sandbox

Judging Statistics

From the New York Times comes this triumph of statistics. The graphic below summarizes why foul play was suspected in Luzerne County, PA on the part of two greedy judges who lacked a moral compass.

Discussion:

1. Why is the graph so incriminating?

2. However, many statistics textbooks caution, "The data never speaks for itself." What possible mitigating facts regarding variability are missing?

3. As interesting as the statistical data is, read the article itself as well as the audios of victims to see the non-statistical evidence unearthed by the prosecution. Which do you find more compelling?

Submitted by Paul Alper