Смертная казнь: за или против?

 

Study the words and word combinations.

 

hangman – палач

rope – верёвка

approve of – одобрять

juvenile – подросток

mentally deficient – слабоумный

execute – казнить

lethal injection – смертоносный укол

attempt – попытка

reintroduce – возобновить

call for – призыв

deterrence theory – теория сдерживания

commit – совершить

shotgun – огнестрельное оружие

public security – общественная безопасность

reinstate – восстановить

convicted murderer – осуждённый убийца

set free – освободить

serve – (зд.) отбывать наказание

retribution – возмездие

accept the consequences – принимать последствия

revenge – месть

cold-blooded – хладнокровный

economic sense – экономический смысл

taxpayer – налогоплательщик

homicide – убийство

innocent – невиновный

release – освобождать

hang – вешать

conscience – совесть

belief – вера

set an example – показать пример

preach – проповедовать

forgiveness – прощение

 

 

I. Read and translate the text.

The Hangman’s Rope

The electric chair, the hangman’s rope the guillotine. The debate on capital punishment divides people in Britain very neatly into two groups: these for and those against because this issue is all black and white; there is no grey area.

Did you know?

In the USA, where over 85% of the population over the age of 21 approve of the death penalty and are not against the statement that juveniles and mentally deficient people can be executed. In many states which still have the death penalty, some use the electric chair, which can take up to 20 minutes to kill, while others use gas or lethal injections.

In Britain capital punishment lasted until 1965, when it was abolished by Parliament. There have been 14 attempts since then to reintroduce it – all unsuccessful.

Arguments FOR.

The pro-hanging lobby uses four main arguments to support its call for the reintroduction of capital punishment. First, there is the deterrence theory, which states that potential murderers would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might also die if they were caught. The armed bank robber might, likewise, decide to leave his shotgun at home and go back to being an ordinary robber.

Next is the idea of public security. If the death penalty were reinstated it would mean that a convicted murderer would not be set free after serving 20 years or less of a life sentence and be able to go on to murder again. The general public would, therefore, be safer.

The other two arguments are more suspect. The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve: if a murderer intentionally sets out to commit a crime, he should accept the consequences. Retribution, which is just another word for revenge, is supported by the religious doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

The fourth main pro-hanging argument is the most cold-blooded. It is that it makes economic sense to hang convicted murderers rather than have them in prison wasting taxpayers’ money.

Arguments AGAINST.

The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian. But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it: the deterrence figures do not add up. In Britain 1903 was the record year for executions and yet in 1904 the number of homicides actually rose. 1946 also saw an unusually high number of executions followed in 1947 by another rise in the murder rate. If the deterrence theory was correct, the rate should have fallen.

The second main argument against reintroducing capital punishment is that innocent people are sometimes wrongly convicted and, while people can be released from prison, they cannot be brought back from the dead if they have been hanged.

The other reasons to oppose the death penalty, which are largely a matter of individual conscience and belief, are firstly that murder is murder and this includes state executions. The state has no more right to take a life than the individual. Indeed, the state should set an example to the individual by not taking lives. It is believed to be a measure of its civilization that a state acts more humanely than its citizens. The second is that Christianity preaches forgiveness, not revenge.

 

Семестр

Типы юридической профессии в Британии.

 

Study the words and the word-combinations.

 

solicitor - стряпчий

undertake - брать на себя обязанность

confer – совещаться

draft – составлять

conduct negotiations - вести переговоры

prepare a case for trial - подготовить дело к слушанию в суде

retain - нанимать (адвоката)

advocacy – защита

higher court - вышестоящий суд

agent - доверенное лицо

litigation - тяжба, судебный процесс

advocate – адвокат

voluntarily – добровольно

incorporate - регистрировать

extensive – обширный

setting - учреждение

enforce - проводить в жизнь

sustain - понести (ущерб, убыток)

law school - юридический факультет

furthermore - кроме того

apprenticeship – ученичество

graduate - выпускник

 

I. Read the text.

Solicitor

 

Solicitor is a type of practicing lawyer in Britain who gives advice, does the necessary work when property is bought and sold, and defends people, especially in the lower courts of law. In general, a barrister undertakes no work except through a solicitor, who prepares and delivers the client's instructions to a barrister. Solicitors confer with clients, draft documents, conduct negotiations, prepare cases for trial, and retain barristers for advice on special matters or for advocacy before the higher courts. They have a right to act in all courts as the agents for litigation or representatives of their clients, but they may appear as advocates only in the lower courts. If one wants to make a will the best man to advise him is a solicitor. If one gets into trouble with the police one can ask a solicitor to help prepare his defence. The official organization of solicitors is the Law Society, a voluntary group, incorporated by Parliament. The Law Society has extensive authority in setting and enforcing standards for solicitors. The Law Society maintains a client-compensation fund to reduce and relieve losses sustained from dishonesty by solicitors. The education required of a solicitor includes a law school course. Furthermore, To qualify as a solicitor one is to join a practicing solicitor as a “clerk” and to work for him (apprenticeship) for a period of five years (three years for university graduates) in order to pass the Law Society exams. Solicitors must be British Commonwealth citizens, although there is no such requirement for the barrister. [The Commonwealth is an organization of about 50 countries that were once part of the British Empire.]

 

 

Barrister

 

Study the words and the word-combinations.

 

barrister - барристер (адвокат, имеющий право выступать в высших судах)

untouchable - недоступный, недосягаемый

Inns of Court - Судебные Инны (четыре английские школы подготовки барристеров)

Inner Temple - Внутренний Темпл

Middle Temple - Средний Темпл

Lincoln's Inn - Линкольновскнй Инн

Gray's Inn - Греевский Инн

high antiquity - глубокая древность

legal education - юридическое образование

prospective - будущий

inn - постоялый двор; инн, школа подготовки барристеров

read law - изучать право

serve one's apprenticeship - проходить курс ученичества

proper – надлежащий

fee - гонорар

 

I. Read the text.

 

Barrister is one of the two types of practicing lawyers in England, the other being the solicitor. In general, barristers engage in advocacy (trial work) and solicitors in office work. Barristers are experts in the interpretation of the Law. Barristers are called in to advise on really difficult points. Only barristers (not solicitors) may appear as advocates before the High Court. High Court is a court of law in Britain that is at a higher level than ordinary courts and that can be asked to change the decisions of a lower court. Barristers are rather untouchable figures. If you need one, you never see him without your solicitor being with him. To be a barrister it is necessary to be a member of one of the four Inns of Court in London. Inns of Court are four institutions of high antiquity that have historically been responsible for legal education. Inns of Court include Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. A prospective barrister must pass some examinations established for the inns by the Council of Legal Education and must read law and serve his apprenticeship with a practicing barrister for not less than a year. A barrister is required to accept any case for a proper professional fee, regardless of his personal feelings. Barristers cannot carry on any other profession or business.

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