Work Book Key to Bachillerato 2

 

Reading  1 Read the text and write down who these

 The

Innocence

Project

DNA testing brings new light to old cases

people are. 1 Betty Anne Waters 2 Barry Scheck

2 Read the text again and answer the questions in your own words.

A

B

C

D

E

42

We have all heard the phrase ‘innocent until proven guilty’. When suspects are accused of a crime, we should treat them as innocent until we know for sure they are guilty of the crime. Theoretically, everyone should have a fair trial and judges and juries are asked to keep an open mind about all the evidence that is presented to them. But what happens when innocent people are convicted by mistake? In 1992, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld set up the Innocence Project at Yeshiva University’s School of Law to address this issue. The project ’s chief aim was, and is, to aid prisoners who have been convicted of a crime by mistake to have their sentences changed. DNA testing, which was not widely available in the past, can often n ow be used to prove a convicted person’s innocence. Apart from taking on the cases of people who claim that they are innocent, the Project also aims to inform the general public about the  justice system and its weaknesses. For example, they clearly explain the causes of wrongful convictions. According to the Innocence Project, 75% of prisoners who have had their sentences changed following DNA testing had been convicted due to being misidentified by witnesses. Others were convicted on the grounds of scientific evidence which is later proven to be incorrect. All too often, scientific tests are not carr ied out properly, or their results are misrepresented in court. Furthermore, 25% of cases where the sentences were changed involved false confessions by the defendant. The reasons why suspects admit to crimes they have not committed can include not fully understanding the charges, or sometimes even pleading guilty thinking that they can later prove their innocence. So, how successful is the Project? The Innocence Project run at Yeshiva University has so far led to over 300 people proving that they didn’t commit the crime they were convicted of. Proving your innocence from the inside of a prison cell c an be a long and difficult process, however.  The film Conviction: The Incredible True Story of Betty Anne Waters shows the tremendous struggle those fighting for freedom face. Betty Anne fought for years to prove that her brother Kenny Waters was not guilty of murdering a neighbour. In her first letter to the Innocence Project, she explains how her family’s bad reputation in the town where they lived led to her brother becoming the most likely suspect ‘for this horrific crime’. With the help of the Innocence Project, Betty Anne managed to get Kenny’s conviction changed – eighteen years after his original sentence.  The work done by the Innocence Project has shown that there are problems in legal and justice systems. Scheck and Neufeld hope not only to free innocent people, but to fix systems that allow wrongful convictions to take place. Consequently, they have also gone to great lengths to propose reforms to the legal system that are necessary to ensure innocent people are not sent to pr ison in the future.

Unit 4

1 What is the main goal of the Innocence Project? 2 What have a quarter of people who have been accused by mistake done? 3 What is the film mentioned about? 4 Who have suggested changes to the legal systems?

3 Write T  (true) or F  (false) for 1–4. Explain your answers. 1 75% of all defendants are convicted after being identified by witnesses. 2 Not understanding the charges is the only reason why innocent people admit to committing a crime. 3 Kenny Waters spent eighteen years in jail before being proved innocent.

4 Choose the correct meanings for the words from the text. 1 trial A court case 2 innocent A simple, childlike 3 grounds A basis 4 face A admit

B test B not guilty B earth, floor B confront

5 The letter c  can have a hard sound /k/ or a soft sound /s/. Write /k/ or /s/ to show which sound c  has in these words. Which word has both sounds? 1 innocence 2 suspects 3 accused

4 convicted 5  justice 6 successful