More Crime and Less Punishment

1、More Crime and Less Punishment Richard MoranAbout the authorRichard MoranRichard Moran is a criminologist and a leading expert on the insanity defense, capital punishment, and the history of the electric chair. The author of numerous articles and reviews, Moran has also written articles for the Wash

2、ington Post, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, and Newsweek. The Executioners CurrentIt is the story of how the electric chair developed out of an effort by one nineteenth-century electric company to discredit the other. When Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse were building the first pow

3、er plants in the country, electric light was a bizarre new technology that few people understood and many people feared. Adding to the confusion were the two competitors attempts to promote their own systems and discredit the other. When New York State began considering electrocution as a method of

4、capital punishment, Edison recommended Westinghouses alternating current for the unseemly task. Westinghouse, not wanting the negative stigma associated with his system, fought back, and a truly well intentioned government effort to find a more humane method of execution became a courtroom battle fo

5、r commercial supremacy between two competing pioneers. Morans account is broad, covering the electric power struggle between Edison and Westinghouse, the trial and execution of the first man to die in the electric chair, and the history of the capital punishment debate in the U.S. Edisons popularity

6、 as a cultural hero lends appeal to the entertaining drama of the power companies competition, and the surprisingly colorful history of the electric chair makes for fascinating reading.Alcatraz IslandOut in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, the island of Alcatraz is a world unto itself. Isolation

7、, one of the constants of island life for any inhabitant - soldier, guard, prisoner, Indian, bird or plant - is a recurrent theme in the unfolding history of Alcatraz. Alcatraz IslandAlcatraz Island is one of Golden Gate National Recreation Areas most popular destinations, offering a close-up look a

8、t a historic and infamous federal prison. Visitors to the island cannot only explore the remnants of the prison, but can also learn about the Indian occupation of 1969 - 1971, early military fortifications (the first U.S. fort on the coast), and the West Coasts first (and oldest operating) lighthous

9、e. These structures and the islands many natural features are being preserved by the National Park Service which is working to make it accessible to visitors, preserve its buildings, protect its birds and other wildlife, and interpret its history. Warm-upWhat do you now about jury system in America?

10、What is the guiding principle in criminal court in America? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the principle?Jury systemThe Jury trial is an important component in the judicial system. The jury consists of 12 jurors, selected at random. They will, after hearing all the evidence and cross-e

11、xamination, give a verdict（裁決）（裁決） of guilty or innocent. Then, the judge will pass a sentence.In many jurisdictions, the majority of a jury is not sufficient to find a defendant guilty; all 12 members must agree to the persons guilt. nGuiding principleThe court must prove the accused persons guilt

12、beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, the accused is held innocent until proved guilty. In theory, the concept makes sure that a case is not misjudged and that an innocent person is not unjustly treated.However, in other cases, this may help criminals to escape punishment, for his lawyer can al

13、ways raise a reasonable doubt concerning the evidence or the trustworthiness of the witnesses. Also, collecting evidence and having a trial or even summon a jury cost a lot of money.nGuiding principleFamous trail of O.J. Simpson O.J. Simpson, famous American football player and actor, was charged wi

14、th murdering his former wife and her boy friend and eventually declared innocent.The jury spent three hours deliberating the case that had produced 150 witnesses over 133 days and had cost $15 million to try.Expressions related to crime, law and courtto prosecute sb.parole to imprison/jail sb. crimi

15、nalcrime rate to supervise a criminalarrest record to execute a murdererproperty crimeStructure of the textPart I (para.1-3)Part II (para. 4-9) Part III (para. 10)Introduction of the central idea: punishment does not reduce crime.Why punishment doesnt deter crime.Conclusion: getting tough with crimi

16、nals is not the answer to the crime problem.Word study commitperform(a crime, foolish act etc.)commit murder/suicide/an offenceentrust; hand over tocommit a man to prisonmake oneself responsible; undertakeHe has committed himself to support his brothers children.(often reflexive) bind oneselfI wont

