To clarify: I referred to that particular form of elenchi called [in the proper sense. 'begging the question' [which does not, as sometimes ignorantly used, mean 'raising' the question]: i.e the assumption of the truth of that which is being disputed as part of the argument.

When Ian wrote

'capital punishment is a grotesque crime in itself, whereas less advanced countries such as Iran, USA, China etc still have enough superstitious low IQ voters to drown out the rational good people who also live there'

he was assuming that capital punishment is self-evidently an evil, in accusing countries practising it [incl USA!] of being 'less advanced': whereas the desirability or otherwise of such punishment is precisely the question currently under discussion. By so doing, {altho one appreciates that he probably wrote somewhat tongue-in-cheek & ironically}, instead of scoring any palpable point against the egregious Iona, he merely went far towards undermining his own position.

~M~