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166

Most prisons limit the number of visits that a prisoner may receive from his family or friends. Visits normally take place within the sight of an officer, and in some cases within his hearing. In many prisons, visits are conducted with the prisoner sitting on one side of the table and his visitor on the other, with a wire mesh partition between them; the visitor may be searched for contraband.



Prisoners may write and receive letters and may make telephone calls. Correspondence of prisoners is usually subject to censorship by the prison authorities, and prisoners may not write more than one letter each week. Privileges include a personal radio, books, periodicals and newspapers. They also have an opportunity to watch television (in many prisons each prisoner has a TV-set), and to make purchases from the prison shop with money earned in prison.

Control of the prison is maintained by a number of disciplinary sanctions, which may include forfeiture of privileges, confinement within a punishment block or cell, or the loss of remission or good time (time deducted from the sentence as a reward for good behaviour). Typically, the prohibited offences include mutiny and violence to officers; escaping, or being absent from a place where the prisoner is required to be and possessing unauthorised articles.

TASK 2. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions and reproduce the context in which they were used:

body of institutional regulations

contraband substance

forfeiture of privileges

personal inadequacy

to be stripped of possessions

to control the introduction of weapons

to possess unauthorised articles

TASK 3. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

  1. лишение свободы

  2. бунт, мятеж




167

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

  1. заключённый

  2. обыск, досмотр

  3. подлежать цензуре

TASK 4. Answer the following questions:

  1. What deprivations do prisoners suffer?

  2. What is the aim of controlling every aspect of prisoner's life?

  3. What are the institutional regulations for visits that prisoners
    may receive?

  4. What rights do prisoners have?

  5. What disciplinary sanctions are imposed to maintain security
    in prison?

TASK 5. Read the text and answer the following questions. Write down Russian equivalents for sentences given in bold type.

  1. What rights do prisoners enjoy in Europe and the United
    States?

  1. What have you learned about Habeas Corpus and mandamus?

  1. Why are the courts now willing to limit prisoners' access to
    the federal courts in the United States?

Prisoners' Rights

The idea that a prisoner has rights that may be protected by actions in the courts has been developed in Europe and the United States. In England, in the absence of a written constitution, prisoners resorting to the courts have relied on the general principles of administrative law, which require fair procedures by disciplinary bodies. Although many actions brought by prisoners have been unsuccessful, prison disciplinary procedures have been improved as a result of such litigation.

In the U.S. actions brought ^__

AMENDMENT 8

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

forfeited all of the rights enjoyed by free citizens. Eventually, the courts recognised certain rights and legal remedies available to

under the provisions of the U.S. Constitution (notably the Eighth and the Fourteenth amendments) establish that prisoners are entitled to the protection of the Constitution. Early U.S. court decisions ruled that prisoners had

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Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

169






TASK 8. Read the articles below and point out the opposite views on prison facilities:

Criticism of Jail TV


A Manicure for Jack the Ripper at the Killers' Health Club

prisoners, who may now file their own suits, have direct access to
the federal courts, and file writs of Habeas Corpus and mandamus.
Under Habeas Corpus the prisoner may request release, transfer,
or another remedy for some aspect of confinement. Mandamus is
, ч a command issue by a

AMENDMENT 14

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

court directing a prison administrator to carry out a legal responsibility — to provide a sick prisoner with medical care, for example — or to restore to the prisoner rights that

have been illegally

denied. Prisoners have sought remedies for many problems, including relief from unreasonable searches, release from solitary confinement, and the procuring of withheld mail. Recent decisions have indicated, however, that the courts are now willing to limit legal writs by prisoners in deference to the security requirements of the prison.

TASK 6. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

  1. судебный процесс, судебное дело

  2. предписание Хабеас Корпус

  3. судебный приказ нижестоящему суду или должностному
    лицу

  4. тюремное заключение

  5. необоснованный обыск

  6. предъявить иск; возбудить судебное дело (2)

  7. восстанавливать в правах

  8. добиваться судебной защиты

TASK 7. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions:

  • to resort to the court

  • to forfeit a right

  • release from solitary confinement

  • procuring of withheld mail

  • prison security requirements

The UK Government has been accused of going "soft on crime" for considering a proposal to allow thousands of prisoners to have televisions in their cells.

