From the History of Punishment

For the most history ____ 1____ has been both painful and _____ 2 _____ in order to act as deterrent to others. Physical punishments and public humiliations were social events and carried out in most accessible parts of towns, often on market days when the greater part of the population were present. Justice had to be seen to be done.

One of the most bizarre methods of ______ 3 ______ was inflicted in ancient Rome on people found ______ 4 ______ of murdering their fathers. Their punishment was to be put in a sack with a rooster, a viper, and a dog, then drowned along with the three animals.

In ______ 5 ______ Greece the custom of allowing a ______ 6 _____ man to end his own life by poison was extended only to full citizens. The philosopher Socrates died in this way. Condemned slaves were beaten to death instead. Stoning was the ancient method of punishment for ______ 7 ______ among other crimes.

In Turkey if a butcher was found guilty of selling bad meat, he was tied to a post with a piece of stinking meat fixed under his nose, or a baker having sold short weight bread could be nailed to his door by his ear.

One of the most common punishments for petty offences was the ______ 8 _______, which stood in the main square of towns. The ______ 9 ______ was locked by hands and head into the device and made to stand sometimes for days, while crowds jeered and pelted the offender with rotten vegetables or worse.

In ____ 10 ____ Europe some methods of execution were ____ 11 ____ drawn out to inflict maximum suffering. ______ 12 ______ were tied to a heavy wheel and rolled around the streets until they were crushed to death. Others were strangled, very slowly. One of the most terrible punishments was hanging and quartering. The victim was hanged, beheaded and the body cut into four pieces. It remained a _____ 13 ______ method of punishment in Britain until 1814. ______ 14 ______ was normally reserved for those of high rank. In England a block and axe was the common method but this was different from France and Germany where the victim kneeled and the head was taken off with a swing of the sword.

UNIT 14. THE PURPOSE OF STATE PUNISHMENT

Exercise 1: Explain the meaning of the words and expressions from the box. Complete the following text using these words and expressions:

What is the purpose of punishment? One purpose is obviously to ______ 1 ________ the offender, to correct the offender's moral attitudes and anti-social behaviour and to ______ 2 _______ him or her, which means to assist the offender to return to normal life as a useful member of the community.

Punishment can also be seen as a ______ 3 _______ because it warns other people of what will happen if they are tempted to break the law and prevents them from doing so. However, the third purpose of punishment lies, perhaps, in society's desire for _____ 4 ______, which basically means revenge. In other words, don't we feel that a _____ 5 ________ should suffer for his ______ 6 _______?

The form of punishment should also be considered. On the one hand, some believe that we should "make the punishment fit the crime". Those who steal from others should be deprived of their own property to ensure that criminals are left in no doubt that _____ 7 _____ ________ _________. For those who attack others _____ 8 _____ __________ should be used. Murderers should be subject to the principle "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and automatically receive
the ______ 9 _______.

On the other hand, it is said that such views are unreasonable, cruel and ____ 10 ______ and that we should show a more ______ 11 _____ attitude to punishment and try to understand why a person commits a crime and how society has failed to enable him to live a respectable, _____ 12 ______ life.

Text 1: Match the following headings with the sections of the text below:

Rehabilitative programs