CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

UNIT 2 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Activity 1 Discussion 1. Why do we have rules and laws? Why do people follow them? Why do people break them? 2. Is ignorance of the law an excuse? Why (not)? 3. A policeman on duty kills a criminal while defending a victim? Has the officer committed any crime? 4. What is crime? Take two minutes to write a possible definition for crime. 5. There is more crime than there used to be. Do you agree? Why (not)? 6. You are innocent until proven guilty! Why do you think miscarriages of justice still occur? 7. Where can you find the following signs? What do they tell you? Activity 2 What effects do you imagine the following have had on crime? 1. the invention of gunpowder 2. the creation of police 3. street lighting 4. employment in factories 5. the payment of police 6. war 7. the discovery of fingerprints 8. cars 9. the colour of man’s skin/religion 10. the welfare state Activity 3 Look at the “spidergram” below and say what effect each of these factors has on the crime rate and why. WARNING NO DUMPING ALLOWED Perpetrators will be prosecuted ZONE CRIME RATE Severity of punishment Individual morality Alcoholism/drugs Social values Poverty Police/other prevention NO TRESPASSING 30 $500 FINE Activity 4 Writing Crime is on the increase. Offer some possible solutions. Use the following phrases in an essay of around 200 words. It is my firm belief that . One way to combat crime would be . The result of this would be . Furthermore . Due to the fact that . A further advantage of this . On the other hand . It would certainly be a good idea if . One final suggestion . Activity 5 Crimes Preliminary acts as crimes Read the following text and choose the best word for each space. Certain types of behaviour take place before the ……1……of a crime but are nevertheless complete crimes in……2… These offences – solicitation, attempt and conspiracy – give the police the opportunity to prevent the intended crime. Each offence can be punished even if the ……3….intended never occurred. A number of states make …4… a crime for a person to solicit (ask, command, urge, advise) another person to commit a crime. In most states an attempt to commit a crime is in itself a crime. To be guilty of the crime of attempt, the accused must have ……5….intended to commit a crime and taken some substantial …6….toward committing the crime. …7……preparation to commit a crime is not enough. The difficult problem with the crime of attempt is determining ……8….the actions of the accused were a step toward the …9… commission of a crime or mere acts of preparation. A common example of attempt is the situation in which a person decides to shoot and kill someone but, being a poor…10……., misses the intended victim. The person doing the shooting would be ……11…for attempted murder. A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime. The crime of conspiracy is designed as a means of preventing other crimes and ……12…against criminal activity by groups. ……13… it is sometimes criticised as a threat to freedom of speech and association. 1. a) commission b) achievement c) accomplishment d) finalisation 2. a) them b) itself c) they d) themselves 3. a) bad b) harm c) wrong d) worse 4. a) it b) this c) - d) of 5. a) also b) both c) too d) still 6. a) way b) possibility c) step d) action 7. a) little b) just c) a few d) mere 8. a) when b) that c) whether d) therefore 9. a) actual b) current c) existing d) present 10. a) man b) guy c) killer d) shot 11. a) accused b) liable c) sentenced d) exonerated 12. a) striking b) urging c) beating d) interrupting 13. a) despite b) although c) however d) as well Activity 6 Crimes against the person Crimes against the person are serious offences. However the law protects the defendant by defining the various levels of these crimes and by considering the circumstances of each offence. Using dictionaries and working in pairs, give definitions to the following crimes. Share your results with the class. One has been done for you. Hate crime is defined as "the violence of intolerance and bigotry, intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability." (Community Relations Service, 1997) N.B. In the texts, some of the crimes are specific to the American legal system, some to the English. The two systems have different terminology, the more serious crimes in the US system are called felonies and the less serious are called misdemeanors. There are different terms for specifc crimes, too, e.g. larceny (US) is divided into petty and grand. In English law, the crime is theft. Activity 7 Crimes against property Use the words in the box to complete the text. assault, battery, homicide, murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, grievous bodily harm, involuntary manslaughter, abduction, slander, libel, hate crime arson, burglary, computer crime, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, mugging, receiving stolen property, robbery, shoplifting, unauthorised use of a motor vehicle, vandalism, theft The category of crimes against property includes crimes in which property is damaged or cases in which property is stolen or otherwise taken against the will of the owner. a) … is the willful and malicious burning of another person’s