Topic 5. From the history of capital punishment

Vocabulary

evidence	['evdəns]	доказательство
fornication	[͵fɔ:n'keʃən]	внебрачная связь
interrogation	[n͵terə'geʃən]	допрос
torture	['tɔ:tʃə]	пытка
larceny	['la:sən]	воровство
to commute	[kə'mju:t]	заменить
to gather momentum	[gæðə 'mə'mentəm]	усиливать, наращивать темп
treatise	['tri:tz]	трактат, научный труд
flogging	[flɔgŋ]	порка
to cite	[sat]	цитировать
adjacent	[ə'dƷesənt]	смежный, соседний
rate	[ret]	уровень
secular	['sekjulə]	светский
counterpart	['kauntəpa:t]	занимающий одинаковое положение
to claim	[klem]	требовать, заявлять
objection	[əb'ʤekʃəŋ]	возражение
to administer	[əd'mnstə]	управлять, вести дела, применять на практике

Capital punishment is a legal infliction of the death penalty, in modern law, corporal punishment in its most severe form. The usual alternative to the death penalty is long-term or life imprisonment.

The earliest historical records contain evidence of capital punishment. It was mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi. The Bible prescribed death as the penalty for more than 30 different crimes, ranging from murder to fornication. The Draconian Code of ancient Greece imposed capital punishment for every offence.

In England, during the reign of William the Conqueror, the death penalty was not used, although the results of interrogation and torture were often fatal. By the end of the 15^th century, English law recognized six major crimes: treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. By 1800, more than 200 capital crimes were recognized, and as a result, 1000 or more persons were sentenced to death each year (although more sentences were commuted by royal pardon). In America blacks, whether slave or free were threatened with death for many crimes that were punished less severely when committed by whites.

At the end of the 18^th century the French philosopher Voltaire opposed torture, flogging, and the death penalty.

The abolition of capital punishment in England in November 1965 was welcomed by most people with humane and progressive ideas. To them it seemed a departure from feudalism, from the cruel pre-Christian spirit of revenge: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Many of these people think differently now. Since the abolition of capital punishment crime – and especially murder – has been on increase throughout Britain. Today, therefore, public opinion in Britain has changed. People think that capital punishment may not be the ideal answer, but it is better than nothing, especially when, as in England, a sentence of life imprisonment only lasts eight or nine years.

The fundamental questions raised by the death penalty are whether it is an effective deterrent to violent crime, and whether it is more effective than the alternative of long-term imprisonment.

DEFENDERS of the death penalty insist that because taking an offender's life is a more severe punishment than any prison term, it must be the better deterrent. They also argue that no adequate deterrent in life imprisonment is effective for those already serving a life term who commit murder while being in prison, and for revolutionaries, terrorists, traitors, and spies.

The classic moral arguments in favor of the death penalty have been biblical and call for retribution. "Whosoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed" has usually been interpreted as a divine warrant for putting the murderer to death. "Let the punishment fit the crime" is its secular counterpart; both statements imply that the murderer deserves to die. DEFENDERS of capital punishment have also claimed that society has the right to kill in defence of its members, just as the individual may kill in self-defence.

The chief OBJECTION has been that it is always used unfairly, in at least three major ways. First, women are rarely sentenced to death and executed, even though 20 per cent of all homicides in recent years have been committed by women. Second, poor and friendless defendants, those with inexperienced or court-appointed attorney, as well as coloured people, are most likely to be sentenced to death and executed.

DEFENDERS of the death penalty, however, have insisted that, because none of the laws of the capital punishment causes sexist, racist, or class bias in its use, these kinds of discrimination are not a sufficient reason for abolishing the death penalty. OPPONENTS have replied that the death penalty can be the result of a mistake in practice and that it is impossible to administer fairly.

Ex. 1. Read the international words and guess their meaning:

code	public	revolutionary
legal	ideal	moral
fatal	fundamental	individual
colony	alternative	discrimination
jurist	term	analogy
humane	effective	effectiveness
progressive	terrorist

Ex. 2. Memorize the following pairs of derivatives:

to inflict – infliction	to effect – effective
to deter – deterrent	to conclude – conclusive
to punish – punishment	to prevail – prevailing
to penalize – penalty	to violate – violent
to abolish – abolition	to administer – administrative
to execute – execution	to progress – progressive
to sentence – a sentence	to differ – difference
to retribute – retribution	to object – objective

Ex. 3. Match the English expressions with their Russian equivalents:

capital punishment	приговорить к смерти
corporal punishment	отменить смертную казнь
to sentence to death	угрожать смертью
to threaten with death	отбывать пожизненный срок
to abolish the death penalty	взывать к возмездию
life imprisonment	смертная казнь
to serve a life term	убить с целью самозащиты
violent crime	телесное наказание
to call for retribution	жестокое преступление
to kill in self-defence	пожизненное заключение

Ex. 4. Choose the right word to complete the sentence.

1. Capital punishment is corporal punishment in its … form.

1. lightest;

2. most severe;

3. most ancient.

2. The results of torture and interrogation were often …

1. fatal;

2. unexpected;

3. different.

