The Death Penalty

In this section you will hear and take notes on a two-part lecture given by Jonathan Stack, a filmmaker who has made several documentaries on prisons. Mr. Stack frequently lectures on criminal justice. The title of this lecture is The Death Penalty.

BEFORE THE LECTURE

EXAMINING GRAPHIC MATERIAL

1 Look at the graph below. It shows the number of prisoners executed (put to death) in the United States between 1930 and 2000.

—

250 200 150 100 50 0

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Source: U. S. Department of Justice, 2000

Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1 What does the graph show about the death penalty in the United States?

2 What is your reaction to the information in the graph?

О NOTE TAKING: RECORDING NUMERICAL INFORMATION

Lecturers often present numerical information when they refer to research studies and other examples that support their ideas. It is important to listen to the context of the numerical information so that you understand what the number represents. Here are some examples of what numbers can represent:

• a year (examples: 1983, 1832)

• a percentage (examples: twenty percent, forty-four percent)

• a fraction (examples: one-eighth, three-quarters)

1 Read the following descriptions. Each of them refers to numerical information that you will hear in the lecture.

1 The date the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was unconstitutional (Capital punishment is another term for the death penalty.)

2 The date when capital punishment was reinstated 3 The number of executions that have been carried out since capital

punishment was reinstated

4 The percentage of people in the United Slates who say they favor the death penalty in cases of murder

____ 5 The people in the United Stales who say they favor the death

penalty in cases of murder, expressed as a fraction

____________ 6 The number of murders per 100,000 people per year in the United

States

7 The number of murders per 100,000 people per year in Japan 8 The number of murders per 100,000 people per year in France

Now listen to excerpts from the lecture. Write the correct numbers in the blanks in step 1. Then compare your answers with a partner.

LECTURE, PART ONE: Arguments Against the Death Penalty

GUESSING VOCABULARY FROM CONTEXT

The following items contain important vocabulary’ from Part One of the lecture.

Work with a partner. Using the context and your knowledge of related words, choose the best synonym for the words in bold by circling the correct letters. Check your answers in a dictionary, if necessary.

1 The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was unconstitutional,

a illegal b immoral c impossible

2 But later, the Court reinstated it.

a continued to discuss it b put it back in place c repeated its argument

3 Executions are usually carried out by lethal injection or electrocution,

a cruel b deadly c painless

4 States with the most executions are also the states with the highest homicide rates,

a assault b fraud c murder

5 I have another major objection to capital punishment.

a interest in b criticism of c opinion about

6 They were released because they were improperly convicted.

a immediately b angrily c incorrectly

7 There were 26 people on death row, and 13 of them were I’eleased.

a waiting to go to court b waiting to be freed c waiting for execution

8 That should not be in the domain of the state.

a interest b world c power

PARAPHRASING WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD

Following is a paraphrase of the interviews with David and Amy. Fill in the blanks using your own words. In some cases, you will need to write more than one word.

David says that the _ _______ and the__________________

exacerbate the problem of juvenile crime. He believes that kids are essentially

____________ . He thinks they need more _

____________________ systems and after-school activities. He also thinks

they need good role models. However, he believes that if someone does commit a crime, the punishment should be________________________________________ , but

Amy says that to deter people from committing crime, you have to talk

about social factors such as whether there are enough

for everyone and enough social support systems. But if convicted criminals are

sent to jail, we need programs to______________________ them, such as drug

treatment programs and _____________________ programs. Unfortunately,

many of the programs that she thinks are needed have been

Amy believes that one reason there are so many recidivists is because criminals have a bad experience in jail. When prisoners are released, Amy

thinks they need_________________________________________ to help

them go back into society.

2 Compare your answers with a partner. Remember that your answers will probably not be exactly the same.

EXAMINING GRAPHIC MATERIAL

1

Look at the following bar graph. It shows the incarceration rate per 100,000 people in eight countries. Incarceration means being pul into prison.

Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1 Which country had the most people in prison in 1985 (or 1989)? Which country had the least people in prison?

2 Which country’ had the most people in prison in 1995? Which country had the least people in prison?

3 What is your reaction to the information in the graph? Does any of the information surprise you? If so, why?

4 How do you think David and Amy would react to the information in th. e graph?

SHARING YOUR OPINION

1 What is your opinion about controlling crime? Write.4 (agree) or D (disagree) next to the following opinions.

1 Criminals should be punished. If people break the law, they deserv e to pay the price, no matter why they did it.

2 Having tough punishments can stop people from committing crimes. If we have severe punishments, people will think twice before they break the law.

___ 3 People need a second chance. If we try’ to reform criminals, by education,

psychological treatment, or other methods, we can turn them away from a life of crime.

___ 4 We need to provide a sense of security’ in society. Putting people who break

the law in prison is the only way to do that.

5 The most important thing we can do is try to prevent crime before it happens. Prevention is always better than punishment.

2 Share your answers in a small group. Then discuss as a class which opinions were the most controversial.

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID: Preventing juvenile crime

Here are some words and phrases from the interview with David printed in bold and given in the context in which you will hear them. They are followed by definitions.

I think the media exacerbates the problem: makes worse

We have thousands of security guards in the schools and metal detectors, too: machines that can detect guns, knives, and other weapons made of metal

And the kids get searched as they go into school: physically examined to see if they have weapons or illegal drugs

They are more likely to lash out and become violent: express anger Put them on a one-to-one basis and they’re usually very friendly: with one other person

The problem is that social support systems have really fallen apart: government and private organizations that give people help and encouragement / become worse due to lack of money

The funding for programs like these has been cut: money

But we also need harsher punishments: stronger, more serious Drug crimes carry a maximum sentence of twenty years or life imprisonment: punishment