property, whether owned by the accused or not. If any property is burned with the intent to defraud an insurance company this is usually a separate crime. b) … also known as malicious mischief, is the willful destruction of, or damage to, the property of another. It includes such things as smashing telephone kiosks, breaking windows, ripping down fences, flooding basements and breaking car aerials. Depending on its extent, it can be either a felony or a misdemeanor in the USA. c) … is the unlawful taking of property of another with intent to steal it permanently. This crime also includes keeping lost property when a reasonable method exists for finding the owner, or if you keep property delivered to you by mistake d) … is a form of theft (or larceny in US). It is the crime of taking items from a store without paying or intending to pay for them. e) … is the unlawful taking of property or money by someone to whom it was entrusted. IN UK it is a form of theft. f) … is the unlawful taking of property from a person’s immediate possession by force or intimidation, generally in banks, trains etc. In fact, it involves two criminal intentions: theft of property and actual or potential physical harm to the victim g) …, popularly called blackmail, is the use of threats to obtain the property of another. Its statutes generally cover threats to do future physical harm, destroy property or injure someone’s character or reputation. h) …, originally defined as breaking and entering the dwelling of another during the night with intent to commit a felony (commit theft –UK), now includes the unauthorised entry into any structure with the intent to commit a crime, regardless of the time of day. i) … is a crime in which a person falsely makes or alters a writing or document with intent to defraud. It can also mean altering or erasing part of a previously signed document. j) … is a crime of receiving or buying property that you know or have reason to believe is stolen. Knowledge that the property is stolen may be implied by the circumstances. k) … is committed when a person takes, operates, or removes a motor vehicle without consent of the owner, including joy-riding. A passenger in a stolen car may also be guilty if that person had reason to believe the car was being used without permission. l) … can be broadly defined as the unauthorised access to someone else’s computer system. Most of the time such action is designed to steal government or trade secrets and sell them to business rivals or foreign governments. m) … is attacking and violently robbing a person out of doors (e.g. in a park, in a car park or in the street). Activity 8 Work with a partner and test each other. One person turns the page over, the other asks questions. e.g. What do you call the crime of burning another person’s property? Define ‘forgery’. “Thief” is a very general term. Write more specific names for a thief in each space. THIEF Activity 9 Listening Listen and complete the sentences below with a word, phrase or number. Car theft accounts for 1)……… of all crimes. Methods include 2)………………. and equipment, and installing 3) …………… Neighbourhood Watch schemes help preventing 4)……………. and thefts. Crime Concern was established in 5) ………………… In inner city areas the risk of burglary is 6)…………. than in rural areas. Mass shootings have resulted in a review of regulations controlling 7)……………… The problem of “drinking and driving” is combated by measures such as 8)……………. Racial incidents consist in 9)………………… and 10)……………… in shops. Activity 10 CRIME AND THE MEDIA Explain and rewrite the headlines in detail. 4 bodies found in Camden County house; 6 arrested in drug raid nearby Student kidnap case against bus driver on hold for mental review Two arrested in woman's slaying Search on for gunman in triple-killing Robbery suspect takes hostages at California bank Gunman Kills 2 Men; Mother, Unborn Baby Shot Articles Hurt Search For Yates' Jurors Life Or Death For Deputy Killer? Five Killed In Murder-Suicide Activity 11 QUIZ • Among people victimized while working, men are more likely than women to experience a violent crime. True or false? • Which of the following methods is more likely to be used for killing a person? Why? a) shooting b) hitting or kicking c) sharp instrument d) strangulation e) other • Who among the following is least/most likely to kill you? For what reasons? a) a friend or acquaintance b) a present or former spouse or lover c) another member of your family d) a stranger e) a terrorist • More women than men are found guilty of shoplifting. True or false? Activity 12 Crime Fixation We all tend to be cynical about tabloid media sensationalism, but do you realise just how much your perceptions of crime have probably been distorted? Take a look at the table below and then discuss on it with a partner. Perception Statistical Picture “Violent crime accounts for roughly a half of all crime” (average estimate in public responses to NOP poll). Violent crime accounts for only 6% of all crime. “Young children and the elderly are the most at risk from violent attack”. Those least at risk from violent attacks are young children and the elderly (only 2% of mugging or beating victims are elderly). 