charged with the crime (=
the police make an official statement that they believe the person committed the crime ). The person must then go to
court for trial.
The court In court, the person charged with the crime (now called the
defendant or
accused ) must try
to prove {- provide facts to show something is true) that they did not commit the crime; in
other words prove that they are
innocent or
guilty ). The jury listens to all the
evidence (= information about the crime, for and against the defendant) and then makes their
decision.
Punishment If the defendant is
convicted of the crime (= the jury decides that the defendant is guilty),the
judge will give the
sentence (= the punishment). For example, if a person is convicted ofmurder,
the sentence will be many years in
prison . The person then becomes a
prisoner, andthe room
they live in is called a
cell .
For crimes that are not serious (often called
minor offences , e.g. illegal parking), thepunishment
is usually a
fine (= money you have to pay).
Handout 2.Crime vocabulary Against the law If you do something illegal (= wrong / against the law), then you have committed a crime.Most
people commit a crime at some rime in their lives, e.g. driving above the speed limit,parking
illegally, stealing sweets from a shop when they were children, etc.
Crimes Criminal (= person ) theft (= general word for stealing)
robbery (= steal from people or places)
burglary (= break into a shop/house andsteal things)
shoplifting (= steal from shops when open)
murder (= kill someone by intention)
manslaughter (= kill someone by accident)
rape (= force someone to have sex)
Thief
robber
burglar
shoplifter
murderer
manslaughter
rapist