The Home Office has asked the Prison Service to investigate the issue to try to defuse tensions in Britain's overcrowded jails. Prison Service officials said no decisions had been made and said it was weighing up the 'pros and cons' of the scheme.

Home Affairs spokesman, James Clappison, said: "We think prison conditions should be decent and austere and prisons should be a punishment. We think televisions

Some of Britain's most notorious killers and rapists are being offered the luxury of beauty therapy. They can enjoy facials, manicures and pedicures at Ashworth maximum security hospital's new Health and Beauty Center club. The 650 male and female patients can also enjoy a sauna, solarium and massage area at the mental hospital near Liverpool.

These inmates have avoided prison because the courts decided

in cells are not consistent with that. We think it's soft on criminals."

The former Home Secretary, Michael Howard, said: "Televisions in cells could provide a calming influence and a powerful incentive to good conduct. It could also be used for educational and communication purposes."

Deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, Nick Flynn, said: "It's a delicate matter and it shouldn't be used for prisoners to sit around to watch football. But it could be a useful tool for the Prison Service to give information to prisoners."

they are either mentally ill or criminally insane.

Hospital authorities said that the facilities available to inmates "especially benefited those with low self-esteem or who found it difficult to relax."

Among the 'clientc' of the Club is a knifeman who attacked 10 people and is now pleading for access to a fully equipped gym, and a sadistic rapist undergoing aromatherapy treatment.

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Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

171


DISCUSSION

Using the vocabulary and facts from the articles above discuss the following:

  • Prison conditions should be decent and austere and prisons
    should be a punishment.


  • Prison facilities provide a calming influence and a powerful
    incentive to good conduct.


TASK 9. Read the text below and write down a list of problems that prison inmates face:

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares that "all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person". However, in reality all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are being held in prisons that are: squalid, overcrowded, dilapidated, insanitary, inhumane, unjust, very expensive and ineffective in tackling crime. In many countries, conditions are so bad that prisoners die from malnutrition, diseases, attacks from other prisoners or prison staff, or suicide. Under extremely overcrowded and insanitary conditions, diseases such as tuberculosis and dysentery spread very rapidly, and without medical treatment they may easily be fatal.

At the same time there is a small number of people who present such a danger to the community or to themselves that they need to be detained. However, for most offences, imprisonment is not an effective penalty. Many countries which may have very high prison populations have very high crime rates. This shows that prison is probably not deterring many people from crime. Whilst in prison, the attitudes of minor offenders may harden as they mix with those convicted of more serious crimes. This often leads to minor offenders committing more serious crime after they are released from prison.

Large amounts of money are spent on locking people up, even when prison staff are poorly paid, buildings are not maintained and prisoners are treated inadequately.

In many countries, prison populations have been increasing substantially over recent years. Most prisoners are young, poor, urban men. Locking up this section of the general population for

substantial periods has a destabilising effect on the whole of society in the longer term.

TASK 10. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

  1. высокий уровень преступности

  2. лицо, совершившее малозначительное правонарушение

  3. эффективная мера наказания

  4. удержать от совершения преступления

  5. посадить, 'упрятать' в тюрьму

  6. освободить из тюрьмы

TASK 11. Complete the text using the words from the box:

restraint; release date; recidivism; rehabilitate; preventive

Criticism of the present prison system of punishment has

focused mainly on its rehabilitative and functions.

Critics point out that — the commission of another

crime after the offender has served a sentence for the first time — I is high. Thus the system seems ineffective as a cure for, or a

upon, those factors in offenders which may lead to

criminal acts. Furthermore, because there is no way to predict the future behaviour of individuals, the length of sentence and the

may have no relationship to the prison time necessary

to effect a cure in, or , an offender. Many criminologists

insist that there is no adequate body to demonstrate that any punishment, capital punishment included, has a restraining effect on potential criminal behaviour.

CREATIVE WRITING

Write down a list of measures necessary to improve the present prison system. Consider the information from the texts above.









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Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

173


DEBATE

Prisons: A Solution to Crime?

Using the vocabulary and facts from the Unit, discuss the following:

  • Hundreds of thousands of people are imprisoned in
    inhumane conditions.