25% of people expect to fall victim to violent crime. Only 1% of people ever experience violent crime. “It’s dangerous to be out on the streets after dark”. A greater number of violent attacks take place in the home than on the street. 85% of adults believe it’s more dangerous for children after dark now than when they were young. Attack by strangers is the biggest fear (survey by Dr Barnardo’s children’s welfare agency). Over the last 25 years there has been no increase in child murder by strangers. The overall murder rate (all age groups) has been almost static over the last 10 years. “There are weirdoes everywhere these days” (quoted from a bystander at a child murder case, interviewed on BBC News). In most cases of violence, the offender is known to the victim, rather than fitting the stereotype of suspicious stranger or ‘weirdo’. “They (violent offenders) are all on drugs these days”. The offender is seldom on illegal drugs, but is often drunk. 57% of women fear going out at night alone (compared to 11% of men). Only a small percentage of victims of outdoor violence are female. Those most vulnerable (statistically) are young males. Activity 13 Punishments 1. A policeman on duty defends a victim and kills the criminal. What is he guilty of? 2. Do you agree with the death penalty? Why (not)? If you do, under what circumstances? 3. Imagine that you discover that your best friend has found a way of cheating in an important exam which the two of you are taking soon. What would you do and why? Mention any personal experience you may have had. 4. Should police officers carry guns? Why (not)? What reasons can you give for choosing punishments? Select the three that seem most important to you. Justify your choice(s). - to make the punishment fit the crime; - to teach them a lesson; - to make them pay for their crimes; - to give them a second chance; - to deter others; - to allow opportunity for rehabilitation; - to ease the burden on tax payers; - to set an example. Activity 14 Sentencing Read about the court sentences in the text and think of a crime to fit each one. If it is someone’s first offence, and the crime is a small one, even a guilty person is often unconditionally discharged. 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 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 behaviour”. There is no death penalty in Britain, except for treason. It was abolished for all other offences in 1969. Although public opinion polls often show a majority in favour of its return, a majority of MPs has always been against it. For murderers, there is an obligatory life sentence. However “life” does not normally mean life. A parole system operates to give prisoners, even convicted murderers under certain circumstances, an opportunity to be released "earlier". Activity 15 Work with a partner and discuss the following questions: 1. What purpose do prisons fulfill in current society? What purpose should they fulfill? Comment on the points in the list below. 2. What kinds of problems do prisoners face, both while they are in jail and after they are released? 3. Why are people sometimes tempted to take the law into their own hands? Are there any circumstances in which this is justifiable? Activity 16 Writing Write a short essay- about 200 words- on punishment. Try to use the following words and phrases: depression, humiliation, fear of violence from guards or other inmates, contact with more experienced and hardened criminals, drug abuse, ostracism, stigma attached to it, slip back into his old ways, finding housing and employment, the law has failed them, a code of honour, a blood feud, a vendetta, to take revenge on somebody Activity 17 Appropriate sentences Read the accounts of nine cases. The sentences have been left out. What do you think the sentence should have been? Choose from the following: the death penalty 1,500 years in jail 15 years in prison. nine years 12 years life in prison without parole. 18 years in prison three years in jail 15 years in prison 1) SAN FERNANDO, Jan. 14 - A 16-year-old boy convicted of murdering two other teen-agers on a La Crescenta playground over about $660 worth of marijuana was sentenced today to…… . 2) A former Immokalee man who has been in prison since 1996 pleaded no contest Monday to shooting and killing another Immokalee man. Willie Barrett could have faced the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Henry Jean "Baby Ruth" Marshall on Dec. 22, 1995. Instead, Collier County Circuit Judge Lauren Miller formally found him guilty of a reduced charge of second-degree murder and sentenced him to ……. 3) A former baby sitter was sentenced to ………. for causing the death of a toddler in her care. Tawny Sue Gunter had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for causing 2-year-old Billy Deon Blankenship to fall over the side of a staircase Nov. 15, 1990, at her Concordia, Mo., residence. Last Nov. 15, Gunter admitted grabbing Billy in a burst of anger and causing his fall. 4) A former police officer who admitted killing his wife was sentenced in Rockland County Court yesterday to …………. after appeals from his daughter for leniency and from his former mother- in-law that he be jailed longer. 