Chapman pleads guilty to Lennon murder

Chapman pleads guilty to Lennon murder

1)

1. T

2. T

3. F Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has said she would not feel safe if Chapman were released…

2)

1. … experts believe it is quite possible he will stay behind bars for the rest of his life.

2. … at a pre-trial hearing, Chapman said nothing in open court.

3)

· Plead guilty - (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

· Plea - an appeal or request for something, made in an intense or emotional way.

· stand trial -be tried in a court of law

· Defendant is a person who has been accused of breaking the law and is being tried in court.

· Serve is to spend a period of time in prison.

4)

Chapman pleaded guilty to shooting dead former Beatle John Lennon in NY. Mark affirmed that he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill the world-famous musician. Even the lawyer asked the judge to examine his client to ensure he was mentally fit to stand the trial. Chapman faced a minimum of 15 years imprisonment, although the judge indicated it would be more like 20. Mark had 3 appeals for early release in 2000, 2002 and 2004, but all of them were rejected. Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, said she wouldn’t feel safe if Chapman was released and experts believed it was quite possible he would stay behind the bars for the rest of his life.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: FOR AND AGAINST

1)

1. T

2. T

3. T

4. F Capital punishment used to be a major deter rent.

2)

1. People are always willing to hold liberal views at the expense of others. …so long as you, personally, remain unaffected.

2. When you read about the achievements of the great train robbers, it makes you wonder whether you are reading about some glorious resistance movement.

3)

· Social misfit is a person who is not easily accepted by other people, often because their behaviour is very different from that of everyone else.

· Deter criminals is to discourage them from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences.

· Go on committing offences is to continue causing crimes or wrongdoings.

· Pull the trigger – to press the button; to commit a crime again.

· Breed evil is produce or lead to (something) over a period of time.

4)

Capital punishment used to be a major deterrent. It made for protection our property from robbers, because they thought twice before violated the law. It protected the most vulnerable members of society, young children from brutal sex-maniacs. It gave the cold-blooded poisoner to ponder while he was serving his arsenic cocktail. Nowadays we all know that “life sentence” doesn’t mean what it says. After 10 years of good conduct, prisoners sometimes can return to society and live comfortable new life, or until he is caught again. The violent hero becomes a kind of hero-figure in our time. He is glorified on the screen; he is pursued by the press and paid vast sums of money for his “memoirs”. Some countries accept capital punishment and some not. I think it has its pros and cons. The tendency nowadays moves to the liberal point of view, and capital punishment is a more conservative point of view.

Humanitarian intervention

1)

1. F The right to humanitarian intervention is a revolutionary new concept in world affairs.

2. F Standard manuals on international law contain no reference to the humanitarian intervention.

3. T Third-world rulers saw the intrusive French doctors and their flair for exposing injustice in faraway places as a permanent threat to their legitimacy.

2)

1. It was invoked on behalf of the beleaguered Kurds of Iraq.

2. Kouchner has argued that the rights humanitarian aid take priority over ‘the right of dictatorial regimes…

3)

1. explicitly barred is smth clearly prohibited

2. on behalf of - as a representative of; in the interests of a person, group, or principle

3. keystone is the central principle or part of a policy, system, etc., on which all else depends

4. cold war is a state of political hostility and military tension between two countries or power blocs, involving propaganda, subversion, threats, economic sanctions, and other measures short of open warfare, esp that between the American and Soviet blocs after World War II (the Cold War)

5. safe havens is a place of refuge or security

The Miranda Warning

1)

1. F Ernesto Miranda was arrested at his home and taken into custody to the police station, where he was identified by a witness as the man who had kidnapped and raped a woman.

2. F Police officers took Mr. Miranda into an interrogation room and two hours later emerged with a written confession signed by Mr. Miranda that also stated that the confession was made voluntarily and with full knowledge of his legal rights.

3. T

2)

1. … he was identified by a witness as the man who had kidnapped and raped a woman.

2. The United States Supreme Court ruled that the confession could not be used as evidence of Mr. Miranda's guilt because he was not fully advised on his legal rights…

3)

· confession is a formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime

· interrogation is the act of questioning someone.

· evidence of guilt is arguments or proofs that a person is guilty in committing a crime

· take into custody is to detain or to arrest

· court ruled – court stated/made/passed a decision

11) Roman Polanski 'in fighting mood'

1)

1. F The victim at the centre of the case, Samantha Geimer, has previously asked for the charges to be dropped.

2. T The director has asked a US appeals court in California to overturn a judge's refusal to throw out his case. He claimed misconduct by the judge, now deceased, who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

3. T A petition has been signed by film-makers

2)

1. She has already sued Mr Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.

2. He pleaded guilty at the time but then fled abroad.

3. Swiss precedent shows that the subjects of extradition requests are normally kept in detention.

3)

1. plea bargain is an agreement that, if an accused person says they are guilty, they will be charged with a less serious crime or will receive a less severe punishment.

2. extradition request is a demand or requirement to sent into another state or government.

3. detention is when someone is arrested or put into prison, especially for political reasons.

4. Bail is a sum of money that an arrested person or someone else puts forward as a guarantee that the arrested person will attend their trial in a law court./ is permission for an arrested person to be released after bail has been paid.

Chapman pleads guilty to Lennon murder

1)

1. T

2. T

3. F Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has said she would not feel safe if Chapman were released…

2)

1. … experts believe it is quite possible he will stay behind bars for the rest of his life.

2. … at a pre-trial hearing, Chapman said nothing in open court.

3)

· Plead guilty - (of a person charged with an offence) to admit responsibility; confess

· Plea - an appeal or request for something, made in an intense or emotional way.

· stand trial -be tried in a court of law

· Defendant is a person who has been accused of breaking the law and is being tried in court.

· Serve is to spend a period of time in prison.

4)

Chapman pleaded guilty to shooting dead former Beatle John Lennon in NY. Mark affirmed that he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill the world-famous musician. Even the lawyer asked the judge to examine his client to ensure he was mentally fit to stand the trial. Chapman faced a minimum of 15 years imprisonment, although the judge indicated it would be more like 20. Mark had 3 appeals for early release in 2000, 2002 and 2004, but all of them were rejected. Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, said she wouldn’t feel safe if Chapman was released and experts believed it was quite possible he would stay behind the bars for the rest of his life.