Lesson Three More Crime and Less Punishment

Richard Moran

Warming-up: Discussion

1. What do you know about the crime problem in the States?

2. What do you think can be attributed to a constant increase in crime nowadays?

Suggested AnswerWhat do you know about the crime problem in the

States? 1)     Personal property crimes (theft, robbery, mugging ,

burgling, purse-snatching, shoplifting) 2)      economic crimes (embezzlement, smuggling ,etc.) 3)      political crimes (bribery, terrorism, betrayal) 4)      computer crimes (hacking) 5)      sexual crimes (rape , sexual harassment) 6)      juvenile delinquency (drug-abuse, violence) 7)      murdering 8)      drug-trafficking

Suggested Answer What do you think can be attributed to a

constant increase in crime nowadays? 1)      poverty (Poverty is the mother of crime.)2)      the gap between the rich and the poor3)      poor education4)      the lack of moral power5)      ineffective legislation6)      the lack of effective enforcement of laws

Background Information

What are the roles of the judges and the jury?

Roles of the Judges The judge is to supervise a trial in order to

assure its proper conduct and the fair administration of justice and to restrain from making any comments on the effect of any testimony or the credibility of any witness.

Roles of the Jury A trail begins once a jury of 12 citizens is

selected. They should listen to the statement of the prosecuting and defense attorneys and their questioning of the witnesses. After the trial , all 12 members of the jury should have a deliberation, which can take hours or even days until they could reach a unanimous decision. There are times when a jury can not read such a decision (mistrial 未决审判 ). When it occurs, the prosecuting attorney then decides whether or not to try the case again before a completely new jury.

Pre-class Questions

What ’s the purpose of writing?A To describe the all the various aspects of the

crime problem.

B To examine the possible causes of the crime problem

C To argue that punishment does not deter crime against the prevailing view that harsh punishments should be enforced to reduce crime.

Words and phrases:

1. convince persuade convince: make sb. believe that something is true

He failed to convince the jury of his innocence. persuade: make sb agree to do something by

giving them reasons why they should.

Nobody would persuade her to change her mind.

How can I persuade you of my sincerity?

2. refuse reject refuse is more positive, often implying

decisiveness. decline means to refuse courteously.

reject means a throwing away, a discarding, or abandoning of someone or something as unsatisfactory, defective, or useless.

3. commit 1) To make somebody agree or promise to do something The agreement commits them to a minimum number of

performances per year. 2) To use available things or people for a particular purpose. They’ll have to commit more money to the project if it’s to

succeed. 3) To give someone or something to someone else to look

after They commit a child to a doctor’s care. 4)commit oneself to give a definite opinion Chairman refused to commit himself on the controversial

subject before making investigations.

4. deter The rain didn't deter people from coming to

the game. The university enforces severe punishment

to deter cheating in exams.

5.illustrate 1) to show what something is like, or show that

something is true.

The following examples illustrate our point. 2) to draw the pictures in a book, or put pictures

in a book.

The book was illustrated with color photographs.

She has illustrated several children’s book.

6. Measure 1)measure sth by sth Success isn’t measured by how much money you

have. 2) measure sth in terms of sth Popularity is still measured in terms of winning

elections. 3) measure sb/sth/against sb/sth Measured against the success of some of their

rivals, the performance looks poor.

7. tough 1) get tough with When he started to argue, I got tough with him. 2) be tough on The new mayor intends to be tough on crime. 3)take a tough stance/stand We must take a tough stance against terrorism. 4) tough luck: Used for saying that you have no sympathy

for someone Well, tough luck! I’m not going to do what he wants.

8. lock away (lock up) 1) to put something in a place or container which

you fasten with a lock

Take good care to lack away your jewelery before going away on holiday

2) to put someone in a prison, or a hospital for mentally ill people.

After murder, he was locked away for 50 years.

9. be/go easy on sb (be/go easy with/on sth) 1).to tell someone not to punish a person too

severely. Go easy on these children and let them enjoy

themselves. 2) to eat or use a small amount of something. Go easy on the cake. There isn’t much left. Easier said than done Easy come, easy go

10. so as to 1) so…as to… Are you so naïve as to imagine this is not

taking place elsewhere? Who could be so mean as to do a thing like

that. 2) so as to Go in quietly so as not to wake the baby.

11. work out to The total area works out to 25,000 square

miles.

12. the other way around You would think that the John would have

been the courageous one and Jane the timid one, but it was just the other way around.

Structure of the text Part I (Para.1-3) Introduction of the central

idea: punishment does not reduce crime Part II (Para. 4-9) Why punishment doesn't

deter crime. Part III (Para. 10) Conclusion: getting

tough with criminals is not the answer to the crime problem.