  • Many countries with very high prison populations have
    very high crime rates.


  • There are people who present such a danger to the
    community that they need to be detained.


  • Prison does not deter many people from crime.

  • Whilst in prison, the attitudes of minor offenders harden
    as they mix with those convicted of more serious crimes.


  • All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
    humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the
    human person.


UNIT 4. ALTERNATIVES TO PRISON

TASK 1. Read the following text and write down Russian equivalents for sentences given in bold type:

Prison Improvements and Alternatives

In most criminal justice systems the majority of offenders are dealt with by means other than custody — by fines and other financial penalties, by probation or supervision, or by orders to make reparation in some practical form to the community.

Fine

The most common penalty, fine, avoids the disadvantages of many other forms "of sentence; it is inexpensive to administer and does not normally have the side effects, such as social stigma and loss of job that may follow imprisonment. However, there are dangers that the imposition of financial penalties may result in more affluent offenders receiving penalties that they can easily discharge, while less affluent offenders are placed under burdens that they cannot sustain.

Restitution

Related to the fine is an order to pay restitution (in some countries termed compensation). The principle of restitution is popular in some countries as an alternative to punitive sentencing,

but there are some drawbacks. One is the possibility, as in the case of the fine, that the more affluent offender may receive favourable treatment from the court because he is able to pay restitution. The second drawback is that such schemes do not help all victims of crime. Only those who are the victims of crimes for which the offender is caught and convicted and has the funds to pay restitution are likely to be recompensed. Victims of crimes of violence in some countries — such as England and Canada — are entitled to restitution from public funds, whether or not the offender is detected or has the resources necessary to compensate him.

Probation

There are many ways of dealing with offenders that do not involve the payment of money. One is probation, a system that takes many different forms in different jurisdictions. However, that essentially involves the suspension of sentence on the offender subject to the condition that he is supervised while living in the community by a probation officer and possibly agrees to comply with such other requirements as the court may think appropriate. Usually, if the offender complies with the probation order and commits no further offence while it is in force, no other penalty is imposed. If he breaks the requirement of the order or commits another offence, he can be brought back before the court and punished for the original offence as well as for the later one. Suspended Sentence

In many American states probation is combined with a suspended sentence, so that the sentence the offender will have to serve if he breaks the order is fixed in advance. In England the sentence is not fixed in advance, and the court has complete discretion if there is a breach of probation terms to sentence the offender for the original crime in light of his later behaviour. Reparation

The concept of reparation has gained in popularity in a number of jurisdictions. Under this method, the offender makes good the damage he has done through his crime, not by paying money but by providing services to the victim directly or indirectly through the community. In England this takes the form of the community service order, under which the court is empowered to order anyone Who is convicted of an offence that could be punished with imprisonment to perform up to 240 hours of unpaid work for the community, usually over a period of not more than 12 months. The kind of work involved varies according to the area, the time of year, and the abilities of the offender; in some cases it may involve heavy






174


Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation? 175

  1. отсроченный приговор

  2. компенсация, возмещение (3)

  3. общественные работы

TASK 3. Read the text below and comment on the sentence given in bold type.

Tracking Humans: The Electronic Bracelet in the Modern World

Just English. Английский для юристов

physical labour, but in others it may require such work as the provision of help to handicapped people. If the offender completes the hours of work ordered by the court, he receives no further penalty, but if he fails to carry out the work without reasonable excuse, he can be re-sentenced for the original offence. This method is less expensive to administer than imprisonment, less damaging to the offender and his family, and more useful to the community. There are some doubts about the extent to which the availability of community service as an alternative to prison weakens the deterrent effect of the criminal law, but there can be no doubt that community service has become an established sentencing alternative.

Disqualification

Other alternatives to prison are based on the idea of preventing an offender from committing further offences, without necessarily confining him or her in a prison. The most familiar power of this kind is that of disqualifying an offender from driving a motor vehicle or from holding a driver's license. Other forms of disqualification may be imposed on offenders convicted of particular types of crimes: a fraudulent company director may be disqualified from being involved in the direction of a company, a corrupt politician may be disqualified from holding public office, or a parent who sexually abuses his children may be deprived of parental authority over them.

