I t's Interesting to Know Cyber Justice

An artificial-intelligence program called the Electronic Judge is dispensing justice on the streets of Brazilian cities. The program is installed on a laptop carried by a human judge and helps to assess swiftly and methodically witness reports and forensic evidence at the scene of an incident. It then issues on-the-spot fines and can even recommend jail sentences. It is part of a scheme called 'Justice-огь Wheels', which is designed to speed up Brazil's overloaded legal system by dealing immediately with straightforward cases.

Most people are happy to have the matters sorted out on the spot, says the program's creator, who sits in the state's Supreme Court of Appeals. He adds that the idea is not to replace judges but to make them more efficient

After police alert the rapid justice team to minor accidents, they can be on the scene within 10 minutes. Most cases require only simple questions and no interpretation of the law — the decision-making process is purely logical The program presents the judge with multiple choice questions, such as "Did the driver stop at the red light?" or "Had the driver been drinking alcohol above the acceptable limit of the law?" These sorts of questions

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s — ■■-■ ■■" - ™~n

need only yes or no answers. The program gives more than a simple judgement: it also prints out its reasoning- If the human judge disagrees with the decision it can simply be overruled. Some people who have been judged by the program do not realise that they have been tried by software.

It could be some time before a similar system takes the place of an English court. "It would have to satisfy the authorities that it was absolutely foolproof first," says a spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's office, which oversees courts in England and Wales. But it could be put to use in the US,, where the discussion is under way to set up a mobile system to resolve disputes over traffic accidents.

Chapter V

Imprisonment: retribution or rehabilitation?

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U NIT 1. PENAL AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT HISTORY

	BRAINSTORM
L What role do correctional institutions play in the modern
society?
2. Which of the following words refer to:
a) goals of punishment
b) correctional institutions:
• Cell ■ Penitence
	► Custody i		1 Penology
i	i Deterrent <		1 Prison
	» Imprisonment <		1 Reformation
	* Incarceration <		* Reformatory
	> Isolation t		> Rehabilitation
	► Jail/Gaol <		r Retribution
• Penitentiary <		1 Solitary confinement

TASK 1. Read the following text and write doum Russian equivalents for the words and expressions given in bold type;

Development of the Prison System

A prison is an institution for the confinement of persons convicted of major crimes or felonies. In the 19^th and the 20^lh centuries, imprisonment replaced corporal punishment, execution, and banishment as the chief means of punishing serious offenders.

Historically exile, execution, and various forms of corporal punishment were the most common penalties for criminal acts.

In the 12^lh century England jails were widely used as places for the confinement of accused persons until their cases could Ъе tried by the king's court. Imprisonment gradually came to be accepted not only as a device for holding persons awaiting trial but also as a means of punishing convicted criminals.

During the 16^th century a number of houses of correction were established in England and on the continent for the reform of minor of fenders.. In these institutions there was little segregation by age, sex, or other condition. The main emphasis was on strict discipline and hard labour.

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation? 153

A lthough reformation of offenders was intended in the houses of correction, the unsanitary conditions and lack of provisions for the welfare of the inmates soon produced widespread agitation for further changes in methods of handling criminals. Solitary confinement of criminals became an ideal among the rationalist reformers of the 18^th century, who believed that solitude would help the offender to become penitent and that penitence would result in reformation.

Meanwhile, strenuous opposition to the prolonged isolation of prisoners developed very early, especially in the United States. A competing philosophy of prison management, known as the 'silent system' was developed The main distinguishing feature of the silent system was that prisoners were allowed to work together in the daytime. Silence was strictly enforced at all times, however, and at night the prisoners were confined in individual cells.

. Further refinements were developed in Irish prisons in the mid-1800s. Irish inmates progressed through three stages of confinement before they were returned to civilian life. The first portion of the sentence was served in isolation. Then the prisoners were allowed to associate with other inmates in various kinds of work projects. Finally, for six months or more before release, the prisoners were transferred to 'intermediate prisons', where inmates were supervised by unarmed guards and given sufficient freedom and responsibility to permit them to demonstrate their fitness for release. Release was also conditional upon the continued good conduct of the offender, who could be returned to prison if necessary.

These were the steps made to fit the severity of the punishment to the severity of the crime, in the belief that the existence of clearly articulated and just penalties would act as a deterrent to crime. Since then, deterrence, rather than retribution, has become a leading principle of European penology.

