Amnestry Video

Jeremy Irons on the Death Penalty
(supporting Amnesty International)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVMho2cP1NE
Listen and complete with the words or structures from the box :
deterrent - inalienable - human being - offenders - deaths - executed - abuses - irreversible -
tolerate - crime rates - execution - abolishes - right - death penalty - capital punishment -
innocents - tortures - fundamental rights - imprisonment - revenge
There are many arguments against the death penalty. It’s not a
…………... against the crimes that it punishes. Societies who use the
death penalty don’t have lower …………... .
When a country ……………. the death penalty, they are not plunged
into criminal chaos.
But even if the …………... did reduce crime rates, would it then be
acceptable ?
The death penalty targets the economically disadvantaged, those who can’t afford good, legal counsel,
those without a voice in society. There’s a saying in the US: “ …………….... means that those
without a capital get the punishment”. Statistics show this is true.
But would it be acceptable, if people from all sections of society were …………... ? Does killing a
rich man make killing a poor man right?
The death penalty is …………... and results in the death of innocents. When someone is dead, a
retrospective pardon is of little use to them or their family.
Since 1990 in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and
the USA there have been 51 recorded …………... of child …………... , some as young as 14 years
old.
Even if no more …………... or children were killed, should we …………... the death penalty ? The
death penalty is never acceptable.
It …………... two of our most basic human rights : Everyone has the …………... to live.
No one should be subject to torture.
The death penalty obviously kills people, but it also …………... physically by the brutal nature of
execution and psychologically by forcing individuals to wait to be killed. They wait sometimes for
decades, while others are led to their …………... . The horror of this waiting is unimaginable.
Human rights are thus called because they apply to all human beings; they belong to all of us equally.
An attack on these ……………... anywhere is an attack against all of us. The right to life is
………….... . It cannot be given and it cannot be taken away. No matter how terrible a crime, in a
world full of uncertainty human rights are a clearly drawn line; a line between what is right and what
is wrong, the line between …………... and execution.
Every individual facing the death penalty is – whatever they stand accused of – still a …………... .
However much we are outraged by their actions, however much we want …………... , they are still
human beings. They may well have killed and tortured, they crossed the line but do we really want to
join them ?
KEY
There are many arguments against the death penalty. It’s not a deterrent against the crimes
that it punishes. Societies who use the death penalty don’t have lower crime rates.
When a society abolishes the death penalty, they are not plunged into criminal chaos.
But even if the death penalty did reduce crime rates, would it then be acceptable?
The death penalty targets the economically disadvantaged, those who can’t afford good, legal
counsel, those without a voice in society. There’s a saying in the US: “Capital punishment
means that those without a capital get the punishment”. Statistics show this is true.
But would it be acceptable, if people from all sections of society were executed? Does killing
a rich man make killing a poor man right?
The death penalty is irreversible and results in the death of innocents. When someone is dead,
a retrospective pardon is of little use to them or their family.
Since 1990 in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, and the USA there have been 51 recorded executions of child offenders, some as
young as 14 years old.
Even if no more innocents or children were killed, should we tolerate the death penalty? The
death penalty is never acceptable.
It abuses two of our most basic human rights: Everyone has the right to live. No one should be
subject to torture.
The death penalty obviously kills people, but it also tortures physically by the brutal nature of
execution and psychologically by forcing individuals to wait to be killed. They sometimes wait
for decades, while others are led to their deaths. The horror of this waiting is unimaginable.
Human rights are thus called because they apply to all human beings; they belong to all of us
equally. An attack on these fundamental rights anywhere is an attack against all of us. The
right to life is inalienable. It cannot be given and it cannot be taken away. No matter how
terrible a crime, in a world full of uncertainty human rights are a clearly drawn line; a line
between what is right and what is wrong, the line between imprisonment and execution.
Every individual facing the death penalty is – whatever they stand accused of – still a human
being. However much we are outraged by their action, however much we want revenge, they
are still human beings. They may well have killed and tortured, they crossed the line but do we
really want to join them ?

Amnestry Video

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Amnestry Video

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Amnestry Video

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jeremy Irons on the Death Penalty

(supporting Amnesty International)

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.