5) Thursday, September 06, 2001 OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The city's new district attorney is pressing ahead with state murder charges against bombing conspirator Terry Nichols — and is seeking……… . - despite Nichols' federal conviction and the high cost of prosecuting him. 6) Shooting spree leader gets ……….Three bored Athens teen-agers with idle time, a car and a hunting rifle spent a weekend last February shooting up empty schools, cars, and occupied homes for kicks. 7) A man who did cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis in a nursery school in Edinburgh, was sent to prison for………… . John Curran was arrested by police after a successful operation was mounted. The drugs recovered had an estimated street value of £220.000. 8) An all-white jury in Oklahoma City yesterday convicted a Negro, aged 22, of raping a white employee of a telephone company. They sentenced him to ………… after the prosecution said that 500 years would be just a “slap on his wrist”. 9) A Glasgow housebreaker is now serving ……… after an intensive police investigation put him behind bars. Following a series of break-ins, the “Operation Magpie” squad carefully analysed each crime and established a pattern, suggesting the same person was responsible. The painstaking investigation led to a Glasgow criminal called David Kelly. He was arrested and charged with a total of 33 break-ins across Edinburgh. Activity 18 Role play Read the following newspaper stories. The class will be divided into 2 groups, one will be the prosecution and one will be the counsel for the defence. Elect three representatives in each team. After preparation, each representative will talk to his/her counterpart, in turn. Decide on the appropriate punishment for the offenders in each case; prepare to make demands, plead, justify, negotiate. A B C An innocent man was released from prison today after serving ten years of a thirty year prison sentence for murder. The man had been found guilty on false police evidence. Before leaving the court, the man’s solicitor spoke to the reporters: “Thank God we don’t have capital punishment any more”, he said. A boy and a girl were in hospital yesterday after being attacked by guard dogs. They had climbed over a factory wall to fetch their football. “If they hadn’t been in the factory this wouldn’t have happened”, said the owner. “My dogs were just doing their job.” A young mother appeared in court yesterday. She was charged with £20 worth of food from a supermarket. The woman told the court that she had stolen the food for her children. She had lost her job and had no money. Activity 19 Listening Listen to the following report on drink-driving and fill in the blanks in the table below with a number, word or short phrase. Conviction Imprisonment Ban Fine Causing death by 1)…………. whilst under the influence of drink/drugs 2) ………… 2 years Driving whilst 3)………through drink 6 months 4)…………… or 3 yrs if convicted 5)……………. in 10 yrs. £5,000 6)………… of a vehicle 7)………………. 8)………… Refusing to provide a 9) ……………. 6 months 12 months 10)…………. What are the punishments for such offences in your country? Reading Activity CRIMINALS This is the story of a serial killer called ‘Son of Sam’. • What is a serial killer? Have you heard of any? • What do you expect to find out about serial killers after reading this text? Read the text. Some sentences have been removed. Decide where they should go. Look at the underlined vocabulary items and look up any unknown words. Son of Sam PART ONE ….a)… Two young women, Donna Lauria, and her friend Jody Valenti, were talking in Jody's car in the Bronx, New York City. A man pulled out a Charter Arms .44 Bulldog handgun from a paper bag, squatted down and fired into the car five times. Donna died immediately, hit in the neck. Jody, shot in the thigh, leaned on the horn while the man continued to pull the trigger, even though the chamber was now empty. On the night of October 23, 1976, three months after the Lauria girl’s senseless murder, twenty-year-old Carl Denaro was shot five times in the head. A little more than a month later, on the evening of November 26, 1976, Donna DeMasi and her friend Joanne Lomino were fired at and barely survived. Of these three assaults which had occurred in two different areas, the Bronx and Queens, only one bullet had been recovered intact. Consequently, police were not yet able to link these attacks to a single individual. Things quietened down for two months. Then in the early hours of January 30, 1977, the killer went hunting for his next victim. Christine Freund and her finance John Diel left The Wine Gallery in Queens around 12:10 A.M. and strolled towards his car. As they sat in the car, two shots broke the night, shattering the windshield. Christine grabbed her head; both shots had struck her. John rested her head on the driver's seat and ran for help, trying to flag down passing cars, but to no avail. People in nearby homes had heard the shots and had called the police. A few hours later Christine died in hospital. Forty-three-year-old Detective Sergeant Joe Coffey and Captain Joe Borrelli started to work on this latest homicide. Coffey could see that the bullets used to kill her were not typical. …b)…Investigating further, he discovered that her murder matched those other assaults on Donna Lauria, Donna LaMasi and Joanne Lomino. Coffey had a hunch that they were dealing with one psycho using a .44, stalking women in various parts of the city. As his investigation began to