3. The abolition of capital punishment in England in 1965 was welcomed by …

1. convict population;

2. defenders of the death penalty;

3. humane and progressive people.

4. People argue whether the death penalty is …

1. an effective deterrent to violent crime;

2. biblical;

3. should be imposed for every offence.

5. Defenders of capital punishment claim that ...

1. it is impossible to administer it fairly;

2. society has the right to kill in self-defense;

3. it can be a result of a mistake.

Ex. 5. Fill in the blanks with the necessary word from the list:

evidence, alternative, conclusive, objection, sentenced, deterrent, public opinion, punished.

1. The … to the death penalty is long term or life imprisonment.

2. The earliest historical records contain … of capital punishment.

3. By 1800, 1000 or more persons were … to death each year.

4. In early American colonies blacks were … more severely than whites.

5. Now … on capital punishment has changed.

6. The fundamental question is whether the death penalty is an effective … to violent crime.

7. Criminologists believe that no … evidence exists to show that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent.

8. The main … to capital punishment has been that it is always used unfairly.

Ex. 6. Mark the statements as true or false:

1. The usual alternative to death penalty is long-term or life imprisonment.

2. Capital punishment was never imposed in ancient counties.

3. By the end of the 15^th century six major crimes were punished by death.

4. England abolished capital punishment in 1965.

5. Now many people in England argue against the death penalty.

6. In the USA adjacent states don't show many differences in the murder rate.

7. The effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to violent crimes has been proved.

8. Poor defendants are more likely to be sentenced to death because they have no money to afford a good attorney.

Ex. 7. Complete the sentences in the most appropriate way:

1. Capital punishment is a legal infliction of the … penalty.

2. In England, during the reign of William the Conqueror, the death penalty was …

3. By the end of the 15^th century English law recognized six major crimes: …

4. The abolition of capital punishment in England was welcomed by …

5. Many people in England now think that capital punishment is better than …

6. The biblical statements imply that the murder deserves to …

7. Defenders of capital punishment claim that society has the right to kill in …

8. It has not been proved that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to violent …

Ex. 8. Organize the plan according to the text6

1. Effectiveness.

2. History.

3. Moral aspects.

Ex. 9. Answer the questions:

1. What is capital punishment?

2. Was capital punishment often imposed in ancient societies?

3. Why were blacks punished more severely than whites in early American colonies?

4. When did European thinkers begin considering the alternatives to the death penalty?

5. How have the attitudes towards capital punishment changed in Britain since the abolition of death penalty in 1965?

6. Is imprisonment effective for revolutionaries and terrorists?

7. How have the Americans treated the problem of death penalty?

8. What factors may influence fair administration of justice in capital cases?

Ex. 10. Make a short summary of the text. Do it according to the following plan:

1. The title of the text is …

2. The text is devoted to the problem …

3. It consists of …

4. The first part deals with …

5. The second part deals with …

6. The main idea of the text is …

3.2. Специальность "Правоведение"

ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ ЧТЕНИЯ

Texts for Reading

Text 1. MEETING THE LAWYERS

1. Most of us do not have daily contact with lawyers, but only meet them when we are in need of their services for a particular reason. Such as:

• when buying or selling a house or a piece of land;

• when a relation¹ dies and we are affected by the will or when making a will² ourselves;

• after a road accident;

• in disputes – whether it is a quarrel with a neighbour, a complaint about faulty³ goods, or a argument over a Hire Purchase agreement⁴;

• over a divorce;

• when accused of a crime( whether guilty or not).

2. a) … Once you have done this it is often possible to handle the problem on your own. If the problem is too hard to handle on your own, the solicitor may write a letter to the person you are in dispute with. b) …

3. The sort of work that lawyers do can take a lot of training and skill⁶. But using the services of lawyers and the courts can be very expensive. Some people think that much of the work done by lawyers is not really very difficult and that people often have to pay far more than they should do. c) … For example, the number of lawyers per 100 000 people in Japan is 10, in West Germany – 50, in the UK–70, in the USA–242!

4. The legal writer from Britain Ian Cooper accused the legal profession of "hypocrisy⁷" and "fraud" over conveyancing. He said, the lawyers' fees⁸ were "totally unjustifiable⁹" and often the work was done by unqualified people, such as a clerk or even a secretary.

5. Most solicitors could charge¹⁰ a percentage of the value of the property on top of other charges for time and the amount of work, he said. "This is totally unjustifiable when you consider it makes hardly any difference to the amount of work whether the property is a 10.000 pounds terraced or a 50.000 pounds detached house."

6. Mr. Cooper claimed, the Law Society totally ignored the practice of unqualified people doing the work. "Just turn to the employment advertisements in the Law Society Gazette and on most weeks there are advertisements for unqualified people to undertake conveyancing¹¹ work without supervision. d) … Clients are led to believe that the solicitor is looking after them personally all the time," he added.

Notes: 1) родственник; 2) завещание; 3) испорченный; 4) договор о взятии вещи на прокат; 5) адвокат; 6) навык; 7) лицемерие, притворство; 8) гонорар, вознаграждение; 9) не имеющий оправдания; 10) взимать плату; 11) составление нотариальных актов о передаче имущества.