Distant Education College of Jilin University
Lesson 26 Creative Justice
1. Guide
Questions
2. Summary of The Lesson
3. Analysis and Explanation
4. Reading Comprehension
5. Questions
For Discussion
Extensive Reading II
Guide Questions
1. Why are the judges in American beginning to question the
conventional form of justice?
2. Why do the English and American judges adopt the new kinds of
punishment?
3. What is the new type of the punishment?
4. Is it only for light offenders?
5. What’s the real meaning of alternative sentencing mentioned the
text?
6.Does the new type of punishment present many merits ?
7. Where does the greatest resistance to the new
kind of justice come from?
8. What does the word justice in the title of Creative Justice
mean?
Answer:
1. Because they think the conventional
form of justice, such as putting the
criminal in jail, does not do any good to
society and the victim on the one hand,
nor to the criminal on the other.
Answer:
2. In order to teach the wrongdoers
more effectively.
Answer:
3. Alternative sentencing.
Answer:
4. Yes, it is.
Answer:
5. Criminal can pay for their crime by
helping their victims financially or in
some other way, instead of being in
prison or pay money for his victim’s
loss.
Answer:
6. Yes , it does.
Answer:
7. From the victim’s family.
Answer:
8. Deserved punishment by law.
Questions for Discussion
1.
1. Where have the modern judges got the idea of
compensation?
Answer: The idea of compensation has existed since
ancient times.Modern judges think of it as a far better
system than imprisonment.
Questions for Discussion
2. Do all the people support creative justice?
What ‘s the situation in the U.S today?
Answer:No, not all people support creative justice. In
the U.S. today, alternative sentencing is practiced in
17states and is spreading fast. The families of the
victims who have died, however, still take a strong
stand against the new way of sentencing.
Reading Comprehension
1. Multiple-choice Questions
2. True/False Questions
Multiple-choice Questions
1. Creative justice started in the United States is
based on ____________ .
A) a view of human rights
B) the theory of compensation
C) the fact that the victims have objections
D) the condition that prisons are too crowded
Multiple-choice Questions
1. Creative justice started in the United States is
based on ____B________ .
A) a view of human rights
B) the theory of compensation
C) the fact that the victims have objections
D) the condition that prisons are too crowded
Multiple-choice Questions
2. Which of the following is not the reason why modern
judges prefer alternative sentencing to prison terms?
A) It will cost the community a great deal of money to put
and keep a wrongdoer in jail .
B) A nonviolent first offender will be taught further ways of
crime by tough criminals in jail.
C) Prison doesn’t do victims any good .
D) It is not fair to put “light” criminals in jail.
Multiple-choice Questions
2. Which of the following is not the reason why modern
judges prefer alternative sentencing to prison terms?
B
A) It will cost the community a great deal of money to put
and keep a wrongdoer in jail .
B) nonviolent first offender will be taught further ways of
crime by tough criminals in jail.
C) Prison doesn’t do victims any good .
D) It is not fair to put “light” criminals in jail.
Multiple-choice Questions
3。Which of the following offenders would probably not
be given an alternative sentence?
A) A dentist convicted of killing a motorcyclist while driving
drunk
B) A teenager who had snatched an old lady’s purse.
C) A doctor who had attacked his neighbor during a
snowball fight .
D) A man convicted of robbery with violence.
Multiple-choice Questions
3.Which of the following offenders would probably not be
given an alternative sentence?D
A) A dentist convicted of killing a motorcyclist
driving drunk
while
B) A teenager who had snatched an old lady’s purse
C) A doctor who had attacked his neighbor during a
snowball fight .
D) A man convicted of robbery with violence.
Multiple-choice Questions
4. Prison terms to be served on weekends only are
______________ .
A) most welcome by the offenders
B) most welcome by the public
C) an alternative sentence recently created by American judges
D) a new way of using the old types of punishment
Multiple-choice Questions
4. Prison terms to be served on weekends only are
______D________ .
A) most welcome by the offenders
B) most welcome by the public
C) an alternative sentence recently created by
American judges
D) a new way of using the old types of punishment
Multiple-choice Questions
5. Which of the following statements best describes the
advantages of alternative sentencing?
A)It provides a public example and this discourages potential
offenders.
B)It discourages offenders from repeating their crimes because
alternative sentences are very harsh.
