Animals as defendants

Today, if an animal kills a human being, it is often "put to sleep" so it doesn't injure someone else. In medieval times, a killer animal was put on trial for similar "crimes." Sounds weird? It gets more interesting. Animals who got in trouble the most were pigs. In 1266, a pig was tried in Fontenay-aux Roses (near Paris) and convicted of killing a child. Its sentence? Death by burning. Another pig that got in trouble was dressed in men's clothes and publicly executed in a French village. The year was 1386. The trial was held in Falaise on account of a child who had been injured in the face and arms. The accused, wearing a waistcoat, breeches, and white gloves, was sentenced to being mangled and maimed in the head and arms before being garroted and hanged at the village scaffold. The torture and punishment in itself is not so odd, considering the year; the peculiarity of the case is that the accused was a pig.

In seventeenth-century Russia, a goat butted a child down a flight of stairs, and was sentenced to one year in a prison camp in Siberia. In 1734, Franciscan friars in Brazil brought a suit against the termites that were damaging their houses. But the defense attorney spoke of the industriousness of the termites, and pointed out that they lived in Brazil before the monks. The court resolved it by ordering the monks to provide the termites with a reservation, and ordering the termites to leave the monastery and to live only within the reservation.

Some folks think stories about these trials are just folk tales. It is impossible to understand how a prosecutor could prove "criminal intent" on the part of an animal defendant! How would a non-thinking being suddenly become capable of thinking?

On the other hand, a respected French jurist and criminal lawyer wrote about animal trials in 1531. Bartholomew Chassenee recorded the kind of legal analysis applied during the centuries when the practice was used. People thought Satan was acting through animals when they destroyed human life. Sometimes the guilty animals were even excommunicated by the Catholic Church. In 1559, the Saxon vicar Daniel Greysser excommunicated the sparrows that infested his church.

Edward Payson Evans, in The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals, theorized that the Church instigated such trials in order to unite the parishioners and inspire confidence in the authority and power of the church. There is likely to be some truth in this, but it should be noted that such trials were not restricted to the Middle Ages.

Lest we in the "modern" age get too smugabout "unenlightened" medieval people, it's useful to keep in mind that the last known cases of a defendant animal "standing" trial happened in the 20^th century, e.g., in 1906, in Switzerland. In 1926, a stray German Shepherd in Kentucky was charged with the attempted murder of a small child; it was sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair. In 1974, a judge in Tanzania sentenced a goat that had grazed on a private lawn to four days in jail. And in 1991, an Argentinean dog killed a child and was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.

Modern sensibilities would, for the most part, see such trials as absurd. How, then, are we to understand such trials?

Funny Laws about Animals · In Zion, it is illegal for anyone to give cats, dogs, or other domesticated animals a lighted cigar. · In Indianapolis, no horse shall be driven or ridden on any street in the city at a speed in excess of ten (10) miles per hour. · In Baltimore, it is illegal to take a lion to the movies. · In Alaska, you may hunt a bear safely but it is illegal to wake a bear and take a picture for foto opportunities. · In Arizona, US, donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs and you may be imprisoned for 25 years for cutting down a cactus. · It is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant in Alabama. · It is illegal to carry a comb in your pocket in the state of Alabama · In France, it is illegal to sell dolls and toys that do not have human faces. · If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle in Florida, USA. · In Charleston, all carriage horses must wear nappies.

TASK 14. Use the verbs related to legal matters given in the box to complete the sentences:

to withhold, to acquit, to drop (the case against smb), to serve, to award x 2, to return (a verdict), to appeal, to legislate

1) The policeman warned him that it was illegal to ________ evidence. 2) After consideration, the plaintiff _______ the case against his neighbour. 3) He ______ two years in a local prison. 4) The court ________ the plaintiff $20,000 in damages plus costs. 5) Three of the men were sent to prison, but the judge _______ the fourth. 6) The defendant says he cannot pay the amount the court has ______. 7) After three hours deliberation the jury _______ a verdict of not guilty. 8) She says she is innocent and she is going to ______ to the supreme court against the decision. 9) Parliament has ______ against the sale of drugs.

TASK 15. Study the table and give your own definitions to the crimes named below. Consult the dictionary if necessary.