It appears, however, that imprisonment will still remain the major instrument of punishment. In light of the difficulties surrounding its use, prison ideally should be employed as a last resort for those offenders who cannot be handled in any other way.

TASK 2. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

  1. быть лишенным водительских прав

  2. быть лишенным родительских прав

  3. иметь право на возмещение ущерба

  4. соответствовать требованиям

  5. коррумпированный политик

  6. насильственное преступление

  7. отсрочка исполнения приговора или наказания

  8. сдерживающий эффект

  9. сотрудник службы пробации




  1. судебный приказ о направлении на пробацию

  2. экономические санкции

  3. условное осуждение

  4. наблюдение, надзор

• Alternatives to incarceration such as the use of fines, community service, and restitution are products of the social movements of the 1960s. The rationalizations of these alternatives have been cost effectiveness, efficiency and humaneness. The same arguments have been associated with the newest community-based sanction, "electronic monitoring". It is clear that such an alternative may yield these benefits.

The electronic monitoring system generally requires the offender to wear an electronic bracelet around his or her ankle or wrist. The monitoring is usually of two types: passive or active. The passive system provides for random telephone monitoring by authorities in order to confirm that it is the specific offender who is present and responding. In contrast, an active system provides continuous information as to whether an individual is Within the range, generally 150 to 200 feet, of a transmitter located within their residence. This is commonly referred to as continuous monitoring.

The overriding rationale in favour
of electronic monitoring appears
to centre on its potential to
alleviate both prison

overcrowding and the financial burden of incarceration.

The effects of imprisonment on an individual may be great. It is common knowledge that imprisonment returns a man to society with a scarred psyche, unpaid debts and financial losses, a highly disruptive if not irreparably broken family, children who lose respect for their parent, no job, and a gap in his life history that is hard to explain when he seeks a new job. In this respect, electronic monitoring allows the offender to remain at home where he or she can continue to hold employment and maintain any dependent children.

Consequently, society may benefit as well, since there will be no additional burden placed on the welfare system, as would be the case if an offender with dependent family members was imprisoned.

Violent crimes committed by electronically monitored offenders are rare. About one out of twenty-five electronically monitored offenders commit crimes, and the vast majority of these new offences are non-violent. Moreover, these figures compare favourably with other monitoring systems, including bail and probation.












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TASK 4. Answer the following questions:

  1. What is the electronic monitoring system? What is its purpose?

  2. What is the difference between passive and active monitoring?

  3. What are the advantages of electronic monitoring compared
    with incarceration? What are its drawbacks?

TASK 5. Study the texts above (Task 1 and Task 3) and write down the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative to imprisonment. Make up your own list of prison alternatives.

TASK 6. Read the following text and answer the questions:

  1. What approach characterises the Dutch punitive system?

  2. What penalties do the Dutch prefer to impose on their criminals?

  3. What are the prisons in Holland like?

  4. What rights do prisoners enjoy in the Netherlands?

  5. What is the goal of humanitarian treatment of offenders in
    Holland?

The Netherlands: a Land without Prisons

Soaring crime rates and law-and-order backlash are hardly unique to the United States, but not all countries have taken the 'lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key' approach. Many nations, in fact, have largely shelved the punitive psychology in dealing with criminals — and none more forthrightly than Holland. The Dutch have adopted an innovative and remarkably humane system of dealing with law breakers, with the result that the Netherlands is close to becoming a land without prisons. And the policy is apparently paying dividends: crime is certainly climbing much more slowly there than in all other countries.

The Dutch hold the view that harsh treatment and get-tough attitudes only aggravate the problems that lead a person to crime. "A prison sentence does little to 'resocialise a person', says vice-president of the Hague Court. "It more likely leads to rancour and bitterness. A mild sentence, possibly even just a fine, shows an offender that society cares about him." Because of this benevolent concept fewer and fewer people are serving time in Holland.

