More Crime and Less Punishment Richard Moran

1. Lesson Three More Crime and Less Punishment Richard Moran

2. Warm-up Background Information Word Study Text Analysis Detailed Study of the Text Exercises

3. Warm-up • What do you now about jury system in America? • What is the guiding principle in criminal court in America? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of the principle?

4. Jury system The 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-examination, give a verdict（裁决） 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 person’s guilt.

5. Guiding principle The court must prove the accused person’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In other words, the accused is held innocent until proved guilty.

6. Guiding principle 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 always 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.

7. Background Information • 1. Author: Richard MoranAProfessor of Sociology

8. About the author • Richard 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 theWashington Post, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, and Newsweek.

9. BackgroundInformation 2. Crime and punishment in the US • Question 1 Is prison capacity keeping up with the growth in the prison population?

10. Graph 1: Changes in State Prisoners/Prison Composition, 1990-1994

11. Question 2 Which populations are most victimized by crime?

12. Graph 2: Victimization Rates by Age, 1994 (per 100,000 persons)

13. Question 3 How much does the U.S. spend on the criminal justice system?

14. Graph 3: Allocation of State and Federal Funds, 1990

15. Word Study Word formation a. committed 尽职的,尽忠的 n. commitment commit • perform(a crime, foolish act etc.) commit murder/suicide/an offence • entrust; hand over to commit a man to prison • make oneself responsible; undertake He has committed himself to support his brother’s children. • (often reflexive) bind oneself I won’t commit myself to that course of action.

16. Word Study deter Word formation v. todiscourage, hinder from n. a. deterrent deterrent policy deterrent power a nuclear deterrent • Does negotiated disarmament deter war? • Failure did not deter us from trying it again.

17. Word Study illustrate • explain by examples, pictures, etc. The following examples illustrate our point. • supply a book, article, lecture etc. with pictures, diagrams, etc. The book was illustrated with color photographs. This is a well-illustrated textbook. illustration n. illustrative adj.

18. Word Study • convince and 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.

19. Word Study decline v.a. to refuse politely b. to draw to a gradual close; to wane Word formation • I declined their offer of help. • an empire that has declined业已衰落的帝国 • sink into a decline 开始衰落, 衰弱下去; 体力衰退 • (尤指因患肺病而衰弱) • on the decline 走下坡路, 在衰退中 • the decline of life 晚年, 暮年 n. decline

20. Word Study cf. decline, refuse, reject • decline 较正式地、有礼貌地谢绝 • He declined the nomination. • refuse 是普通用语:坚决、果断或坦率地拒绝 • He refused to take the money. • reject 以否定、敌对的态度当面拒绝 • They rejected damaged goods.

21. Structure of the text Text Analysis 1—3 Introduction of the central idea: punishment does not reduce crime. Part 1 (Paras. ): Part 2 (Paras. ): Part 3 (Para. ): Why punishment does not deter crime. 4—9 Conclusion: getting tough with criminals is not the answer to the crime problem. 10

22. Text Analysis How did the author argue for his point of view? Topic sentence: More crime, less punishment. (a related topic: Should the criminals be locked up for long? /Longer prison sentences or not?)

23. Text Analysis Subtopic 1 (正面论证): We cannot lock up those criminals long in prison. (Paras. 4, 5, 6) Para. 4: The gradual increase in the criminal population has made it more difficult to get into prison. Para. 5: The criminal justice system is powerless for it is faced with too many crimes. Para. 6: Statistical fact: Most criminals are only imprisoned for a short period.

24. Text Analysis Subtopic 2 (反面论证): It would be unfeasible and costly to lock them up for longer periods of time. (Paras.7, 8, 9) Para. 7: If we locked them up for longer periods of time, it would not be worth the cost. Besides, the public is unwilling to pay for prison construction. Para. 8: Even if the public were willing to pay, long prison sentences may not be effective in reducing crime. Para. 9: More time spent in prison is also more expensive.

25. Detailed Study of the Text Part One • The understanding and appreciation of the text: • ◆ Part One: paras. 1—3 • The writer describes how serious the crime problem is in the States and introduces the main idea of the text : punishment does not reduce crime. Main meaning

26. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) • The best estimates suggest that 36 to 40 million people have arrest records for nontraffic offenses. (Para.1) • According to the most favorable estimate, 36million to 40 million people, amounting to 16 to 18 percent of the U.S. population, have at some time been arrested for acts of wrongdoing, not including those of breaking traffic rules and regulations.

27. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) • We already have 2.4 million people under some form of correctional supervision, 412,000 of them locked away in a prison cell.（para.1） • 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.

28. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) • under some form of correctional supervision: a euphemism, meaning being disciplined, or being made to improve one’s behavior under the charge of the community, etc. as a punishment • lock sb. away: (informal) to put sb. in prison • lock sth. away: to put sth. in a safe place and fasten the lock • Cultural note: In the U.S., besides imprisonment, there are other forms of punishment. For example, young people who break the law can be put into a reform school where they receive training. Or they might be required to do community service work for a fixed number of hours.

29. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) Countries like Saudi Arabia can afford to give out harsh punishments precisely because they have so little crime. (Para. 2) • give out: to announce publicly; (here) to enforce • 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.

30. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) But can we afford to cut off the hands of those who committed more than 35 million property crimes each year? Can we send them to prison? Can we execute more than 22,000 murderers? (Para. 2) rhetorical questions, and use of repetition 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 22,000 murderers each year? Can we do all that without arousing cries of protests?

