Crimes against the person

arson (n.) - поджог;

injury (n.) - повреждение;

negligence (n.) - небрежность;

circumstance (n.) - обстоятельство;

robbery (n..) - грабеж;

burglary (n.) - кража;

malice (n.) - злой умысел;

vehicle (n.) - транспортное средство;

involuntary manslaughter (n.) - непреднамеренное убийство;

grievous (adj.) - печальный;

felony (n.) - уголовное преступление;

defense (n.) - защита.

Crimes against the person include homicide, assault, battery, and rape. All of those crimes are serious offenses. A defendant found guilty of one of them may receive a harsh sentence. However, the law also protects the defendant by defining various levels of these crimes and by considering the circumstances of each offense.

Homicide —the killing of one human being by another—is the most serious of all acts. Homicides may be either noncriminal or criminal.

Noncriminal Homicide Some homicides are not crimes at all. Non­criminal homicide is a killing that is justifiable or excusable and for which the killer is deemed faultless. Examples of noncriminal homi­cide include the killing of an enemy soldier in wartime, the killing of a condemned criminal by an executioner, the killing by a police offi­cer of a person who is committing a serious crime and who poses a threat of death or serious harm, and a killing performed in sell-defense or in defense of another.

Criminal Homicide Murder, the most serious form of criminal homicide, is a killing that is done with malice. Malice means having the intent to kill or seriously harm. At one time, there were no de­grees of murder. Any homicide done with malice was considered to be murder and was punishable by death. To reduce the punishment for less grievous homicides, most states now have statutes that clas­sify murder according to the killer's state of mind or the circum­stances surrounding the crime.

First-degree murder is a killing that is premeditated (thought about beforehand), deliberate, and done with malice (that is, with in­tent to kill).

Second-degree murder is a killing that is done with malice but without premeditation. That is, the intent to kill did not exist until just before the murder took place.

Felony murder is a killing that takes place during the commission of certain felonies, such as arson, rape, robbery, or burglary. It is not necessary to prove intent to kill; felony murder includes most killing committed during a felony, even if the killing is accidental. Most states consider felony murder to be first-degree murder.

Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing committed under circumstances that mitigate (lessen), but do not justify or excuse, the killing. Manslaughter is based on the idea that even "the reasonable person" may lose self-control and act rashly if sufficiently provoked.

Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing resulting from conduct so reckless that it causes extreme danger of death or bodily injury. An example is a killing that results from playing with a gun known to be loaded.

Negligent homicide is the causing of death through criminal negli­gence. Negligence is the failure to exercise a reasonable or ordinary amount of care in a situation that causes harm to someone. Some states classify death by gross, or extreme, negligence as involuntary manslaughter. The most common form of negligent homicide is ve­hicular, or automobile, homicide. This is a killing that results from operating a motor vehicle in a reckless and grossly negligent man­ner. Any death that results from careless driving may lead to a civil suit for damages, but it is usually not considered a crime unless the death results from gross negligence.

Ex. 1. Find the equivalents for the following words and expressions in the text:

убийство, злой умысел, кража со взломом, небрежность, серьезные нарушения, получить суровый приговор, поджог, кража, быть в полной решимости, опрометчиво, преднамеренное убийство, может привести к гражданскому разбирательству по взысканию убытков.

Ex. 2. Match the words on the left with the correct definition on the right:

Harm	a violent attack
Assault	to take money or property illegally from a place, organization or person, often using violence
Manslaughter	a gun that can be carried easily
To rob	the crime of killing a person by someone who did not intend to do it or who cannot be responsible for their actions
Firearms	physical or other injury or damage
Malice	a failure to exercise a reasonable or ordinary amount of care in a situation that causes harm to someone
Justice	a condition, fact, or event accompanying, conditioning, or determining another
Accident	an act that damages or hurts
Injury	the desire to see another experience pain, injury, or distress
Negligence	the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity
Circumstance	an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14