Whenever possible, the Dutch prefer to fine law breakers rather than clap them in jail. But even for those imprisoned, every effort is made to provide an environment that will rehabilitate the convicts. While, as one official put it, "Dutch prisons are not Hilton Hotels," neither are they ugly fortresses full of cellblocks and harassment. Several prisons in Holland are country villas with only a handful


177

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

of prisoners. In many institutions prisoners are allowed to wear their

own clothes and keep personal possessions; they are given

comfortably furnished rooms with such homey items as curtains,

and they often are allowed to work outside the prison or leave from

time to time to visit their families.

Moreover, Holland has an extraordinary one-to-one ratio between prisoner staff members and inmates. "Our objective," says the Deputy Prison Director, " is not to make life pleasant for prisoners, but to normalise it as much as possible to prepare the prisoners for a return to society."

Dutch officials maintain that their philosophy of short prison sentences and humanitarian treatment is essential if convicts are not to become repeaters. "A heavy sentence," they say, "keeps a person out of possible mischief longer, but it merely postpones and aggravates the problem of recidivism."

Given that kind of success, it is not surprising that Holland's liberal penal philosophy has won applause.

TASK 7. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions from the text above:

soaring crime rates

law-and-order backlash

'lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key' approach

to shelve the punitive psychology

get-tough attitudes

to resocialise a person

benevolent concept

homey items

to become repeaters

TASK 8. Render the following passage into English paying special attention to the words and expressions in bold type:

Швеция прославилась своим гуманным отношением к лю­дям, преступившим закон. Особый интерес вызывают качествен­но новые подходы к решению задач борьбы с преступностью в рамках исправительных учреждений. В основе альтернативных Программ лежит идея, состоящая в том, что преступление по­рождено обществом, социальной средой, сформировавшей нару­шителя. Преступники становятся таковыми из-за жизненных Невзгод, и только особо опасных преступников следует заклю­чать в тюрьму — изолировать от общества. В связи с этим в Швеции, стране с высоким уровнем жизни, совершенно иная тен-

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179


денция борьбы с преступностью: в большинстве случаев мера наказания за совершенное преступление — это не заключение под стражу, а взимание штрафов и пробация, т.е. надзор за ус­ловно осужденными. Существуют также специальные медицин­ские учреждения, которые оказывают психологическую помощь нарушителям закона и построены так называемые 'промышлен­ные тюрьмы', где заключённые работают в цехах и мастерских.

UNIT 5. REHABILITATION

BRAINSTORM

The word REHABILITATION has the following meanings in legal Russian:

  1. восстановление в правах, реабилитация
    rehabilitation of offender — реабилитация (восстановле­
    ние в правах) преступника

  2. реабилитация личности преступника (приспособление
    его к условиям общежития)


rehabilitation — исправительная реабилитация, исправле­ние преступника Comment on the meanings o/ this concept.

TASK 1. Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents:

1)

certificate

a)

юридическая реабилитация,




of rehabilitation




восстановление в правах

2)

legal rehabilitation

b)

психиатрическая реабилитация

3)

psychiatric

c)

социальная реабилитация




rehabilitation




(восстановление личности

4)

rehabilitation agency




в смысле приспособления её

5)

rehabilitation centre




к условиям общежития)

6)

rehabilitation facility

d)

профессиональная реабилитация

7)

social rehabilitation

e)

орган по вопросам социальной

8)

vocational




реабилитации отбывших




rehabilitation




наказание преступников







f)

центр социальной реабилитации










(лиц, освободившихся из










заключения)







g)

справка о реабилитации







h)

исправительное заведение

TASK 2. Read the text and translate the words and expressions given in bold type in writing :

Preparation for Release

The Prison Services in England and Wales and in Scotland have a duty to prepare prisoners for release. Planning for safe release begins at the start of an offender's sentence and ties in with all training, education and work experience provided It is directed at equipping prisoners to fit back into society and to cope with life without re-offending.

Full time education of 15 hours a week is compulsory for young offenders below school leaving age. For older offenders it is voluntary. Some prisoners

study for public examinations.

including those of the Open University. Physical education is voluntary for adult offenders, but compulsory for young offenders. Practically all prisons have physical education facilities. Inmates sometimes compete against teams in local community.

Prison Industries aim to give work and experience which will assist prisoners when released. At the same time it reduces the cost of the prison system. The main industries are: clothing and textile manufacture, engineering, woodwork, farming, etc.