31. Cultural note: In the U.S., even when the suspect involved in a murder case is caught, he 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. 无罪推定，排除合理疑点后才能判罪

32. Detailed Study of the Text (Part One) • We think that punishment deters crime, but it just might be the other way around. (para. 3) • We think that punishment helps prevent crime, but the opposite might be true: crime prevents punishment. • deter sb. from sth./doing sth.: to make sb. decide not to do sth. or continue doing sth. • the other way around/ round: the opposite situation

33. Detailed Study of the Text Part Two ◆ Part Two: paras. 4—9 • The writer analyses the reasons why punishment doesn’t deter punishment. • Supporting point 1. There are too many criminal to be locked up • Supporting point 2. The public is unwilling to pay for prison construction • Supporting point 3. Longer prison sentences are not only too expensive to be feasible, but also ineffectual.

34. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) Just as the decline in the number of high-school graduates has made it easier to gain admission to the college of one’s choice, the gradual increase in the criminal population has made it more difficult to get into prison. (Para. 4)(Analogy) decline in sth.: gradual and continuous loss of strength, power, etc. 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 to be admitted into the college of a person’s choice. Note the irony in comparing university enrollment and imprisonment.

35. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) • While elite colleges and universities still have high standards of admissions, some of the more “exclusive” prisons now require about five prior serious crimes…... (para. 4) (Analogy) • while: although • elite colleges: the best colleges of all • exclusive prisons: high-class or unusually good prisons • prior serious crimes: the serious crimes committed by someone previously

36. Paraphrasing Note the sarcasm in this remark. There is a similarity between prisons and universities in their recruiting policy. You’ve 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.

37. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) Our current crop of prisoners is an elite group, on the whole much more serious offenders than those who were once imprisoned in Alcatraz. (Para. 4) 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.( “elite group” here used ironically) here used ironically

38. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) The police can’t find most criminals and those they do find are difficult and costly to convict. (Para. 5) First, the police force is unable to find most criminals. Second, it is difficult to prosecute those they have found, try them and finally get a court to declare them guilty, and it costs a lot of money to do so, too.

39. Cultural note: According to the judicial system of the U.S., a criminal is tried by a jury who reaches a verdict of innocent or guilty. The accused is to be found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt”. This makes it difficult to convict a criminal, for his lawyers can always raise a reasonable doubt concerning the evidence, the testimony or the reliability of the witnesses. Also, collecting evidence and having a trial cost a lot of money. Sometimes a trial might last months, or even years as the nine-month trial of O. J. Simpson, famous American football player and actor, who was charged with murdering his former wife and her boy friend, but eventually declared innocent. go to 8

40. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) • Most prisoners gain early release not because parole boards are too easy on crime, but because it is much cheaper to supervise a criminal in the community.(para.6) • Most prisoners are released before they had served their sentence, not because the parole boards are kind in granting, but because it costs much more to keep a criminal in prison than to have them live under the supervision of the community. • Be easy (on): (informal) to be less severe • Go/be easy on sb: used to tell sb. Not to punish or treat a person too severely

41. Detailed Study of the Text (Part Two) Yet when measured against the lower crime rates this would probably produce, longer prison sentences are not worth the cost to state and local governments. (Para. 7) compared with keeping them locked up for longer periods of time If criminals were kept longer in prison, crime 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.

42. When measured against: when longer prison sentences are measured against • Measure sth./sb. against sb./sth.: to judge sb. Or sth. by comparing them with another person or thing • Worth sth./doing sth.: deserving

43. Besides, those states that have tried to gain voters’ approval for bonds to build new prisons often discover…. (para.7) • Some states want to raise money to build new prisons by issuing government bonds. They have tried but failed to get voters’ approval. This shows that the public is unwilling to pay for building more prisons. • Bonds: written documents in which a government promises to pay back money that it has borrowed, often with interest.

44. While it is not possible to know the true amount of crime committed by people released from prison in any given year, … (para. 8) • Although we can’t 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 convinced again for serious crimesand put into jail again.

45. Even if released…., this would amount to only 15,000 crimes prevented: a drop in the bucket when measured against the 41 million crimes committed each year. (para. 8) • Even if each released prisoner commits two crimes, this would add up to a total of only 15,000 crimes. This means that only that number of crimes would be prevented if those prisoners were locked up in prison for an additional year. But each year 41 million crimes occur. Compared with 41 million, 15,000 is a very small number.

46. a drop in the bucket:an amount of sth., that is too small or unimportant to make any real difference 杯水车薪，小巫见大巫

47. The first-year operation cost would be… worth it if the victim were you or me, but much too expensive to be feasible as a national policy. (para. 9) $150,000 would be worth it if there were only one person’s life, such as yours or mine, to save, but such a policy would be much too expensive to carry out nationwide.

48. operating cost: money you have to pay to put long prison sentences into practice • Too expensive to be feasible: too expensive to be carried out

49. Detailed Study of the Text Part Three • ◆ Part Three: paras. 10 • The writer restates his argument : getting tough with criminals is not the answer to the crime problem. Main meaning

50. My contribution to the public debate begins and ends with this simple observation: getting tough with criminals is not the answer. (Para. 10) This essay, one of the series discussing crime and punishment, begins and ends with the same statement: dealing with crime severely won’t work.