17、commit myself to that course of action.Word studydeter: discourage, hinder fromFailure did not deter him from trying again.The university enforces severe punishment to deter cheating in exams.Word studyillustrateexplain by examples, pictures, etc.The following examples illustrate our point.supply a

18、book, article, lecture etc. with pictures, diagrams, etc.The book was illustrated with color photographs.This is a well-illustrated textbook. illustration n.Word studyget tough with 對(duì)對(duì)強(qiáng)硬強(qiáng)硬When he started to argue, I got tough with him.be tough on The new mayor intends to be tough on crime.take a tou

19、gh stance/standWe must take a tough stance against terrorism.tough luck: bad luckTough luck about your job! I hope youll find another one soon.Word studylock away (lock up) 1.to put something in a place or container which is fastened with a lockTake good care to lock away your jewelry before going a

20、way on holiday2. to put someone in a prison, or a hospital for mentally ill people.After murder, he was locked away for 50 yeas.Word studybe/go easy on sb/sth. to tell someone not to punish a person too severelyGo easy on these children and let them enjoy themselves. to eat or use a small amount of

21、somethingGo easy on the cake. There isnt much left.easier said than doneeasy come, easy goWord studymeasure Success isnt measured by how much money you have.Popularity is still measured in terms of winning elections.Measured against the success of some of their rivals, their performance looks poor.W

22、ord study soas to Are you so nave as to imagine this is not taking place elsewhere?Who could be so mean as to do a thing like that. so as toGo in quietly so as not to wake the baby.Word study work out toThe total area works out to 25,000 square miles. the other way aroundYou would think that John wo

23、uld have been the courageous one and Jane the timid one, but it was just the other way around.Word studyconvince and persuadeconvince: 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 shou

24、ldNobody would persuade her to change her mind.Word studyrefuse and rejectrefuse 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.The company _

25、 the entire shipment. Ill make him an offer he cant _. We asked her to he reception, but she _ the invitation.Difficult sentencesWhile elite colleges and universities still have high standards of admissions, some of the most “exclusive” prisons now require about five prior serious crime before an in

26、mate is accepted into their correctional program. (Analogy)There is a similarity between prisons and universities in their recruiting policy. Youve got to be outstanding candidates to get into the best colleges and universities. Similarly, certain prisons for dangerous criminals only accept those wh

27、o have committed five serious crimes before being convicted for the present one.Difficult sentencesYet when measured against the lower crime rates this would probably produce, longer prison sentences are not worth the cost to state and local governments.If criminals were kept longer in prison crime

28、rates would probably go down. But when we consider the money that state and local governments have to pay for this, longer prison sentences are not worthwhile.Difficult sentencesWhile it is not possible to know the true amount of crime committed by people released from prison in any given year, we d

29、o know the extent to which those under parole are jailed again for major crime convictions.Although we cant possibly know exactly how many crimes are committed by released prisoners in a specific year, we do know how many of those people under parole are convicted again for serious crimes and put in

30、to jail again.Difficult sentencesThe first-year operating cost would be $ 150,000 per crime prevented, worth it if the victim were you or me, but much too expensive t o be feasible as a national policy.$150,000 would be worth it if there were only one persons life, such as yours or mine, to save, bu

31、t such a policy would be much too expensive to carry out nationwide. Operating cost: money you have to pay to put long prison sentences into practice.Techniques of writingStatistical InformationIn an argumentative piece of writing, statistical evidence is convincing.Rhetorical QuestionsThese are que

32、stions that do not expect an answer but express a strong feeling, opinion or impression.Can we send them to prison?Can we execute more than 22,000 murderers?More examples:Who was he to take stand against a custom?Do you see anything green in my eyes?Techniques of writingSelective Use of RepetitionRepetition is used for emphasis and expression of a strong feeling.More examples:Alone, alone, all, all alone.He is as vu