C)It is a very good way of saving public money.
D)It is beneficial to offenders as it forces them to see effects of
their crimes .
Multiple-choice Questions
5. Which of the following statements best describes the
advantages of alternative sentencing?
D
A)It provides a public example and this discourages potential
offenders.
B)It discourages offenders from repeating their crimes because
alternative sentences are very harsh.
C)It is a very good way of saving public money.
D)It is beneficial to offenders as it forces them to see effects of
their crimes .
True/False Questions
1. Engilsh and American judges object to prison terms.
(F)
2. .English and American judges are trying to use
alternative sentencing to punish some criminals .
(T)
3. Alternative sentencing is considered only good for
young offenders.
(F)
4. A nonviolent offender can choose between jail and
alternative sentencing.
(T)
True/False Questions
5. Alternative sentencing is also called “creative justice”.
6. Creative justice is applied to both individuals (T)
(T)
and companies
7. Alternative sentencing is so widespread in the U.S.
that guidelines should be provided by the federal
government .
(F)
8. Judges say creative justice will not be worthy of
the name if guidelines are to be provided by
federal government.
(T)
9. Creative justice is welcomed by the public. (F)
Lesson 26.
Creative Justice
Is jail the right place for all offenders?
Are there other punishments for criminal
behavior that suit the interests of society?
Judges in many countries seem to think so
and are bringing into existence new and
better ways of punishing some kinds of
crime.
Throwing criminals in jail is an ancient and widespread
method of punishment , but is it a wise one? It does seem
reasonable to keep wrongdoers in a place where they find
fewer opportunities to hurt innocent people, and where they
might discover that crime doesn’t pay. The system has long
been considered fair and sound by those who want to see the
guilty punished and society protected. Yet the value of this
form of justice is now being questioned by the very men who
have to apply it: the judges. The reason , they say, is that
prison doesn’t do anyone any good..
Does it really help society, or the victim, or the victim’s family ,
to put in jail a man who , while drunk at the wheel of his car , has
injured or killed another person? It would be more helpful to make
the man pay for his victim’s medical bills and compensate him for
the bad experience, the loss of working time, and any other
problems arising from the accident. If the victim is dead, in most
cases his family could use some financial assistance.
The idea of compensation is far from new : some ancient nations
had laws defining very precisely what should be paid for every
offense and injury. In Babylon, around 2700 B . C . , a thief had to
give back five times the value of the goods he had stolen; in Rome,
centuries later , thieves only paid double .“Good system!” say
modern judges , who know what bad effects a prison term can have
on a nonviolent first offender .
A young thief who spends time in jail receives there a thorough
education in crime from his fellow prisoners . Willingly or not , he
has to associate with tough criminals who will drag him into more
serious offenses , more prison terms — a life of repeated
wrongdoing that will leave a trail of victims and cost the community
a great deal of money ; for it is very expensive to put a man on trial
and keep him in jail.
Such considerations have caused a number of English and
American judges to try other kinds of punishment for “light”
criminals , all unpleasant enough to discourage the offenders from
repeating their offenses, but safe for them because they are not
exposed to dangerous company . They pay for their crime by
helping their victims, financially or otherwise, or by doing unpaid
labor for their community;
they may have to work for the poor or the mentally ill, to clean
the streets of their town, collect litter or plant trees ,or to do some
work for which they are qualified. Or perhaps they take a job
and repay their victim out of their salary. This sort of
punishment, called an alternative sentence, is applied only to
nonviolent criminals who are not likely to be dangerous to the
public , such as forgers ,shoplifters, and drivers who have caused
traffic accidents .Alternative sentences are considered
particularly good for young offenders. The sentenced criminal
has the right to refuse the new type of punishment if he prefers a
prison term .
Since alternative sentences are not defined by law , it is up to
the judges to find the punishment that fits the crime. They have
shown remarkable imagination in applying what they call
“creative justice.”
A dentist convicted of killing a motorcyclist while driving drunk
has been condemned to fix the teeth of the poor and the elderly at his
own expense one day a week for a full year. Another drunk driver(age
nineteen)was ordered to work in the emergency room of a hospital
once a week for three years, so that he could see for himself the results
of careless driving.
