Clarifying the number of domestic-extremist murders

In Steve Corbin’s column on Dec. 29 he cited a report from the Anti-Defamation League stating right-wing extremists were responsible for 76 percent of all American domestic-related murders in the last decade.

The report actually states that since 2010, right-wing extremists have been responsible for 330 deaths, or 76 percent of all domestic extremist-related murders within that time. An example is the Wal-Mart shooting in El Paso.

Leaving out the word “extremist” from “extremist-related” could make people believe the 76 percent included all murders.

There were 62,722 single-victim, single offender murders in the years 2010-2019, according to FBI statistics. Domestic extremist-related murders, although scary and sensational, are a tiny fraction of this number (about 0.7 percent).

We should assume Mr. Corbin did not intend to mislead the readers and would be happy to have this clarified.

Dave Gansen

Marion