[時事英文新聞] Capital Punishment
[時事英文] Capital Punishment 死刑最近廢除死刑議題又再度引發社會激烈的討論 (好像每幾年就會有一次)。不管大家觀點如何，希望以下重新整理的一些資訊可以幫同學學習英文，關心社會大事及更了解此議題。
以下提供「中華民國法務部有關廢除死刑之政策」的前言(中英版) 和執行死刑的支持與反對論點的相關的英文單字及短文，目的是希望幫助各位不論是在英文口說上更得心應手，另外了解正反兩方的觀點也才能讓各位的辯證更有說服力。
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The policy of the Ministry of Justice, Taiwan with regard to abolition of the death penalty
中華民國法務部有關廢除死刑之政策
The death penalty, with its basis in the theory of retribution, uses state power to deprive convicted criminals of their right to live and separate them from society forever. Since capital punishment is cruel and goes against the notion that punishment should encompass education, the abolition of the death penalty has gradually become a global trend. Many democratic and industrialized countries have completely or conditionally abolished the death penalty.
•basis 基礎、根據
•the theory of retribution 應報理論、報應主義
•state power 國家公權力
•deprive 剝奪、奪走
•convicted criminals (被判有罪的)罪犯
•the right to live 生命權
•go against the notion that…
不符…的主張、反對…的概念
•encompass 具有；包含、包括
•the abolition of… 廢除…
•a global trend 世界潮流
•conditionally 有條件地
•abolish (v.) the death penalty 廢除死刑
死刑起源於報應主義，係以國家公權力剝奪罪犯生命權，使其永久與社會隔離，由於手段殘酷，不符刑罰亦具教化之主張，故廢除死刑已漸是世界潮流，許多民主先進國家已廢除死刑或有條件的廢除死刑。
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Whether to completely do away with the death penalty depends on the development of society, the maturity of concepts of law and order, and popular consensus and support. In opinion polls in recent years, around 80% of respondents have consistently opposed the abolition of the death penalty. Opposition falls to 40%, however, if complementary measures such as increases in upper sentencing limits and the threshold for parole for life imprisonment are included.
•do away with sth 全面廢除某事
•depend on… 視…決定
•the development of society 社會發展
•the maturity of… …的成熟度
•the concepts of law and order 法治觀念
•popular consensus and support 民眾之共識與支持
•an opinion poll 民意調查
•respondent 受訪者、回答者
•opposition (n.) （強烈的）反對，反抗，對抗
•complementary measures 配套措施
•upper sentencing limits 提高有期徒刑上限
•the threshold for… …的門檻
•parole 有條件釋放，假釋
•life imprisonment 無期徒刑、終身監禁
惟是否全面廢除死刑，應視社會發展、法治觀念是否成熟及民眾之共識與支持。根據歷年來所做之相關民意調查，民眾對我國廢止死刑之意見，始終約有百分之八十的受訪者表示反對。但如有相關配套措施，例如提高有期徒刑上限、無期徒刑假釋門檻等，反對意見則約下降至百分之四十。
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Evidently, with consideration of complementary measures and education, public support for retribution may be reoriented and a general consensus formed on the gradual abolition of the death penalty. The Ministry of Justice will employ extensive discussion and research to form a popular consensus for abolition, and only then propose the necessary amendments to existing laws to extend human rights protection while maintaining public security.
•with consideration of 考量到…
•public support for sth 公眾對…的支持
•retribution (n.) 報應、報復
•reorient 重新定位
•a general consensus 普遍共識
•employ (v.) extensive discussion 進行廣泛討論
•form (v.) a popular consensus 形成大眾共識
•propose 提出、提議
•amendment 修正案；修改，修訂
•existing laws 現行法
•human rights protection 人權保障
•maintain public security 維護治安
顯然地，考量到配套措施和教育，民眾可能會重新定位對於支持應報的想法，並形成逐步廢除死刑的普遍共識。法務部將會透過廣泛討論與研究，凝聚多數民眾支持廢除死刑之共識後，才會提出廢除死刑的法律修正案，以兼顧人權之保障及治安之維護。可見如有配套措施，並透過教育導正民眾報復思想，應可逐步凝聚廢除死刑之社會共識。
顯然地，考量到配套措施和教育，民眾可能會重新定位對於支持應報的想法，並形成逐步廢除死刑的普遍共識。法務部將會透過廣泛討論與研究，凝聚多數民眾支持廢除死刑之共識後，才會提出廢除死刑的法律修正案，以兼顧人權之保障及治安之維護。可見如有配套措施，並透過教育導正民眾報復思想，應可逐步凝聚廢除死刑之社會共識。
文章出處: https://bit.ly/3RyWGtL
圖片出處: https://bit.ly/3THSGJj
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Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty 死刑的利與弊
Arguments commonly made for supporting the death penalty are:
一般常會被用來支持死刑應該存在的論點如下:
•To serve as an example to other would-be criminals, to deter them from committing murder or terrorist acts
會對那些相當可能犯案的潛在罪犯產生警示的作用，並阻止他們犯下任何謀殺或恐怖行為。
•To punish the criminal for his/her act
由於他們的犯罪行為，給予懲罰。
•To obtain retribution on behalf of the victims
基於受害者的權益，罪犯應當得到相對的懲罰。
Arguments Against 反駁論點
Arguments commonly made to abolish the death penalty are:
一般常會被用來支持死刑應該被廢除的論點如下:
•Death constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” and the various means used by the state to kill a criminal are cruel.
死刑的構成其實是殘暴而且不尋常的處罰，再者，目前國家執行死刑的方式，有很多都是非常殘忍的。
•The death penalty is used disproportionately against the poor, who cannot afford expensive legal counsel, as well as against racial, ethnic and religious minorities.
相對於金字塔頂端的富人，由於那些貧窮的社會階層根本負擔不起昂貴的律師費用，死刑的執行對於他們而言，完全不成比例，另一方面，其實那些種族、少數民族和宗教等弱勢團體也面臨著類似的問題。
•Wrongly convicted, innocent people have received death penalty sentences, and tragically, were killed by the state.
法律上誤判的狀況，也會導致無辜的人們被判處死刑，因而不幸地被國家殺害。
A rehabilitated criminal can make a morally valuable contribution to society.
一位改過自新的罪犯，其實也能就道德層面當中，對這個社會有一些難能可貴的貢獻。
請同學把自己覺得會用到的字寫在筆記本，並且在適當情境中盡量使用這些片話。不確定如何使用就務必要查詢! 不需要硬背每一個單字。
Please do not attempt to memorize every vocabulary word at once: https://bit.ly/3APzu5e
Image source: http://goo.gl/Nyv78y