Revision (crime) Suicide Abortion The Death Penalty Euthanasia

What is a crime? How are crimes classified? What are three main categories of crimes? Who can be exempt from criminal liability?

treason / conspiracy murder / manslaughter theft / robbery / burglary to prove beyond reasonable doubt to be presumed innocent exemption from criminal liability

Indictable offences are more serious offences triable on ___________ by a judge and a jury in a ___________ Court.

Summary offences are less serious offences triable summarily in a ____________ Court by the justices who sit without a _________.

To secure conviction, the prosecution must normally prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed a guilty act with a guilty intent. The accused is presumed innocent until proved by the prosecution in a court of law to be guilty.

The act of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally

In the past an attempt to kill oneself resulted in a charge with a criminal offence

In the 14th century English Common Law made suicide a criminal act and it was punished by forfeiture of all the goods and chattels of the offender.

English Common Law distinguished a suicide

committed by an unsound mind from an “evil doer against himself”, who had coolly decided to end his or her life (an infamous crime) – entire estate forfeited to the crown;

Ignominious burial – a corpse dragged through the streets and hung from the gallows, and finally buried beneath a crossroad with a stake driven through the body

by the 17th century – a suicide forfeited only personal property; heirs could get his real estate

until 1879 law did not distinguish between suicide and homicide

The Suicide Act of 1961 abolished that

The termination of pregnancy before it is complete with the purpose of destroying the foetus

Before 1967 it was a criminal act to end, or to help to end a pregnancy

The main question: Is the foetus a human being with its rights or is it part of the body of the mother?

A pregnancy may be terminated within the time limit of 24 weeks

The time limit does not apply where abortion is performed to save lives

An abortion must be performed by a registered medical practicioner in a hospital or a place officially approved for that purpose

The Act does not apply in Northern Ireland

Roe v. Wade – the most important precedent The Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v.

Wade on January 22, 1973 in which the justices ruled 7-2 that abortion was a fundamental right protected by the United States Constitution. Justice Harry Blackmun, writing for the majority, declared that the right of privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and previously outlined in Griswold “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

In Great Britain, hanging was the preferred method of execution for hundreds of years

Capital punishment was suspended in 1965 and abolished in 1970

Abolitionists (fighters against the death penalty) and retentionists (supporters of the death penalty)

The last woman to be hanged in Great Britain

Ellis (28) shot her boyfriend David Blakely in 1955

“battered woman syndrome”

Ellis had a miscarriage 10 days before the killing because Blakely punched her

“It was obvious that when I shot him, I intended to kill him”

The jury reached the verdict in 14 minutes Ellis executed three weeks later

The case reopened in 2003 – the relatives wanted to replace the decision with a verdict of manslaughter on the grounds of ‘provocation’ or ‘diminished responsibility’

“Substantial error” because the judge refused to allow the jury to consider the provocation defense

New verdict refused

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXQvKLGYTho

Literally: Good death (from the Greek words “eu” and “thanatos”)

Also called ‘mercy killing’ Intentional killing by act or omission of a

dependant human being for his or her alleged benefit

Voluntary: when the person who is killed has requested to be killed

Non-voluntary: when the person who is killed made no request and gave no consent

Assisted suicide: someone provides an individual with the information, guidance and means to take their life with the intention that they will be used for a purpose

Euthanasia by action: intentionally causing a person’s death by performing an action such as by giving a lethal injection

Euthanasia by omission: intentionally causing death by not providing necessary and ordinary care

The Netherlands was the first country to allow so-called mercy killing

Public approval ratings of nearly 90 % for legalisation of euthanasia

Doctors have the right to refuse and patients have the right to choose euthanasia

The patient must have an incurable illness There must be “unbearable suffering” The patient must be of sound mind and

must have given consent The termination of life must then be carried

out in a medically appropriate manner

Since 2002, euthanasia was legalised in several countries (e.g. Switzerland)

In Croatia all forms of euthanasia are illegal

Forfeiture – oduzimanje imovine Goods and chattels - imetak Ignominious burial – nečasni pogreb Abolitionist – protivnik smrtne kazne Retentionist – zagovornik smrtne kazne Miscarriage – spontani pobačaj Diminished responsibility – smanjena

odgovornost Incurable illness – neizlječiva bolest

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word:painless, intolerable, incurable, criminal,undignified   Euthanasia is the practice of terminating

the life of a human being or animal with an ____________ disease, ______________ suffering, or a possibly _____________ death in a ____________ or minimally painful way, for the purpose of limiting suffering. It is a form of homicide; the question is whether it should be considered justifiable or ___________.

Euthanasia is the practice of terminating the life of a human being or animal with an incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or a possibly undignified death in a painless or minimally painful way, for the purpose of limiting suffering. It is a form of homicide; the question is whether it should be considered justifiable or criminal.

Capital punishment Term capital from latin capitalis ˝regarding

the head˝ Killing of a person by a judicial process The most severe punishment for an offense

The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the 18th Century BC in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon

It codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes

Ancient Greece, where the Athenian legal system was first written down by Draco

In 1700s Britain there were 222 crimes which were punishable by death

In April 1999, the UN Human Rights Commission passed the Resolution Supporting Worldwide Moratorium on Executions

Over 50 countries still retain the death penalty

In 2006, 91% of all known executions were carried out in 6 countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the United States

Death Penalty Permitted: Afghanistan, Cameroon, China, Congo,

Cuba, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, United States etc.

Death Penalty Outlawed for Ordinary Crimes -permitted only for exceptional crimes, such as crimes committed under military law or in wartime:

Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Israel, Latvia, Peru

Today over 60 % of Americans support the death penalty in theory

In most countries public opinion is against the death penalty, as it is regarded inhuman and many innocent persons were wrongfully executed

People who are against the death penalty Lord Kennet’s speech given on November 9,

1961 in the House of Lords outlined main arguments against the death penalty

Read Lord Kennet’s speech (Unit 21) and summarise his arguments under five verbs he uses:

Prevent Reform Research Deter Avenge

Giving a brief account of the main points of some writing

Use key words and find a topic sentence Paraphrase when necessary

Writae a short summary of Lord Kennet’s speech outlining his main ideas

To prevent the same man from doing it again

Rehabilitate: a man should be helped with his social function by a rehabilitatory treatment

Research: We should find out about the motives, characters and personality structures of criminals, thus finding things that would enable taking measures to reduce the crime rate

Deter: The evidence proves that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent against violent crime

Avenge: Vengeance is not a proper motive for the State in dealing with convicted criminals

People who support the death penalty Main arguments: deter and avenge (“an eye

for an eye”) Main question: is the capital penalty a

uniquely effective deterrent against murder?

The death penalty fulfils a preventive function, but it is also very clearly a form of revenge. The human life is ended and the executed person is deprived of the opportunity to change, to restore the harm done or compensate for it. Before advocating execution we should consider whether criminals are intrinsically negative and harmful people or whether they will remain perpetually in the same state of mind in which they committed their crime or not. The answer, I believe, is definitely not.

However horrible the act they have committed, I believe that everyone has the potential to improve and correct themselves. Therefore,I am optimistic that it remains possible to deter criminal activity, and prevent such harmful consequences of such acts in society, without having to resort to the death penalty.

Article 21 Every human being has the right to life. In the Republic of Croatia there shall be no

capital punishment.