Crime	Criminal	Criminal act
abuse	abuser	to abuse
arson	arsonist	to set fire
theft	thief	to steal
treason	traitor	to betray
assault	assaulter	to assault, to attack, to act in such a way as to make a victim believe he or she will be hurt
assault and battery	assaulter	to assault and inflict injury
assassination	assassin	to assassinate, to kill for political reasons
bigamy	bigamist	to marry illegally, being already married
blackmail	blackmailer	to blackmail
bribery	bribe-taker	to bribe
burglary	burglar	to break into a house
mugging	mugger	to mug, to attack in the street, to snatch handbags and telephones
robbery	robber	to rob
smuggling	smuggler	to bring goods into a country illegally without paying tax
drug smuggling	drug smuggler	to carry drugs into another country illegally
drug dealing	drug dealer	to buy and sell drugs
embezzlement	embezzler	to embezzle, to peculate
espionage	spy	to spy, to get secret information
extortion	extortioner	to extort
forgery	forger	to forge, to make false money or signatures
fraud	crook, fraud	to fraud
fratricide	murderer	to kill a brother
hijacking	hijacker	to hijack, to take control of a vehicle by force
murder	murderer	to murder
homicide	murderer	to commit homicide
hooliganism	hooligan	to cause damage or disturbance in public places
human trafficking		to buy and sell people and children and people’s organs
kidnapping	kidnapper	to kidnap
libel	false accuser	to libel, to publish a libel
manslaughter	murderer	to manslaughter, to kill by accident
stowaway	stowaway	to get a free journey
terrorism	terrorist	to use violence for political reasons, to organize explosions in public places
patricide	murderer	to kill parents
perjury	perjurer	to perjure
pickpocketing	pickpocket	to steal from people’s pockets
shop-lifting	shop-lifter	to steal in a supermarket
piracy	pirate	to copy copyrighted works
slander	slanderer	to make false accusation
vandalism	vandal	to inflict damage to property, to cause damage to property deliberately

TASK 16. Make as many word combinations as possible matching the left and right columns:

to betray a crime

to break unfairly

mitigating evidence

a false a case

jury punishment

to commit red-handed

to inflict injury

selected at random

suspended sentence

to be brought verdict

to be caught law

capital accuser

to withhold your country

to treat circumstances

to hear before the judge

Funny Laws · In Los Angeles, it is not legal to bathe two babies at the same time in the same tub. · In Walnut, no person shall wear a mask or disguise on a public street without a permit from the sheriff. · Colorado Water laws prohibit the use of rain barrels or any methods to catch rain for use. They claim the rain has already been legally allocated to the state and individual may not capture and use water to which he/she does not have a right. · In Nebraska, it is not legal for a tavern owner to serve beer unless a nice kettle of soup is also brewing. · In New York, it is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun. · In Carmel, a man cannot be seen in public while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match. · In Greece, during a concert, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks. · In Ocean City, it is illegal to eat in the street in residential neighborhoods, and the only beverage you can drink on the beach is water in a clear plastic bottle. · In Ocean City, it is illegal for men to go topless in the center of town. · According to a British law that was passed in 1845, suicide was considered a capital offense that was punishable by hanging. · In Thailand, it is illegal to leave your home without underwear. · In Switzerland, it is illegal to leave your car keys inside an unlocked vehicle.

TASK 17. Translate the following text into English and comment on the stupidest one:

Самые странные законы разных стран

Законы Венеции (Италия) запрещают кормить голубей, находиться в общественном месте без рубашки, забираться в фонтаны и есть бутерброды на пешеходном переходе. Штраф за кормление голубей - $600. А в Риме нельзя нырять в фонтаны.

В Германии остановка на автобанах запрещается даже в том случае, если у водителя закончился бензин. Кроме того, нельзя идти по трассе пешком. Штраф за нарушение этих правил может достигать $100.

В Таиланде запрещено ездить в машине или на мотоцикле без рубашки. Штраф доходит до нескольких сот бат (около $10).

Во Франции и Англии нельзя целоваться на железнодорожных вокзалах. Впрочем, за это не штрафуют.

В Гренаде опасно разгуливать по городу в купальном костюме. Штраф - $270.

В Дании обязательно нужно включать автомобильные фары. Иначе штраф - $100.

Столько же с вас возьмут в Сингапуре, если вы жуете жвачку, кормите птиц, плюете на улице или забудете спустить воду в общественном туалете.

(По материалам информагентств и туристических сайтов)

TASK 18. Translate the following text into Russian in written form. Answer the questions after the text.