Pre-release Programmes

Pre-release programmes enable selected long-term prisoners to spend their last six months before release in certain hostels attached to prisons, to help them re-adapt to society. Hostellers work in the outside community and return to the hostel each evening.

I Weekend leave allows hostellers to renew ties with their families. All this is designed to help the inmates make the transition from prison to community. In Northern Ireland prisoners serving fixed sentences may have short periods of leave near the end of their sentences and at Christmas. Life-sentence prisoners are given a nine-month pre-release programme, which includes employment

; outside the prison.

Innovative Programmes

Attempts to aid the prisoner's return to society have led to . the development of several innovative programmes. Furloughs

provide home visits of 48—72 hours for a prisoner nearing his release date; they are intended to aid in restoring family ties and in job



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181


seeking. The work release programme permits inmates to test their work skills and earn money outside the institution for the major part of the day.

Aftercare

Professional social work support is given to offenders following their release to help adjust on their return to society. All young offenders and all adult offenders sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and over are supervised on release by the probation service — or, in the case of certain young offenders, by local authority social services departments. Aftercare programmes are designed to protect public safety by monitoring inmates reintegration into the community while making sure they receive needed treatment and services. Existing aftercare programmes are effective in reducing juvenile recidivism.

TASK 3. Answer the following questions:

  1. What are the main trends in preparing prisoners for release?

  2. What is the aim of pre-release programmes?

  3. What innovative programmes are established to aid the
    prisoner's return to society?

  4. What are aftercare programmes designed for?

TASK 4. Read the article below and comment on the statements given in bold type:

Prisoners Prior to Release

In the past local prisons were used as pre-release centres, and indeed some of them still retain hostels for that purpose. Being near the court in which offenders are sentenced, they are also near the community into which short-term prisoners will be released. Therefore it would seem sensible that as many of these prisoners as possible should serve their sentences as near to that community as possible, and that long-term prisoners should be returned there for the last part of their sentence, so that the community, including the prisoner's family, can be included in work done with them prior to release, as envisaged in Lord Woolf's vision of community prisons. Bearing in mind how many prisoners come from inner-city areas, adjacent to large local prisons, it is believed that hostels are a development, or a return to former practice, that could be examined with advantage.

TASK 5. Render the following passage into English paying special attention to the words and expressions in bold type.

В современном мире широко дискутируется вопрос о пра­вах заключенных. Причем речь идет не о базовых правах для этой категории людей, а о праве на вполне цивилизованную жизнь в условиях заключения. Например, в Великобритании при многих тюрьмах построены гимнастические залы, открыты библиотеки. Осужденные в английских тюрьмах занимаются фи­зическим трудом, обучаются определенным видам ремесел, на­пример, пошиву одежды, строительству зданий, столярному ре­меслу, работе в прачечной, сельскохозяйственному труду, садо­водству.

Осужденные в Великобритании могут повысить свой образо­вательный уровень. Так, для несовершеннолетних правонару­шителей, еще не окончивших школу, 15 часов занятий в неделю обязательны. Совершеннолетние преступники могут получать образование на добровольной основе. Заключенным даже дается возможность подготовиться к экзаменам в Открытый Универси­тет (заочная система образования).

Цель этих про­грамм — помочь осужденному найти работу, когда он будет отпущен на сво­боду. Подобное отношение к че-lftiловеку, престу­пившему закон, очень важно в свете реабилита­ции личности преступника (что означает приспо­собление его к условиям жизни в обществе среди законопо­слушных граждан). Одна из причин существования рецидивизма заключается в том, что, выйдя на свободу, человек сталкивается с враждебным отношением общества. Приобретение навыков, которые пригодятся человеку, отбывшему тюремное заключе­ние, при выходе на свободу снижает вероятность того, что он снова встанет на преступный путь.

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Just English. Английский для юристов

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

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TASK 6. Read the ex-convict's letter. What message does he want to I TASK 7. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions:
get across':

An Ex-Prisoner's Testimony

My reason for testifying publicly about areas of my life where the scars have still not healed is that I would like to help in the search for more satisfactory and more caring responses to the problems of delinquency.

