Discussion

Using the information and facts from the Unit discuss the following:

• Greater public understanding of the crime problem is important for the apprehension and conviction of criminals, their rehabilitation, and the prevention of crime.

• Awareness by the criminal of a high probability of arrest is the most effective deterrent to crime.

• The emotional problems of convicts should be given special consideration.

• Crime stems from the breakdown of traditional social norms.

• Family and social control are the most effective means of crime prevention.

• In recent years public has demanded longer and hasher sentences for offenders.

TASK 4. Give Russian equivalents for the following general types of punishment. Put them in descending order of severity.

• Capital punishment

• Community service

• Disciplinary training in a detention centre

• Fixed penalty fine

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Just English. Английский для юристов

Chapter II. Crime and Punishment

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• Life imprisonment

• Probation

• Short-term imprisonment

• Suspended sentence

• Long-term imprisonment

TASK 5. Study the following list of offences. Rate them on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 is a minor offence, 10 is a very serious crime). They are in no particular order. You don't have to apply your knowledge of existing laws — your own opinion is necessary:

П driving in excess of the speed limit

□ common assault (e.g. a fight in a disco-club) П drinking and driving

П malicious wounding (e.g. stabbing someone in a fight)

• murdering a policeman during a robbery

• murdering a child

□ causing death by dangerous driving П smoking marijuana

П selling drugs (such as heroin)

□ stealing £1,000 from a bank by fraud

П stealing £1,000 worth of goods from someone's home

П rape i

П grievous bodily harm (almost killing someone)

О shop-lifting

LT stealing £1,000 from a bank by threatening someone with

a gun

П possession of a gun without a licence

TASK 6. Which of the sentences listed in Task 4 fit the offences in Task 5? Give your reasons.

TASK 7. Study the authentic cases given below. Discuss each case in class and decide the following:

1. Was justice done?

2. If you were the judge, what other facts and circumstances would you like to know?

3. If you were the judge, would you give a different sentence?

4. Would you choose a lighter sentence, or a more severe one?

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

6. How would you have felt if you had been the defendant?

Manslaughter

In 1981 Marianne Bachmeir, from Lubeck, West Germany, was in court watching the trial of Klaus Grabowski, who had murdered her 7 year-old daughter. Grabowski had a history of attacking children. During the trial, Frau Bachmeir pulled a Beretta 22 pistol from her handbag and fired eight bullets, six of which hit Grabowski, killing him. The defence said she had bought the pistol with the intention of committing suicide, but when she saw Grabowski in court she drew the pistol and pulled the trigger. She was found not guilty of murder, but was given six years imprisonment for manslaughter. West German newspapers reflected the opinion of millions of Germans that she should have been freed, calling her 'the avenging mother'.