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V. Points for discussion.
1. Do you think it?s time for the British to overhaul the old-age system of appointing judges?
2. What kind of changes should be made?
3. Are British judges really turning into ?a club of the elderly??
JUSTICE?
?The punishment should fit the crime.?
National and local newspapers regularly print accounts of legal cases, and quite often the stories they choose are ones in which the punishment does not appear to fit the crime. It is easy to read a paragraph about a criminal case and to become outraged at the sentence passed by a judge. We have to remember that the short paragraph sums up a complicated legal case which might have taken hours, days or even weeks of court time, and that the judge knew a lot more about the case than the casual newspaper reader. However, sentences and penalties vary widely from one court to another. As every football fan knows, referees make mistakes, and the referee is much more likely to be mistaken when his decision goes against one?s own team.
Here are some examples of crimes, and the penalties chosen by particular judges. Read through them and try to answer these questions.
Was justice done?
If you had been the judge, would you have given a different sentence?
Would you have chosen a lighter sentence, or a more severe one?
How would you have felt if you had been the defendant?
If you had been the judges, what other facts and circumstances would you have wanted to know?
Manslaughter
(the act of killing someone, unlawfully, but not intentionally)
In 1981 Marianne Bachmeir, from Lubeck, West Germany, was in court watching the trial of Klaus Grabowski, who had murdered her 7-year-old daughter. Grabowski had a history of attacking children. During the trial, Frau Bachmeir pulled a Beretta 22 pistol from her handbag and fired eight bullets, six of which hit Grabowski, killing him. The defence said she had bought the pistol with the intention of committing suicide, but when she saw Grabowski in court she drew the pistol and pulled the trigger. She was found not guilty of murder, but was given six years imprisonment for manslaughter. West German newspapers reflected the opinion f millions of Germans that she should have been freed, calling her ?the avenging mother?.
Murder
In 1952 two youths in Mitcham, London decided to rob a dairy. They were Christopher Craig, aged 16 and Derek William Bentley, 19. During the robbery they were disturbed by Sidney Miles, a policeman. Craig produced a gun and killed the policeman. At that time Britain still had the death penalty for certain types of murder, including murder during a robbery. Because Craig was under 18, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Bentley who had never touched the gun, was over 18. He was hanged in 1953. The case was quoted by opponents of capital punishment, which was abolished in 1965.
Assault
In 1976 a drunk walked into a supermarket. When the manager asked him to leave, the drunk assaulted him, knocking out a tooth. A policeman who arrived and tried to stop the fight had his jaw broken. The drunk was fined £10.
Shop-lifting
In June 1980 Lady Isabel Barnett, a well-known TV personality was convicted of stealing a tin of tuna fish and a carton of cream, total value 87p, from a small shop. The case was given enormous publicity. She was fined £75 and had to pay £200 towards the cost of the case. A few days later she killed herself.
Fraud
This is an example of a civil case rather than a criminal one. A man had taken out an insurance policy of £100,000 on his life. The policy was due to expire at 3 o?clock on a certain day. The man was in serious financial difficulties, and at 2.30 on the expiry day he consulted his solicitor. He then went out and called a taxi. He asked the driver to make a note of the time, 2.50. He then shot himself. Suicide used not to cancel an insurance policy automatically. (It does nowadays.) The company refused to pay the man?s wife, and the courts supported them.
Set Work
I. What would you have done?
| If | I | ?d had hadn?t had not | done that been there | I | ?d would wouldn?t would not | ?ve have | done this. been there. |
II. Look at these statements. What do you think about them?
1. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
2. Judge not ? lest you be judged.
3. Certain criminals ? sex murderers, terrorists and so on, deserve to die.
4. Justice is nothing, unless it is tempered with mercy.
5. Everyone deserves a second chance.
6. If the state kills someone, then it admits there are circumstances where killing is justified. Having admitted that, it is then in no position to condemn murder.
III. Look at this list of ?crimes?. Try and rate each crime on a scale from 1-10. (1 is a minor misdemeanor, 10 is a very serious crime.) They are in no order.
1. driving in excess of the speed limit
2. common assault (e.g. a fight in a discotheque)
3. drinking and driving
4. malicious wounding (e.g. stabbing someone in a fight)
5. murdering a policeman during a robbery
6. murdering a child
7. causing death by dangerous driving
8. smoking marijuana
9. selling drugs (such as heroin)
10. stealing £1,000 from a bank, by fraud
11. stealing £1,000 worth of goods from someone?s home
12. rape
13. grievous bodily harm (almost killing someone)
14. shoplifting
15. stealing £1,000 from a bank, by threatening someone with a gun
16. possession of a gun without a licence.
IV. Compare your list with another student?s. Which of you would be the harsher judge? Which would be the kinder?
V. Penalties ? England. In England there are no minimum sentences, except for murder, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment. There are maximum sentences for other crimes. Crimes are first heard by a magistrate who can either pass sentence, or refer the crime to a Crown Court with a judge and jury. Here are maximum sentences for some crimes:
| Crime | Magistrates Court | Crown court | ||
| Burglary Grievous bodily harm Possession of firearm Possession of cannabis Common assault ?Going equipped for stealing? Murder | Fine | Prison | Fine | Prison |
| £1000 £1000 £1000 £500 £200 £1000 | 6 months 6 months 6 months 3 months 2 months 6 months | unlimited unlimited unlimited unlimited unlimited | 14 years 5 years 5 years 5 years 3 years | |
| life imprisonment |
How do you think these compare with sentences in our country? Remember they are maximum, not average!
Date: 2016-06-12; view: 369
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