I come from what is euphemistically known as a working-class background, in other words from the underclass. I was one of seven children, and we were so poor that none of us was able to stay on at school beyond the minimum leaving age. In January 1993 I was arrested, with some of my childhood buddies, for a hold-up committed with a dummy weapon.

Prison came as a brutal shock. The appalling physical conditions made me feel I had stepped back into an age of barbarity. The grim universe within the prison walls not only seemed out of touch with the outside world but to be embedded in a punitive mentality bordering on bestiality. I felt utterly isolated from the prison officers and my fellow inmates. I also felt cut off from myself, and this was not the least of the dangers I was up against. I soon learned what life in the jungle is all about. If you want to survive you can't afford to trust another living soul.

You start by withdrawing into a shell Then, if you don't crack up, you get tougher, carefully concealing your slightest weaknesses. You have to think twice about every move you make. A misplaced word or glance could lead to all sorts of trouble. The pressure was so intense that whatever vague feelings of remorse I might have had gave way to a strong sense of injustice. When you're always on your guard you suffer physical and psychological harm that is impossible to measure. After serving four-and-a-half years of a six-year sentence, I came out broken and bent on revenge.

Reintegration is a term that should be added to the list of empty, meaningless words. Mysteriously, everyone I contacted with a view to a job shied away as if they had been tipped off about me. I wondered for a long time whether life was worth living but loving support from my relatives helped me get back on my feet.

Whatever some people may think, it's never too late to start again But what a waste! Looking back, I can't help thinking it could have been avoided.

dummy weapon

the underclass

to be bent on revenge

to be on one's guard

to be out of touch with smb./smth.

to commit a hold-up

to contact smb. with a view to a job

to get tough

to shy away from smb.

to tip off about smb.

TASK 8. Answer the following questions:

  1. What prompted the young man's slide into a life of crime?

  2. Why did prison come as a brutal shock?

  3. Why did the young man feel cut off from himself in prison?

  4. How did the employers know that the man was an ex-convict?

TASK 9. Read the letter and answer the question: Would you help the ex-convict and why?

The Inmate's Letter

Dear NEEDED Friend,

My name is Leonard Singleton. Very soon I will be released from prison. I have no family support, no friends, no money, and no home to return to. At the time of my release, I will be given $25 and a bus ticket and then released into the streets, homeless and alone. I was previously released under the same conditions, which resulted in my resorting to crime to provide housing, clothing, and food for myself.

Just as you are sick and tired of the crime, the criminals and being victimized, please believe me, SO AM 1.1 am desperately tired of robbing, stealing and victimizing people. I never wanted to be a criminal. I made a very serious mistake by getting involved with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things. I lost my family, freedom, and integrity. I am ashamed of myself for disgracing, embarrassing, and hurting my family and innocent victims.

My pain and shame for the crimes I formerly committed, goes beyond remorse and a plea for forgiveness. I cannot change the past, but I do ask for forgiveness and an opportunity to live a better life.

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Just English. Английский для юристов


I am asking you to help me with a fresh, new start. I need your help for construction tools and equipment, housing, clothing, food, utilities, household items, etc. With this help, I can put a roof over my head. I can focus on and acquire employment, and begin building a decent life. PLEASE HELP ME. PLEASE. I have no one else to turn to.

If you try to understand my situation and need for your help, please address a donation, check, or money order.

Liberty Savings Bank 330 West National Road Englewood, Ohio 45322-1496

I don't know what else to write to persuade you to help me. I do pray, God will touch your heart, to let you know I am sincere and worthy of your generous support.

Thank you for reading my message, and thank you for giving me a second chance.

Sincerely, Leonard Singleton

TASK 10. Study the letters of two convicts together (Task 6 and Task 9). Compare the conclusions they arrived at on release. How did the community react to their attempts to fit back into society?

READER

DEBATE

Reintegration: A Real Process or a Meaningless

Word?

Prepare your arguments for or against the statements below. Use the active vocabulary from the Unit. Divide into two groups pro and con, and conduct a debate. Appoint the 'Chair' of the debate who will give the floor to the speakers of both teams.

« Society is not ready to accept ex-prisoners. They will always be objects of suspicion in the community.

  • Society helps prisoners make the transition from prison to
    the community.


  • It's never too late to start again.



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