crime and punishment-the death penalty

8/6/2019 Crime and Punishment-The Death Penalty

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USTIN, Texas (AP)The states

highest criminal court rejected

convicted killer Karla Faye Tuckers

bid for clemency, to keep frombecoming the first woman executed

in Texas since the US Civil War. The

Court of Criminal Appeals on

Wednesday turned aside her

argument that the states clemency

process is unconstitutional.

2 Ms Tucker, who is scheduled to

die Tuesday by lethal injection, has

asked the board of Pardons and

Paroles to commute her sentence to

life in prison. The board can denyher request or forward a

recommendation to Gov. George W.

Bush.

3 Ms Tucker, 38, was condemned

for murdering a man and woman

with a pickax during a 1983 break-in.

She has since insisted she found God

behind bars and would be content

spending the rest of her life in prison

doing his work for the rehabilitation

of young criminals.

4 In interviews organized by her

prison minister-husband, DanaBrown, she insists shes a new

person, content to spend her life in

prison doing Gods work and setting

an example for young people. We

all have the ability, after weve done

something horrible, to make a

change for the good, Ms Tucker,

38, said earnestly on CBS television.

Im so far removed from the person

I used to be out there. For me,

whats weird is thinking back onsome of the things I used to do, and

thinking, I did that?

5 A spokeswoman for Christian

Coalition founder Pat Robertson said

Wednesday his 700 Club television

program will broadcast the last

prison interview with Ms Tucker on

the day shes scheduled to be

executed. Robertson, who supports

the death penalty, has said Ms

Tucker should be spared to continue

preaching the word of the Lord to

fellow convicts. The interview wasconducted on Tuesday.

6 She feels very strongly about

what the Lord has done to change

her life, said Robertsons

spokeswoman, Patty Silverman.

She wanted to be sure that the

message of what God did in her life

got out.

7 Texas last executed a woman

in 1863, when Chipita Rodriguez was

hanged for the murder of a horse

trader. The only woman executed in

the United States since the Supreme

Court allowed capital punishment to

resume in 1976 was Velma Barfield.

She died by injection in North

Carolina in 1984 for poisoning her

boyfriend.

(taken from Athens News, Jan 30th, 1998)

A. Find a word or expression in the text which has a similar meaning to the following.

1 to refuse to accept a request (v) (1)

2 willingness not to punish someone too severely (n) (1)

3 to plan that something will happen at a particular time (v) (2)

4 to change a punishment to a less severe one (v) (2)

5 helping someone to live a useful life again after they have been in prison (n) (3)

6 very seriously (adv) (4)

7 someone who starts a business, organization, school, etc. (n) (5) 8 someone who has been proved to be guilty of a crime and sent to prison (n) (5)

9 to kill someone, especially legally as a punishment for a serious crime (v) (5,7)

10 to start doing something again after a pause or interruption (v) (7)

B. Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What crime did Karla Tucker commit?

2. What sentence did she get?

3. Does she claim to be innocent?

4. What has she asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles?

A

created by AretiGavalaki (serene)-Greece


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5. How does she say she is going to spend her life if her request is granted?

6. Is she married?

7. When will her last interview be broadcast(ed) on TV?

8. How is she going to be executed?

9. How was Chipita Rodriguez put to death?

10.When was capital punishment resumed in the United States?

C. List all the words in the text that are related to crime and justice.

NOUNS NOUN PHRASES VERBS ADJECTIVES

D. Roleplay

A reporter is interviewing Karla Tucker a week before her scheduled execution. Work with your partner to prepare

and act out the interview.

E. Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe Karla Tucker is a new person now, different from the person she used to be?2. Do you think she deserves to be executed?3. What is another name for capital punishment?4. Do you support capital punishment?5. Do you agree that capital punishment is an act of revenge?6. Do you believe that capital punishment deters (prevents) people from committing a crime?7. Would you agree that it is better to spare a criminal than to kill an innocent man?8. Do you agree that the death penalty should be replaced by life in prison?9. Does the death penalty exist in your country?10.Who was the last person to be executed in your country? What crime did he commit and how did he die?



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A. Find a word or expression in the text which has a similar meaning to the following.

1 to refuse to accept a request (v) (1) reject

2 willingness not to punish someone too severely (n) (1) clemency

3 to plan that something will happen at a particular time (v) (2) schedule

4 to change a punishment to a less severe one (v) (2) commute

5 helping someone to live a useful life again after they have been in prison (n) (3) rehabilitation

6 very seriously (adv) (4) earnestly

7 someone who starts a business, organization, school, etc. (n) (5) founder

8 someone who has been proved to be guilty of a crime and sent to prison (n) (5) convict

9 to kill someone, especially legally as a punishment for a serious crime (v) (5,7) execute

10 to start doing something again after a pause or interruption (v) (7) resume

B. Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What crime did Karla Tucker commit?She murdered a man and a woman with a pickax during a break-in.

2. What sentence did she get?She got a death sentence.

3. Does she claim to be innocent?No, she doesnt. She claims that she has changed; she isnt the person she used to be.

4. What has she asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles?She has asked them to change her death sentence into life in prison.

5. How does she say she is going to spend her life if her request is granted?She says she is going to spend her life in prison doing Gods work for the rehabilitation of young criminals.

(helping young criminals have a useful life again)

6.

Is she married?Yes, she is married to Dana Brown, the prison minister.

7. When will her last interview be broadcast(ed) on TV?It will be broadcast(ed) on the day of her execution.

8. How is she going to be executed?She is going to be executed by lethal injection.

9. How was Chipita Rodriguez put to death?She was hanged.

10.When was capital punishment resumed in the United States?Capital punishment was resumed (brought back) in the USA in 1976.

C. List all the words in the text that are related to crime and justice.NOUNS NOUN PHRASES VERBS ADJECTIVES

court the Court of Criminal Appeals convict criminal

killer lethal injection execute

clemency the Board of Pardons and Paroles condemn

appeal life in prison (sentence) murder

sentence the death penalty hang

prison the Supreme Court poison

break-in capital punishment

criminal

convict

murder

For more information about Karla Tucker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tucker

ANSWER KEY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tuckerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tuckerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tucker

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