It's Interesting to Know

John Howard, 1726—1790

There is in England today a society called The Howard f Pl Rf I

y

of Penal Reform, It Is named after one of the greatest figures in the history of law in the eighteenth century. Howard was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire when, in 1773 he started to investigate prison conditions. The thing that drew his interest was the discovery that innocent people were often held in gaol until they had paid the gaoler's fees even though the court had found them not guilty. In the next three years he visited every prison in Great Britain and Ireland as well as many in Europe and wrote a book based on his experiences called The State of Prisons. He died in Russia on his way to find out about sanitary conditions in the Russian army. Through his work and that of Elizabeth Fry prisons were at last improved and prisoners treated more like human beings than animals.

Cesare Beccaria, 1738—1794

Punishment of criminals in the eighteenth century was savage, from torture to death or imprisonment, One of the first people to raise a voice against the inhumanity was Beccaria, who wrote a famous book called Concerning Crimes and Punishment He called for mercy and his pleas were heard by such people as Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was in a position to do something about unjust laws. The book was soon translated into several languages. He was one of the first people to say that the law should consider the person being tried as well as the crime he or she has committed.

Just English. Английский для юристов

E lizabeth Fry, 1780—1845

Until the great reforms in law, which took place in the nineteenth century, criminals were treated with great brutality. Thieves were hanged or deported, while floggings were very common and prisons were dirty and terribly overcrowded, Elizabeth Fry was one of the very few people who devoted their lives to improving the life of prisoners. She was a Norfolk Quaker who went among the criminals to understand them better and to improve the conditions in which they lived. In 1817 she formed a society for the improvement of prison conditions and started to take an interest in prisons in other countries. She was so successful in her work that she was thanked by the House of Commons for her efforts.

R EVIEW

Sum up the information from the Unit. Add the facts and data that you have obtained during your classes of law. Make reports and present them in class. Use the patterns and the vocabulary from the Unit.

U nit 2. Prison population

TASK 2. Read the, text below and answer the following questions:

1, What are the main categories of inmates?

2. Where are long-term prisoners usually held?

3, What is the purpose of reformatories?

4. What are open prisons?

Nowadays prisoners are kept in separate institutions according to the severity of crime committed, as well as to the age, sex and other conditions. Consequently, the inmates include unconvicted prisoners, juvenile delinquents, women prisoners, recidivists and life-sentence prisoners-Most prisoners serving longer sentences are held in correctional institutions, which are usually large maximum-security buildings holding offenders in conditions of strict security, Young offenders

Chapter V. Imprisonment; Retribution or Rehabilitation? 161

a re usually detained in reformatories, often designated under names that imply that their purpose is treatment or correction rather than punishment. Women are normally held in separate prisons. Prisoners who are not considered a danger to the community may be confined in low-security or open prisons.

TASK 2. Explain tlw meaning of the following words and expressions;

• unconvicted prisoner

• juvenile delinquent

• recidivist

• life-sentence prisoner

TASK 3. Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents;

1) close prisoner	а) 'узник совести';
2) life-sentence prisoner	политический заключённый
3) long-sentence / long-term	Ь) версия, выдвинутая
prisoner	обвиняемым
4) prisoner of conscience	с) военнопленный
5) prisoner of war	d) лицо, содержащееся
6) prisoner on bail	в одиночном заключении
7) prisoner on trial	е) обвиняемый, отпущенный
8) prisoner's box	(из-под стражи) на поруки
9) prisoners story	f) осуждённый,
	отбывающий долгосрочное
	тюремное заключение
	g) подсудимый
	h) приговорённый
	к пожизненному тюремному
	заключению
	i) скамья подсудимых

TASK 4, Read the following text and write down Russian equivalents for sentences given in bold type: