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| Crime and Punishment / Преступление и наказание |
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| Read
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You are members of a jury in Portland, Oregon. Today, you will discuss the cases of six criminals. All six of the criminals said that they committed the crimes. You can punish a person with a warning, a fine, jail, or a combination of these, but Oregon does not have a death penalty.
The maximum punishments for the following crimes are:
Assault: five years
Rape: seven years
Breaking and entering: three years
Theft: three years
Drunk driving: six months
Manslaughter: four years
Murder: life imprisonment
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| Decide and Write
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1. Charles Mercer, age 80, retired
Crime: Murder
Case Description: Mercer and his wife, Sara, had been married for 52 years. Sara got cancer in 1988 and was dying. She had been in the hospital for eight months and was kept alive by a respirator. On February 3, Charles Mercer went to the hospital and shot his wife. He says: "I loved her so much I couldn’t watch her suffer anymore."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
2. Ruth Tipton, age 73, housewife, divorced (no children)
Crimes: drunk driving; manslaughter
Case Description: Mrs. Tipton is an alcoholic. She was in the hospital for a long time because of this. In the past ten years, police arrested Mrs. Tipton four times for drunk driving. On July 10, Mrs. Tipton was driving home from an afternoon party; she was drunk. She hit a 3-year-old girl on a tricycle. The girl died. Mrs. Tipton says: "I’m so sorry; I promise to pay the little girl’s parents some money every month. I will never drink again."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
3. George Raveling, age 18, high school dropout
Crime: theft (shoplifting)
Case Description: On July 28, Raveling went to a grocery store with two of his friends. While there, he put 13 bars of candy in his pocket and tried to leave without paying. The manager caught him. He says: "I’m really sorry. I didn’t know I had to pay for the candy."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
4. Paul Jones, age 35, unemployed, married (two children)
Crimes: breaking and entering; theft
Case Description: Mr. Smith lost his job at a wood factory two years ago. His wife also is unemployed. On the night of December 22, Mr. Smith stole two bicycles from the Peugeot Bicycle Shop. No one was in the store at the time of the robbery. Police caught him and found the bicycles the next day. Mr. Smith says: "I only wanted to give my kids something for Christmas."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
5. Jimmy Jackson, age 24, taxicab driver
Crimes: assault; rape
Case Description: On the evening of January 1, Mr. Williams and his girlfriend had a big fight. Later, on the way home, he went to a bar and got drunk. He saw two university girls (ages 18 and 19) alone in the bar, and he followed them out to their car at about 1:00 a.m. There, he beat them both, and he raped them. Mr. Williams says: "The fight with my girlfriend and the alcohol made me crazy. I am sorry."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
6. Susan Smith, age 43, secretary, widow (four children)
Crime: murder
Case Description: In the last seven years, Mrs. James has called the police eight times. Each time, she told police her husband was hitting her. In fact, she went to the hospital with serious injuries four times last year. On March 6, police received a call from Mrs. James’s neighbor. They went to the James’s house. They found Mrs. James with a gun in her hand. Mr. James was on the floor, dead. Mrs. James says: "I’m not sorry I shot my husband. I thought he wanted to kill me."
Your Punishment:
______________________________
Reason:
______________________________
______________________________
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| Extend
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1. Is it ever okay to steal?
2. When a soldier shoots an enemy soldier, is that murder? Write a definition of murder.
3. Will you call the police if you see a person speeding very fast in a car? you see a person stealing a book from a bookstore?
4. Should the death penalty ever be used? If no, why not? If yes, for what crimes?
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