TASK 2. Answer the following questions:

L What is a prison?

2. What were the means of punishing offenders before the 19^th century?

3. What was the purpose of jails m the 12^th century England?

4. What were the main features of houses of correction in the 16* century?

5. Why did the rationalist reformers of the 18^th century seek to establish solitary confinement of criminals?

6. What is the 'silent system'?

7. What were Irish prisons like in the mid-1800s?

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T ASK 3. Read the text below and answer the following questions:

1. What are the purposes of incarceration?

2. How are these purposes obtained?

3. What three categories of prisons are described in the text?

4. What is the general principle of confining offenders into different kinds of prisons?

Present-day Penal Institutions

Modern prisons are quite diverse, tout it is possible to make some generalisations about them. In ail but minimum-security prisons, the task of maintaining physical custody of the prisoners is usually given the highest priority and is likely to dominate all other concerns. Barred cells and locked doors, periodic checking of cells, searches for contraband, and detailed regulation of inmates' movements about the ршоп are all undertaken to prevent escapes. In order to forestall thievery, drug and alcohol use, violent assaults, rapes, and other types of prison crime, the inmates are subjected to rules governing every aspect of life; these do much to give the social structure of the prison its authoritarian character.

The need to maintain security within prisons has prompted many countries to separate their penal institutions into categories of maximum, medium, and minimum security. Convicted offenders are assigned to a particular category on the basis of the seriousness or violent nature of their offence, the length of their sentence, their proneness to escape, and other considerations. Within a prison, the inmates are often classified into several categories and housed in corresponding cell blocks according to the security risk posed by each individual. Younger offenders are usually held in separate penal institutions that provide a stronger emphasis on treatment and correction.

Prisons generally succeed in the twin purposes of isolating the criminal from society and punishing him for his crime, but the higher goal of rehabilitation is not as easily attained. An offender's time in prison is usually reduced as a reward for good behaviour and conscientious performance at work. The privilege of receiving visits from family members and friends from the outside world exists in almost all penal systems.

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation'

155

T ASK 4. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

1. заключённый

1. нападение с примени наем насилия

2. некарательное воздействие и исправление

2. осуждённый

3. реабилитация личнисти преступника

4. тюрьма с максимальной изоляцией заключённых

5. тюрьма с минимальной изоляцией заключённых

6. тюрьма си средней степенью изоляции заключённых

TASK 5. Explain the meaning of the follouting words and expressions. Make up sentences of your own:

conscientious performance at work

praneness to escape

security risk

to forestall thievery

to give smth. the highest priority

to maintain security within prisons

TASK 6. Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents:

1) breach of prison	а) 'промышленная тюрьма^5
2) closed prison	(тюрьма, где заключённые
3) industrial prison	работают в цехах, мастерских)
4) open prison	Ь) бежавший из тюрьмы
5} prison bar	с) бежать /совершить побег/
6) prison breaker	из тюрьмы
7) prison education	d) быть приговоренным
8) prison lawyer	к тюремному заключению
9} prison term	е) отбывать срок в тюрьме
10) prison ward	f) перевоспитание или обучение
11) to be sent to prison	заключённых (профессии) в тюрьме
12) to do one's time {in	g) побег из тюрьмы; побег
prison)	из-под стражи
13} to escape from	h) тюремная камера
prison	i) тюремкая решётка
	j) тюремное заключение,
	тюремный срок
	к) тюремный юрист
	1) тюрьма закрытого типа
	т) тюрьма открытого типа
	(неохраняемая)

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T he Tower of London

Pounded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the Tower of London has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth.

It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs, the site of renowned political intrigue, and the repository of the Crown Jewels. It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens, not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights,

In the Middle Ages the Tower of London became a prison and place of execution for politically related crimes, with most captives being put to death (murdered or executed). Among those killed there were the humanist Sir Thomas More (1535); the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (1536). Other notable inmates included Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I), who was briefly imprisoned by Mary I for suspicion of conspiracy; the infamous conspirator Guy Fawkes (1606) and the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (1618). Even in the 20^th century during World War I several spies were executed there by firing squad.

