Word- families

criminal 1. злочинний 2 . карний, кримінальний	сriminal злочинець	inсriminate обвинувачувати в скоєнні злочину
сriminology	сrime	inсrimination
кримінологія	злочин	обвинувачення в скоєнні злочину
criminality злочинність	сrimeful злочинний	inсriminatory обвинувальний

рunitive каральний	рunish карати	рunishable що заслуговує покарання
	рunishment покарання

Remember

to prison ув’язнювати

suicide покінчити життя самогубством

to commit an offence, crime скоїти злочин

oneself компрометувати себе

a theft/larceny здійснювати крадіжку

murder ( тяжке вбивство)

killing

pre-paid murder,contract murder (на замовлення)

вбивство assassination (підступне; з політичних мотивів)

manslaughter(неумисне)

felonious homicide (умисне)

theft

larceny (особистих речей/власності)

крадіжка stealing

pilfering (дрібних речей)

burglary (зі зломом)

shoplifting (в магазині)

motor-vehicle theft

(автотранспорту)

pickpocketing (кишенькова)

Remember

Злочинець

criminal offender felon perpetrator

Unit II. Punishment

Key words:

sen­tencing process punishment

criminal sanc­tion nature and extent of punishment

specific deterrence alternative sanctions

community sentence incarceration / imprisonment

community corrections capital punishment /death penalty

prison sentencing disparity

corporal punishment probation

incapacitation retribution/desert

rehabilitation restitution

proportionate to the seriousness of the crime

Before you read

Task 1.1. Write down the words and expressions relating to PUNISHMENT. (Note: you’ve got 5 minutes!) When you’ve finished, compare your list with other members of the class.

Task 1.2. Study the synonyms of the word PUNIHMENT and clear up the meanings of the following terms using a dictionary:

1) penalty;

2) sanction;

3) correction;

4) retribution;

5) just deserts;

6) penance.

Task 1.3. Skim through the information obtained from some legal sources, which summarizes the main idea of punishment and comment on any points of your particular interest:

Punishment is imposing something unpleasant or opposed on a person or an animal in response to an unwanted, disobedient [disəu´bidiənt] or morally wrong behaviour.

The word “punishment” is the abstract noun of the verb to “punish” which has been recorded in English language since 1340, deriving from Old French “puniss”, i.e. “to punish”. Earlier, it arose from the Latin “punire” (meaning “inflict a penalty on, cause pain for some offence”); and the very origin of the Latin was “poenire” from “poena” (meaning “penalty”, “punishment”).

In common usage, the word “punishment” may be described as “an authorized imposition of deprivations of liberty or privacy or other goods to which the person otherwise has a right, or the imposition of special burdens because the person has been found guilty of some criminal violation, typically involving harm to the innocent.”

In modern criminal law, punishment is a penalty inflicted by the state on a person for committing a crime.

Task 1.4. Discuss the issues of punishment in groups of three or four and share your ideas with the others:

A. In your opinion, what does “punishment” mean?

B. Should all people who break the law receive punishment?

C. Should all people who commit the same crime receive the same sentence?

D. What are the pros and cons of capital punishment?

Unit 2.1. Punishment and Sentencing

Task 1.5. Read and translate text A.

Text A. Punishment and Sentencing

After a defendant has been found guilty of a crime by a jury, a judge, or his/her own admission of guilt, the state has the right to impose a criminal sanc­tion or punishment. In criminal justice system, the procedure in which the nature and extent of punishment is decided is referred to as the sen­tencing process.

Punishment and sentencing have gone through various phases throughout the history of the civilization. Initially, a full range of punishments was inflicted on criminal defendants, including physical torture, branding, whipping, and, for most felony offenses, death. At one time, the philosophy of punishment was to "torment the body for the sins of the soul." People who violated the law were punished severely. If the punishment was harsh enough, it was assumed, they would never repeat their mistakes (a concept referred to today as specific deterrence). Legality of these types of so-called corporal punishment varies from country to country.

Punishment was also viewed as a spectacle that taught a moral lesson. The mоre gruesome and public the sentence, the greater the impact it would have on the local populace. Harsh physical punishments would control any thoughts of riot and protest against the central government and those who held political and economic control.

In contrast to these earlier goals of punishment, contemporary views require that criminal penalties should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime, that offender rehabilitation should be a relevant goal of sentencing, and that punishment shouldn`t be more severe than the minimum needed to deter future behaviour.

In modern society, the most important and common forms of criminal punishment are:

■ Community sentences—periods of supervision in the community during which the criminal is required to obey the rules of behaviour and may be asked to perform tasks, such as to make restitution to the victim.

■ Alternative sanctions—a full range of punishments that vary from community sentences to secure confinement. These include, but are not limited to: fines (monetary payments made to the court reflecting the costs to society of the criminal act), electronic surveillance, house arrest, community corrections.

■ Incarceration / imprisonment—a period of confinement in a prison, jail or community-based treatment facility.

■ Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty—the most extreme form of punishment, sometimes used in the countries where beating is seen as inhumane. Methods of capital punishment include crucifixion [krisə´fik∫(ə)n], hanging, the firing squad [´faiəriŋ ´skwod], burning at the stake, lethal injection, gas chambers and starvation.

Punishing criminal offenders continues to be one of the most complex and controversial issues in the criminal justice system. Its complexity stems from the wide variety of sentences available and the discretion judges have in applying them. The proper sanction for a particular criminal defendant is often difficult to determine, and there is little coordination in judicial decision-making. The controversy over punishment involves both its nature and extent: Are too many people being sent to prison? What is the impact of sentencing disparity? Is there discrimination in sentencing based on race, gender or social class? These are but a few of the most significant issues in the sentencing process.