[時事英文] The Death Penalty
剛剛看完大家熱烈討論的《我們與惡的距離》The World Between Us 覺得學到不少東西，劇情也直接挑戰大眾對死刑和相關議題的看法。好，點到為止，我就不透漏劇情了。
以下是我編寫關於死刑的一篇文章。無論大家觀點如何，希望以下提供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。
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錄音檔: http://bit.ly/2vh27ph
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以下老師提供執行死刑的支持和反對的論點的相關的英文單字及文章，目的是希望幫助各位不論是在英文口試上更得心應手，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。
時事詞彙:
pros and cons 利弊
capital punishment/the death penalty 死刑
retribution 應報
state power 國家公權力
deprive…of their right to live 剝奪…生命權
separate them from society 使其永久與社會隔離
the abolition of the death penalty 廢除死刑
do away with 除去；廢除
concepts of law and order 法治觀念
popular consensus and support 民眾之共識與支持
opinion polls 民意調查
respondents 受訪者
complementary measures 相關配套措施
increase upper sentencing limits 提高有期徒刑上限
the threshold for parole for life imprisonment 無期徒刑假釋門檻
amendments 法律修正案
human rights protection 人權之保障
maintaining public security 治安之維護
cruel, inhumane 殘酷, 不人道
on death row 在死刑名單上
administer the death penalty 執行死刑
approve all executions 批准處決
method of execution 行刑方式
hanging 絞刑
retain the death penalty 維持死刑
carry out death penalty 執行死刑
a deterrent to crime or extremism 遏止犯罪或極端主義
lethal injection 致命注射
appeal 上訴; 請求
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty 台灣廢死聯盟
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Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty 死刑的利與弊
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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:
1. 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。
2. To punish the criminal for his/her act.
由於他們的犯罪行為，給予懲罰。
3. 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。
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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:
1. 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。
2. 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。
3. 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。
4. 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。
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English and Chinese Script:
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.
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。
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.
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。
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.
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。
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.
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。
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Article source: 中華民國法務部有關廢除死刑之政策
http://www.moj.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=26742&ctNode=28252
Image source: https://opinion.udn.com/opinion/story/10043/3613790
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時事英文: https://bit.ly/2Gtsduy
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