The Sentence of the Court is …

If it is someone’s first offence, and the crime is a small one, even a guilty person is often unconditionally discharged¹ , he or she is set free without punishment.

The next step up the ladder is a conditional discharge. This means that the guilty person is set free but if he or she commits another crime within a stated time, the first crime will be taken into account. He or she may also be put on probation, which means that regular meetings with a social worker must take place.

A very common form of punishment for minor offences is a fine, which means that the guilty person has to pay a sum of money.

Another possibility is that the convicted person is sentenced to a certain number of hours of community service.

Wherever possible, magistrates and judges try not to imprison people. This costs the state money, the country’s prisons are already overcrowded and prisons have a reputation for being ‘schools for crime’. Even people who are sent to prison do not usually serve the whole time to which they were sentenced. They get ‘remission’ of their sentence for ‘good behavior’.

There is no death penalty in Britain, except for treason. It was abolished for all other offences in 1965. Although public opinion polls often show a majority in favor of its return, a majority of MPs² has always been against it. For murderers, there is an obligatory life sentence. However, ‘life’ does not normally mean life.

________

¹unconditional discharge – освобождение от наказания

²MP = Member of Parliament (BrE) – член парламента

1. Find a synonym as in the example:

1. offence	a. penalty
2. punishment	b. to imprison
3. magistrates	c. crime
4. to send to prison	d. guilty person
5. convicted person	e. Justices of the Peace

2. Restore the correct order of punishment according to its severity:

	conditional discharge
	…
	…
	…
	death penalty

3. Make up an annotation of the text (3-5 sentences) in English.

PROJECT WORK

Why do people commit crimes? What do you know about the following theories? Present your findings on the problem of crime causation in class.

• Psychological and psychiatric theories

• Biological theory

• Multiple causation theory

• Social environment theories

• Theological and ethical theories

• Climatic theory

Recommended resources:

1. http://www.lgu.ac.uk

2. http://www.crimemagazine.com

3. http://www.criminology.com

4.http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/intermediate2/modern_studies/crime_and_law_in_society/causes_types_crime/revision/1/

5.http://www.google.ru/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CFYQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjust-english.ru%2Fcauses_of_crime.doc&ei=ckD_U9OoJ6G_ywOFooLgDg&usg=AFQjCNF-hVUHVItESGfetKOGG8cf73QdCw&sig2=3qK3KLOY0wgrIyY6MfhY_w&bvm=bv.74035653,d.bGQ&cad=rjt

6. http://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector/drivers-of-crime/publications-and-background-information/documents/spb-theories-on-the-causes-of-crime

1. Listen to two lawyers discussing a criminal’s sentence. Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F).

1. The woman believes that her client deserves probation.

2. This is the first time the woman’s client committed a crime.

3. The man will seek a jail sentence for the woman’s client.

2. Listen again and complete the conversation.

Defense Lawyer: Let’s talk about the sentencing. My client doesn’t deserve to go to jail. Will you recommend 1________?

Prosecutor: Why would I do that?

Defense Lawyer: His crime wasn’t violent. He was only 2______.

Prosecutor: But he was 3_______ of assault and battery two years ago.

Defense Lawyer: Yes, but he was punished for this.

Prosecutor: I’m still recommending that he go to 4_______.

Defense Lawyer: That seems unnecessary for such a small 5______.

Prosecutor: I just don’t want him to 6______ again and hurt an innocent person.

3. With a partner, act out the roles below based on the previous task. Then, switch roles.

Use language as: Let’s talk about the sentencing. My client doesn’t deserve to go to jail. I just don’t want him to …
Student A: You are prosecutor. A defense lawyer is talking to you about a client. Talk to Student B about: sentencing other convictions why you are seeking that punishment	Student B: You are a defense attorney. Talk to Student A about your client’s sentencing.

Reviewing What We Learned

1. What is punishment?

2. What is the purpose of state punishment?

3. What are the three basic modes of punishment?

4. How do you understand that “punishment should fit the crime”?

5. How does punishment depend on a crime?

6. What types of punishment do you know?

7. Who decides what punishment should a criminal be sentenced to?

8. When does an accused person have the right to appeal?

Legal Skills in Action

A In 1976 a drunk walked into a supermarket. When the manager asked him to leave, the drunk assaulted him, knocking out a tooth. A policeman who arrived and tried to stop the fight had his jaw broken. The drunk was fined £10.

Would you have chosen a lighter sentence, or a more sever one?

How would you have felt if you had been the victim of the crime?

B Facts: convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous harm. The offender was in a public house, apparently under the influence of drink, when he approached a woman and behaved aggressively towards her, grabbing hold of her head and jumper and holding his fist to her face, before she broke free. The woman’s boyfriend told the offender to stop bothering her, and he went to another part of the bar, but then returned and struck the boyfriend in the face with a beer glass. The glass broke and caused lacerations to the face, which required a total of 18 stitches.

Sentence: six months’ imprisonment.

Should the court review the sentence on the ground that it was unduly lenient?

What will be your sentence?