bear fruit, a homicide task force was formed under Captain Borrelli. After probing into the backgrounds of the murders and their victims, police were unable to find any suspect on record; ….c)…It was beginning to look as though a psycho had randomly targeted attractive young women for assassination. • When did the police realise that the attacks belonged to the same individual? • What information can the type of the bullet provide? • Why is the background of a murderer important in solving a crime PART TWO On the evening of Tuesday, March 8, 1977, an attractive young Barnard College honor student named Virginia Voskerichian was shot in the face and died immediately. The next day, the police had a match on the bullet. It had come from the same gun that had killed Donna Lauria. The following day, the police commissioner held a press conference to announce to the City of New York that they had linked the various shootings. …d)…. [...]... and Alexander Esau Valentina was shot twice She died immediately and Alexander a bit later at the hospital This psycho who would keep on killing until he could be found among the millions of men who fitted his description But this time there was something different: the killer's letter left at the scene of the murders addressed to Captain Borrelli The letter did not have any useful fingerprints and. .. controlled; they orchestrate the fire, the screaming arrival and deployment of the fire trucks and fire fighters, the gathering crowds, the destruction of property and sometimes of people." His former tenants’ German shepherd was a noisy dog and howled frequently The neighborhood dogs howled back In David's diseased mind demons lived within the dogs and their howling was the way they ordered David to go... doting adoptive parents who showered him with gifts and attention His real mother had arranged for his adoption even before David was born on June 1, 1953 Perhaps the most significant factor in his life was that he was a loner His parents weren't particularly socially oriented and neither was David He was always big for his age and always felt different and less attractive than his peers His neighbors... any useful fingerprints and the envelope had been handled by so many people that if there were any of the murderer's prints, they were lost… e)… Operation Omega was growing in size and resources It had expanded to some two hundred detectives Catching the perpetrator of six murderous assaults would mean tremendous awards for the detectives involved and they knew it It was an extra incentive to put... 1 She … three times in the last two years and because she … no one is willing to give her a job 2 You must realise that you … when you park on the pavement 3 He is … in cold blood and then … ever since 4 The police … and he will remain in custody until his behaviour improves 5 The man who … is suspected of having received stolen goods 6 He … when he was 19 and he … in a high security prison ever since... apartment house at 35 Pine Street That same afternoon, Sam Carr, upset over the shooting of his dog and what he saw as non-action by the police, independently pursued the matter with the Omega Task Force… i)… The day of Berkowitz's arrest, Sergeant Joseph Coffey was called in to interview him Calmly and candidly, David told him about each of the shootings When the interview was over there was no doubt... was flooded with calls Everyone, it seemed, knew the killer: …f)….Every one of these thousands of leads had to be checked out and disqualified a huge chore for any task force While the police were chasing down every suspect, checking registrations for 44 weapons, tracing activities of former mental patients and generally running themselves ragged, the Son of Sam had become emboldened by the publicity... joined the Army in the summer of 1971 and stayed there for three years He was an excellent marksman, particularly proficient with rifles Anger and frustration with women, coupled by a bizarre fantasy life, started him down the road to violence when he got out of the Army in 1974 Even before the murders began, David had set some 1,488 fires in the city of New York and kept a diary of each one He was acting... killing …g)… The Omega task force was desperate How to protect a whole city of young women from a random killer? Detective Coffey even considered placing cops in bullet-proof cars with mannequins to try to lure the killer …h)…Tensions built steadily until July 29 and nerves were at a breaking point all that day and night, but no Son of Sam Not that day Two days later when the police were beginning to feel... Why did the killer adopt the name “Son of Sam”? Do you agree with the punishment he received? How can the media benefit from such a problem? Here are the sentences you must put into the correct places 1 The list of suspects was endless 2 The fact was, despite the subsequent excuses, Sam Carr had just handed them the name of the killer and they sat on it 3 They had come from a powerful, large caliber gun . a crime and taken some substantial …6….toward committing the crime. …7……preparation to commit a crime is not enough. The difficult problem with the crime. the officer committed any crime? 4. What is crime? Take two minutes to write a possible definition for crime. 5. There is more crime than there used to