Lesson Three More Crime and Less Punishment II

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Lesson ThreeMore Crime and Less Punishment
--- II

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Content

• 1. Author
• 2. Alcatraz Island
• 3. Parole
• 4. Text Analysis Part I

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I Author

• Richard Moran
• Richard Moran is a criminologist and a leading
  expert on the insanity defense, capital
  punishment, and the history of the electric
  chair. His book The Executioners Current (Knopf,
  2002) is the story of how the electric chair
  developed out of an effort by one
  nineteenth-century electric company to discredit
  the other.

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II Alcatraz Island

• Alcatraz Island is one of Golden Gate National
  Recreation Areas most popular destinations,
  offering a close-up look at 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) lighthouse.
  These structures and the islands many natural
  features are being preserved by the National Park
  Service.

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III. Parole (??)

• Parole, in criminal law, means release from
  prison of a convict before the expiration of his
  term on condition that his activities be
  restricted and that he report regularly to an
  officer. The convict generally remains under
  sentence, and the restrictions (as of residence,
  occupation, type of associates) and the
  supervision are intended to prevent a relapse
  into crime. Any violation of parole may result in
  return to imprisonment. The procedure of parole
  is regulated by statute in the jurisdictions of
  the United States.

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• It is less often administered directly by the
  executive than it is by a board or officer with
  the power to release a convict after he has
  served the minimum of an indeterminate sentence.
  Parole is designed to give the prisoner a chance
  to readjust and to expedite the process of
  rehabilitation.

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IV Text Analysis Part I

• 1. If you are looking foronly look at the
  numbers If you are trying to find out why we
  dont deal with criminals severely, you can just
  look at the numbers there are too many of them
  for the society to punish.
• 1) get tough with to become harsh, severe,
  unyielding with sb.
• The government has decided to get tough with car
  smugglers.
• The school asked the police to get tough with the
  neighborhood bullies who were constantly shaking
  the children down.
• 2. This amounts to than we are able to punish
  each year more than 41 million crimes are
  committed, which is far more than the police can
  handle.
• 1) amount to sth to be equal to, in quantity
  or in meaning,
• The seemingly polite letter amounts to a refusal.
• Her savings dont amount to much.
• When he died, his debts amounted to 50 thousand
  dollars.

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• 3. The best estimates suggestfor nontraffic
  offenses According to the most
  favorable judgment, 36 million to 40 million
  people, amounting to 16 to 18 percent of the US
  population, have at some time been arrested for
  acts of wrongdoing, not including those of
  breaking traffic rules and regulations.
• 1) suggest to state indirectly??, ??
• His silence suggested disagreement.
• The figures suggest that the income of the local
  people is increasing.
• 4. We already havein a prison cell In this
  country, there are already 2.4 million people who
  are receiving punishment in one form or another
  412,000 of them are serving their prison terms /
  kept in prison.
• 1) under correctional supervision a euphemism,
  meaning being disciplined, or being made to
  improve ones behavior under the control / charge
  of the community, etc. as a punishment.

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• 2) Lock sb. away (informal) to put sb. in prison
• CF lock sth. away/ up to put sth. in a safe
  place and fasten the lock???????
• a) She locks important papers away in a drawer.
• 3) cultural note In the US, similar in Chinese,
  besides imprisonment, there are other forms of
  punishment. For example, young people who break
  the law can be put into a reform school /
  reformatory (in Britain, community home) where
  they receive training. Or the might be required
  to do community service work for a fixed number
  of hours.

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• 5. This is why crime rate goes up this is why
  at the present moment not all crimes are punished
  and the punishment for crimes is less severe than
  before even though the crime rate is on the
  increase.
• Note the writers choice of word to contrast
  crime rate and the severity of punishment go up
  and go down.
• when even though, in spite of the fact that
• As a comedian, he had to make the audience laugh
  when he had just got bad news from home.
• 6. Countries like so little crime.
• give out to announce publicly here to
  enforce??,?????,????

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• 2) cultural note In some Islamic countries, such
  as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, severe punishment is
  enforced on crimes of any kind. For example,
  murderers are invariably put to death, and
  pickpockets, thieves and robbers are often
  punished, by having their hands cut off.
• 7. But can we affordexecute more than 22,000
  murderers? But can we cut off the hands of those
  who committed more than 35 million crimes of
  stealing, mugging or robbery each year? Can we
  put all of them into prison? Can we put to death
  the more than 22000 murderers each year? Can we
  do all that without arousing cries of protests?
• 1) property crimes crimes involved in taking
  other peoples property illegally such as
  stealing, mugging and robbery.

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• 2) Cultural Note In the US, even when the
  suspect involved in a murder case is caught,
  he/she is more often than not found innocent
  because the accused is held innocent until
  proven guilty and is convicted beyond
  reasonable doubt, and it is not so easy to find
  evidence about which no reasonable doubt can be
  raised.
• 8. A decade of careful researchesreduces crime
  although researches into the relationship between
  crime and punishment have been carried on for ten
  years, they cant produce proof enough to show
  that severe punishment can reduce crime.
• fail to do sth (formal) to be unable to do sth.
• Owing to a traffic jam, they failed to reach the
  airport for their flight.

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• 9. We think that punishmentthe other way around
  we think that punishment helps prevent crime, but
  the opposite might be true crime prevent
  punishment.
• 1) deter sth to discourage, check or prevent
  sth. through the threat of sth. unpleasant.
• A heavy fine alone wont deter shoplifting.
• The university enforces severe punishment to
  deter cheating in exams.
• CF deter sb. from sth/doing sth to make
  sb. decide not to do sth. or continue doing sth.
  esp by making them understand the difficulties
  and unpleasant results of their actions.
• e.g. Threats failed to deter him from continuing
  his research.
• The high prices of housing deter people from
  buying homes.

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• the other way around / round the opposite
  situation
• To our surprise, the tiger didnt kill the man.
  It was the other way roundthe man killed the
  tiger.
• He didnt divorce his wife. It was the other way
  round.
• 10. It just might be thatbe punished The
  situation might be that too much crime makes it
  impossible to punish all the criminals. When 16
  to 18 percent of the US population commits
  crimes, what can you do about it?
• 1) decline in sth gradual and continuous loss of
  strength, power, number, etc. (??????????)??

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• 11. This is the situation in today This is the
  situation we are faced with today.
• find to discover sb/ sth/ yourself doing sth. or
  in a particular situation, esp. when this is
  unexpected.
• When the old man came to, he found himself in bed
  at home.
• He unlocked and opened the drawer only to find
  his passport gone.
• He switched on the light and found a stranger
  standing in the middle of the room.
• 12. Just as the decline get into prison the
  increasing number of crimes has made it more
  difficult to get criminals into prison while the
  decreasing number of high-school graduates has
  made it easier ti be admitted into the college of
  a persons choice.
• Note the irony in comparing university enrollment
  and imprisonment

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• 13. While elite collegestheir correctional
  program There is similarity between prison 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 who have committed five serious
  crimes before being convicted for the present
  one.
• elite adj, best, top, select, considered to be
  the best of their kind
• Note the sarcasm in this remark and the following
  one

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• 14. Our current cropin Alcatraz Our present
  imprisoned criminal population is indeed composed
  of first-rate criminals. On the whole, they are
  much more serious law-breakers than those who
  were put in a prison for the dangerous criminals
  of the country in the thirty years between the
  early 1930s and early 1960s.
• crop of (????????)??(?)??(??)

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• This is the end of Part Two