A thief who had stolen some equipment from a farmer had to raise a
pig and a calf for his victim. A former city treasurer , guilty of
dishonest actions , was put to raising money for the Red Cross.
A group of teenagers were sentenced to fix ten times the number of
windows that they had smashed “just for fun ” one wild evening. .
Graffiti artists have been made to scrub walls , benches, and other
“decorated” places. Other young offenders caught snatching old
ladies’s purses have been condemned to paint or repair old people’s
houses or to work in mental hospitals.
A doctor who had attacked his neighbor during a snowball fight
had to give a lecture on the relation between smoking and cancer .
A college professor arrested in a protest demonstration was ordered
to write a long essay on civil disobedience, and the president of a
film company, who had forged $ 42,000 worth of checks , had to
make a film about the danger of drugs , to be shown in schools .
The project cost him $45,000, besides the fine that he had been
sentenced to pay .
The judges’s creativity is not reserved for individuals only;
lawbreaking companies also can receive alternative sentences. They
are usually directed to make large contributions to charities or
projects that will benefit their community .
Instead of trying new types of sentences, some judges have
explored new ways of using the old ones . They have given prison
term to be served on weekends only, for instance — a sentence that
allows married offenders to retain their jobs and to keep their
families together . Although the public tends to find the weekend
sentences much too light ，the offenders do not always agree. Says
one , “it’s worse than serving one term full time ,because it’s like
going to jail twenty times. ” But prison personnel object that it is
too easy for weekenders to bring drugs and other forbidden goods
to the other inmates: they have to be searched carefully and create
extra problems and work for the guards.
Alternative sentencing is now practiced in seventeen states and
is spreading fast. Judges meet regularly to compare sentences and
share their experiences. The federal government has announced
that it would provide guidelines to prevent the courts from giving
widely different sentences for similar offenses. The judges have not
welcomed the idea; they feel that it will narrow their choice of
sentences and clip the wings of their imagination.
The supporters of the new justice point out that it presents
many advantages. It reduces prison crowding, which has been
responsible for much violence and crime among inmates. It saves
a great deal of money , and decreases the chances of bad
influence and repeated offenses. It also provides some help to the
victims , who have always been neglected in the past . Many
judges think that alternative sentences may also be beneficial to
the offenders themselves, by forcing them to see the effects of
their crimes and the people who have suffered from them . The
greatest resistance to the new kind of justice comes from the
families of victims who
have died . Bent on revenge, many angrily refuse any sort of
compensation. They want the criminal locked up in the good
old-fashioned way. They believe, reasonably, that the only just
punishment is the one that fits the crime. And they fail to
understand the purpose of alternative sentencing. What the
judges are trying to find is the kind of punishment that will not
only be just, but useful to society, by helping the victims and
their families, the community, and those offenders who can be
reformed .“This ,”says a “creative” judge, “is true justice. ”
From A Changing Scene ,
ed. ,Lucette Rollet Kenan , New York 1982 .
Approximately 1 , 200 words .
The system has long been considered fair and Sound by those
who want to see the guilty punished and society protected.
这种制度一直被那些想看到犯罪分子被惩罚，社会得到保障的人
认为是公平合理的，正确的和有效的。
1)“fair and sound” are used as subject complement; “the
guilty”means criminals.
(2) “Sound”in this sentence is adj. which means “just ”,
“reasonable”, “healthy”, “thorough”.
A Your suggestion is a sound one . 你的建议是合理的。
B The children look sound with rosy cheek 孩子们脸色红润，看
起来很健康。
C He had a sound sleep when I came 我进来时他正在酣睡。
While drunk at the wheel of his car ：
driving his car while drunk.
drunk：“醉的”，还可引申为“陶醉的”，常作表语。
( 1 )He was drunk. 他已烂醉如泥。
( 2 ) Mary was drunk with joy that she was afforded
scholarship. 玛丽得到了奖学金，她陶醉之中。
victim [ ] n. A victim is a person who suffers
death or harm as a result of someone else’s action or a
disaster.
受害者，牺牲品
He felt a victim to lung cancer. 他染上了肺癌。
compensate sb. for :
补偿，弥补 (make up for ).
The firm must compensate you for your traveling costs.
公司必须补偿你的旅行费用。
could use some : would need some .
far from :
毫不，一点不 not at all.
Your work is for from satisfactory.
你的工作很不令人满意。
define[  ] v. to state the exact
meaning of something
给------下定义
My dictionary defines crisis as turning point.
在我的字典中危机被下定义转折点。
Babylon
[  ] :
the capital of Babylonia which was an ancient
empire in southwest Asia.
In Babylon, around 2700B.C,a thief had to give back five times
the value of the goods he had stolen; in Rome, centuries later,
thieves only paid double.
大约公元前2700年的巴比伦，小偷必须赔偿他所偷之物价值的5倍
的物品，几个世纪后的罗马小偷只需赔偿他所偷之物价值的两倍。
In English “num.+times”means “倍数” except once,twice或 double。
(1）A is about 3 times as large as B.
(2) A is about 3 times the size of B.
(3 A is about twice larger than B.
以上三个句子意义相同；即A是B的三倍。
（ 2 ）中的句型“times+the+n+of”意为“是------ 的几倍”。
What bad effects a prison term can have on a nonviolent first
offender :
what bad effects a period of time in prison can have on a
wrongdoer who did not use force and committed a crime for
the first time .
法官们最了解服刑对非暴力型的初犯者会产生多么坏的影响。
have effects on : affect 对------产生影响。
Do you think the medicine will have any effects ?你认为这药
起作用？
offender[  ]: n. the person who breaks the law.
犯法的人，犯规的人。An old offender 惯犯
Willingly or not ,he has to associate with tough criminals who will
drag him into more serious offenses，more prison terms — a life
of repeated wrongdoing that will leave a trail of victims.
无论愿意与否，他都将同惯犯打交道，而这些罪犯会将他拉
入更严重的犯罪活动中，使他多次服刑。
1）associate with : 联系；交往 （get in touch with ）.
I don’t want to associate myself with them.我不想和他们再交
往了。
2) a trail of victims : a number of victims .
discourage the offenders from repeating their offenses:
阻止犯罪分子重复犯罪。
discourage sb.from doing sth.: stop sb. from doing sth.
They tried to discourage their son from climbing mountain.
设法阻止他们的儿子爬山。
otherwise ：in another or different way
以另一种方式，别样，在其他方面。
You evidently think otherwise . 你显然有不同看法。
The rent is high , but otherwise the house is satisfactory
租金很贵，但在其他方面这屋子还是令人满意的。
qualify sb.for sth. ( to do sth ) :
使胜任,有资格
He knew he had to qualify himself for the post.
他知道他必须使自己胜任这个职务。
His training qualified him for an English teacher.
他的训练使他具有资格做个英语老师。
sentence :[] v. punish; to state that
someone is to have a certain punishment.
判决,宣判
The court sentenced him to a fine trespass.
法院以侵害罪判他的罚金。
shoplifter [   ] n. a person who
steals the articles in the store.在商店行盗的人.
Since alternative sentences are not defined by law, it is up to the
judge to find the punishment.
由于法律对变通判刑没有明文规定，因此法官可自行量罪判刑。
be up to :
Here it is“ 该 由 ------” ， besides the three meanings of “be
engaged in, be busy in, be qualified for” 。
(1) It is up to me to do the job . 该由我来做这项工作。
(2 ) He is up to fixing his radio now .他现在忙于修理收音机。
(3) John is not up to his work.约翰不胜任他的工作。
A dentist convicted of killing a motorcyclist while driving
drunk has been condemned to fix the teeth of the poor and
the elderly at his own expense one day a week for a full year :
A dentist who was guilty of killing a motorcyclist when he was
drunk driving his car has been sentenced to fix the teeth of the
poor and the elderly persons with his own cost one day a week for
a whole year .In this sentence “convicted of killing a motorcyclist
while driving drunk”is past participle phrase used as attribute to
modify “a dentist”
( 1 ) be convicted of : It is from the phrase “convict sb. of sth.” 宣
告-----有罪，判决有罪。
The manager was convicted of negligence of his duties.
这位经理被判玩忽职责罪。
(2) at sb’s expense：归某人付费（或负担）、在使某人
受损害的情况下。
a. He bought a new bike for the victim at his own expense.
他自己掏钱为受害者买了一辆新车。
b. I hate those who like to have a laugh at other’s expense.
我讨厌那些取笑别人的人。
(3) condemn ; 判决、定罪、谴责。( sentence )
We strongly condemned him for his treacherous behavior.
我们强烈谴责他背信弃义的行为。
be put to doing sth :
被迫从事------.使受到。( be forced to do sth . )
(1) She was put to making a living as a
performer .
她被迫以卖唱为生。
(2 ) I was put to trial at the trying moment.
在这艰苦的时刻我受到了考验。
graffiti artists :
“artists” who often write or draw on
walls or other surfaces in public
places without permission
scrub [  ] : v.clean by rubbing hard
especially by a brush 洗擦
He managed to scrub the marks on the wall.
他设法把墙上的污点擦掉
snatch [  ]: v. put out hand suddenly and take 抢
夺
He snatched the matches away from the children.
他一把夺下孩子手中的火柴。
The judge’s creativity is not reserved for individuals only---.
法官的创造性判决不仅用于个人犯罪。
reserved: 留作专用的，预定的、沉默的、冷淡的。
(1) The seats are reserved for the aged only.
这些是老年人的专坐。
(2) The ticket is reserved .
这票是预定的。
(3) Every body was talking ,only Tom was reserved .
每个人都在交谈，只有汤姆一个人沉默寡言。
clip: 剪 cut
clip a hedge. 修树篱
The federal government has announced that it
would provide guidelines to prevent the courts from
giving widely different sentences for similar offenses.
美国联邦政府宣布指导性政策，以免法庭对相似
的罪行置刑悬殊。
guideline: n. 指导方针，指导原则 ( often pl. )
adopt new guidelines for the national defense. 采
取新的国防指导方针。
It reduces prison crowing, which has been responsible
for much violence and crime among inmates.
这一新型法缓解了监狱的人满为患的现象，这是许
多暴力犯罪在同一监狱犯人中发生的原因。
( 1 ) be responsible for:为------负责。( in charge of )
The pilot of the plane is responsible for the
passengers’safety.
飞机驾驶员应对顾客的安全负责。
( 2 ) inmate : n. a person shares a room with others.
住同一房间的人。
Bent on revenge, many angrily refuse any sort of compensation.
由于一心想要复仇，很多人气愤地拒绝任何形式的赔偿。
be bent on : be determined to do sth。.
He is bent on mastering English .
他决意学通英文。
In this sentence, “bent on revenge ” is used as adverbial of
reason and “being ” is omitted .
•Outline of The Text
•Comment on the story
Comment
Prison are institutions for confining people accused or
convicted of breaking the law. By the early1800s, most of the
Western world had adopted imprisonment as the chief method
of dealing with criminals The purpose of prisons is threefold :1)
to punish the wrongdoer;2) to protect society; 3) to stop
offenders committing crimes again.
The functions of
prisons ,however, are often debated. Many new systems have
been developed since the 19th century, yet only the parole( 假释 )
is widely used. Which is the best way to punish the wrongdoer
still remains a problem. In this article the author introduced
the creative justice and took many examples to show the
advantages of the system, English and American judges
thought this justice is better in fulfilling the threefold purpose
of prisons.
Outline of The Text
Though throwing criminals in jail is an ancient and widespread
method of punishment and the system has long been considered fair
and sound, the judges who apply it say that prison doesn’t do
anyone any good. They suggest some criminals pay for their crimes
by helping their victims, financially or otherwise, or by doing
unpaid labor for their community. This sort of punishment is called
an alternative sentence. But it is applied only to nonviolent
criminals who are not likely to be dangerous to the public.
The judges have shown remarkable imagination in applying what
they call “creative justice.’ ’For instance, a drunk driver was
ordered to work in the emergency room once a week for three years,
so that he could see for himself the results of careless driving.
A thief who had stolen some equipment from a farmer was forced
to raise a pig and calf for his victim. Graffiti artists have been
made to scrub walls, benches and other places. A doctor who had
attacked his neighbor during a snowball fight had to give a
lecture on the relation between smoking and cancer and a college
professor arrested in a protest demonstration was ordered to
write a long essay on civil disobedience.
This new justice, on the one hand, reduces prison crowing and
save a lot of money, and on the other, decreases the chances of
repeated offenses as well. Although great resistance has been
coming from the families of victims, the alternative sentence is
true justice.