TASK ?. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions:

.1

a framed member of court _e the repository

a notable inmate of the Crown Jewels

a notorious traitor , the seat of British government

a politically related crime , the site of renowned

an infamous conspirator political intrigue

TASK 8. Complete the following table with the appropriate verb or noun forms:

Verb	Noun
to plot
	execution
to capture
	conspiracy
to imprison
	protection
	traitor
to suspect

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation? 157

T ASK 9, Match the names of the renowned prisoners /rom the box with the stories given below:

Г ' " ~~ ~ —

Catherine Howard; Sir Walter Raleigh; Anne Boleyn; Guy Fawkes; Sir Thomas More

H ere are some of the unfortunates held within the Tower

walls.

_ , the Lord Chancellor and scholar who

served Henry VlII until the break with Rome, refused to acknowledge Henry VIII as supreme head of the English Church, and continued adamant when the king's subjects were required to subscribe to the oath imposed. He also protested against the divorce of Catherine of Aragon, who had given Henry only one living child, the Princess Mary.

_t Henry VIIPs second wife, was taken to

the Tower on a charge of adultery. Before her crowning she had stayed in what is now called the "Queen's House", built below the Bell Tower in 1530. As a prisoner she returned there. Her trial took place in the medieval great hall where she was sentenced to death.

was Henry VIIPs fifth wife and according

to him his "very jewel of womanhood". He adored her' and showered her with gifts and favours and pampered her in every way. She appointed a former admirer &s her private secretary and soon rumours were being whispered at court about the Queen's misconduct. Henry's immediate reaction was one of total disbelief. However, he ordered-an investigation and found that she had really been flirting behind his back. For this he could show no mercy. She went the way of her cousin Anne Boleyn; she was tried, condemned and beheaded at the Tower of London,

_^__ was a leading conspirator in the

Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament. He was a Catholic convert who had served in the Spanish army before becoming involved in the plot. He and his fellow conspirators were taken to the Tower and interrogated in the Queen's House. In January 1606 with three others, he was drawn on a hurdle from the Tower to the Houses at Parliament and there hanged,*beheaded and quartered.

' ' was an explorer known for his expeditions

to the Americas, and for allegedly bringing tobacco and the potato from the New WorJd to the British Isles. A favourite of Elizabeth I, he fell thoroughly out of favour and spent 12 years in the Tower

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о н a charge of plotting against King James I. He was released in 161G, only to find himself back there in 1618 after his fruitless expedition to look lor gold mines in Guyana- This time he was kept in one of the most cold and direful dungeons before being beheaded six weeks later. In his speech from the scaffold he thanked God that he died in the light, and not in the dark prison of the Tower.

TASK 10. Read the text and write down Russian equivalents for the words and expressions given in hold type;

The Bastille

The Bastille was a medieval fortress on the East side of Paris that became, in the 17^Lh and 18^th centuries, a French state prison and a place of detention for important persons charged with miscellaneous offences. The Bastille, stormed by an armed mob of Parisians in the opening days of the French Revolution, was a symbol of the despotism of the Bourbons and held an important place in the ideology of the Revolution.

With its eight towers, 100 feet high, linked by walls of equal height and surrounded by a moat more than SO feet wide, the Bastille dominated Paris. The first stone was laid on April 22, 1370, on the orders of Charles V of France, who had it built as a bastide, or fortification (the name Bastille is a corruption of bastide), to protect this wait around Paris against English attack.

The Cardinal de Richelieu was the first to use the Bastille as a state prison in the 17^th century. Prisoners included political troublemakers and individuals held at the request of their families, often to coerce a young member into obedience or to prevent a disreputable member from marring the family's name. Under Louis XIV, the Bastille became a place of judicial detention; and later persons being tried by the Parliament were also detained there. It is noteworthy that prohibited books were also placed in the Bastille, The high cost, of maintaining the building prompted talk of demolition in 17S4.

On July 14, 1789, when only seven prisoners were confined in the building, a mob advanced on the Bastille with the intention of asking the prison governor to release the arms and munitions stored there- Angered by the governor's refusal, the people stormed and captured the place. This dramatic action came to symbolise the end of the ancient regime. The Bastille was subsequently demolished by order of the Revolutionary government

Chapter V. Imprisonment: Retribution or Rehabilitation? 159

TASK 11. Answer the following questions:

1. When and why was the Bastille built?

2. Who was the first to use the Bastille as a state prison?

3. What was the Bastille like in the 17^th and 18^th centimes? Who was confined there?

4- How was the Bastille demolished?

TASK 12, Read the text in the section "It's Interesting to Know". Find more information about Che research into the treatment of criminals carried out by the 18^lU century humanists: