Pre-sessional Academic English: 2014
Advanced Capital Punishment: Preparation for DEBATE Work
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What was the worst punishment you received as a child? Was it fair?
What is the purpose of punishment?
Would you rather be dead than spend life in jail?
Can you think of any people who were punished for a crime they didn’t commit?
Is capital punishment (the death penalty) practiced in your country?
Who are some famous people who were executed?
Capital Punishment
Mark MacPhail, an off-duty police officer, was working as a security guard in Savannah, Georgia on August
19th, 1989. He saw a man being assaulted in a nearby parking lot, so he ran to intervene. MacPhail was
then shot to death.
Seven witnesses testified they had seen an African-American man, later identified as Troy Davis, shoot
MacPhail. Two others testified that Davis had confessed to the murder directly to them. Bullets discovered
near the scene were linked to another shooting, earlier on that same day, for which Davis was also
charged.
Davis was tried and convicted of murder and other related offences, although he maintained that it was
not him who had shot MacPhail. He was sentenced to death. Over the next 20 years, Davis gathered
supporters, including religious figures and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who believed that Davis
should not be executed because he was innocent. Another hearing was held in June 2010, where affidavits
were presented from seven out of nine of the original witnesses who recanted or changed their testimony.
Many claimed they had been pressured to testify against Davis by the police. Two witnesses implicated
another man, Sylvester Coles, whom Davis said was the actual triggerman. This new information, however,
did not convince the court to change the verdict. The court described these efforts as “largely smoke and
mirrors.” Despite a last-minute appeal and petition signed by nearly one million people urging the parole
board to grant clemency, Troy Davis was executed on September 21st by lethal injection.
Francesca Sweeney-Androulaki
Davis’ supporters have decried the execution as a miscarriage of justice. They believe the unwillingness of
U.S. justice system to reconsider the death sentence in light of new information represents a fundamental
problem with the American justice system. They hope Davis’ death will lead to legal reforms.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has existed since the beginning of recorded history.
Fifty-eight nations currently practice it, including the US, China, India, and Japan. (326)
[Original: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Davis_case, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/troy-davisexecuted_n_975109.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment]
Comprehension Questions
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Why was Mark MacPhail at the scene of the crime?
Why did investigators believe Davis was the shooter? (3 reasons)
What did many of the people who testified against Davis later claim?
What do supporters of Davis hope will happen in the future?
Vocabulary Matching
Match the words with their meaning
intervene (verb)
convict (verb)
affidavit
recant (verb)
implicate (verb)
smoke and mirrors
clemency
decry (verb)
miscarriage of justice
Connect the below idea(s) to make a sentence.
government / uprising
intervene / assault
convict / murder
urge / clemency
affidavits / recant
implicate / Coles
Francesca Sweeney-Androulaki
tactics / smoke and mirrors
in light of / testimony
Famous Quotes (Pair Work)
Discuss whether you agree with the below quotes:
"It is better and more satisfactory to acquit (acquit = let free) a thousand guilty persons than to put a single
innocent man to death." -12th century legal scholar Moses Maimonides
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too
eager to deal out death in judgement.” – Gandalf (In The Lord of the Rings)
Brainstorming (Debate)
(Note: each student reads his/her role to himself/herself)
Group
1:
What are the arguments FOR capital punishment? Make a list. When finished, present your
arguments to the class.
Group
2:
What are the arguments AGAINST capital punishment? Make a list. When finished, present your
arguments to the class.
Part 2) In light of these arguments, are you for or against capital punishment?
Group Work Further Discussion
You and your partner are government workers. Your president has decided that capital punishment is
necessary. However, he told you to manage the following issues:
1) Which crimes should carry the death penalty?
2) What should be the method of execution?
Consider the questions with a partner and then present your ideas to the class.
Writing: Follow-up
(Write your answers in the Comments section below if you wish)
1) Should insane people be punishable by death?
2) Do you believe capital punishment makes the public not want to commit crimes?
3) Should executions be done in public?
4) What’s the difference, morally, between capital punishment and torture?
Source: Lesson plan copyright Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com
Francesca Sweeney-Androulaki