What is the difference between defense and mitigation

Mitigating circumstances and other defenses

The law generally recognizes a number of particular situations in which the use of force, even deadly force, is excused or justified. The most important body of law in this area is that which relates to self-defense. In general, in Anglo-American law, one may kill an assailant when the killer reasonably believes that he is in imminent peril of losing his life or of suffering serious bodily injury and that killing the assailant is necessary to avoid imminent peril. Some jurisdictions require that the party under attack must try to retreat when this can be done without increasing the peril. Under many continental European laws and in most U.S. states, however, the defendant may stand his ground unless he has provoked his assailant purposely or by gross negligence or unless the assailant has some incapacity such as inebriation, mistake, or mental disease. Other situations in which the use of force is generally justifiable, both in Anglo-American law and in continental European law, include the use of force in defense of others, in law enforcement, and in defense of one’s dwelling. Use of force in the protection of other property is sometimes limited to nonlethal force.

The use of force may also be excused if the defendant reasonably believed himself to be acting under necessity. The doctrine of necessity in Anglo-American law relates to situations in which a person, confronted by the overwhelming pressure of natural forces, must make a choice between evils and engages in conduct that would otherwise be considered criminal. In the oft-cited case of United States v. Holmes, in 1842, a longboat containing passengers and members of the crew of a sunken American vessel was cast adrift in the stormy sea. To prevent the boat from being swamped, members of the crew threw some of the passengers overboard. In the trial of one of the crew members, the court recognized that such circumstances of necessity may constitute a defense to a charge of criminal homicide, provided that those sacrificed be fairly selected, as by lot. Because this had not been done, a conviction for manslaughter was returned. The leading English case, Regina v. Dudley and Stephens (1884) 14 Q.B.D. 273, appears to reject the necessity defense in homicide cases. In German or French courts, however, the defendants would probably have been acquitted.

In general, the use of nonlethal force may be excused if the defendant reasonably believed himself to be acting under duress or coercion. Lethal force may be justified if the defendant was carrying out military orders he believed to be lawful.

Some particular offenses

All advanced legal systems condemn as criminal the sorts of conduct described in the Anglo-American law as treason, murder, aggravated assault, theft, robbery, burglary, arson, and rape. With respect to minor police regulations, however, substantial differences in the definition of criminal behaviour occur even between jurisdictions of the Anglo-American system. Comparisons of the continental European criminal law with that based on the English common law of crimes also reveal significant differences in the definition of certain aspects of more serious crimes. Continental European law, for example, frequently articulates grounds for mitigation involving considerations that are taken into account in the Anglo-American countries only in the exercise of discretion by the sentencing authority or by lay juries. This may be illustrated with respect to so-called mercy killings. The Anglo-American law of murder recognizes no formal grounds of defense or mitigation in the fact that the accused killed to relieve someone of suffering from an apparently incurable disease. Many continental European and Latin American codes, however, provide for mitigation of offenses prompted by such motives and sometimes even recognize in such motives a defense to the criminal charge.

Практическая работа по дисциплине «Английский язык» для РОСИ, пример оформления

UNIT 3. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Exercise 1 Do you know the difference between felony (тяжкое уголовное преступление), misdemeanor (мисдиминор (категория наименее опасных преступлений, граничащих с административными правонарушениями) and offence (преступление, правонарушение)?

Fill in the gaps in the definitions with one of these words, translate them and give examples of each category of crime.

An offence is an act that people consider to be shocking and unacceptable. It is a less serious crime in nature.

A felony is a very serious crime punishable by death or confinement in a state prison.

A misdemeanor is a violation of local laws or of rules of accepted public conduct and behaviour.

Exercise 2 Translate the following word combinations. Fill in the gaps in the sentences which follow with one of them. Put the verbs in the correct form.

Atrocious crime — жестокое, зверское преступление

Grave crime — тяжкое преступление

To investigate a crime – pасследовать преступление

Crime instrument — орудие преступления

To commit a crime – совершить преступление

Crime rate — уровень преступности

To charge somebody with a crime — обвинить кого-то в преступлении

Criminal career – преступное прошлое

To convict of a crime- осуждать в преступлении

Criminal conspiracy — преступный сговор

To acquit of a crime – оправдать преступление

In the course of crime — В ходе совершения преступления

To plead guilty/not guilty to a crime – признать виновным/не виновным в преступлении

Incentive for crime — стимул к совершению преступлений

To be wanted for/ on charges of a crime- разыскиваться за / по обвинению в совершении преступления

Pattern of crime – вид преступления

To be tried/ to stand trial for a crime — быть судимым/ предстать перед судом за преступление

To confess to a crime — признаться в преступлении

A crime of passion — преступление на почве страсти

To solve a crime — раскрыть преступление

The scene of the crime – место преступления

To fight a crime – бороться с преступностью

crime over the civilian population in Nis, by bombarding its center with cluster

recovered over 3 billion dollars worth of stolen property and narcotics.

and also environment of various illegal activities.

Exercise 3. Read the text about defenses in Great Britain, translate the words given in bold and answer the questions in a written form.

duress – принуждение, давление

insanity – безумие, умопомешательство

intoxicated — находящийся в состоянии опьянения

self-defence – самозащита, самооборона

If actus and mens have been proved, a defendant may still avoid guilt if he can show he has a defense—a reason the court should excuse his act. Different systems of law recognize different and usually limited sets of defenses. For example, English law sometimes allow the defense of duress—being forced to commit a crime because of threats that you or someone else will be harmed if you don’t. Duress may be used as a defense against the charge of murder as secondary party (helping the murderer), but is not available if the defendant is charged as the principal murderer.

Another defense is that of insanity. In most countries a person cannot be found guilty of a crime if in a doctor’s opinion he cannot have been responsible for his actions because of mental illness. But this defense requires careful proof. If it is proven the defendant will not be sent to a prison, but instead to a mental hospital.

It might be argued that a person is not responsible for his actions if he is intoxicated—drunk or under the influence of drugs. In fact, an intoxicated person may not even know what he is doing and thus lacks mens rea. However, in Britain and many other countries, there is a general principle that people who knowinglyget themselves intoxicated must be held responsible for their acts. Consequently, intoxication is not a defense.

Nearly every system of law recognizes the defense of self-defense. In English law, a defendant can avoid guilt for injuring someone if he can convince the court that the force he used was reasonable to protect himself in the circumstances. In some countries, shooting an unarmed burglar would be recognized as self-defense, but in other it might be considered unreasonable force.

A defense is a reason the court should excuse the act of the defendant. Mitigation and defense are semantically related.

Duress is not available if the defendant is charged as the principal murderer.

A person cannot be found guilty of a crime if in a doctor’s opinion he cannot have been responsible for his actions because of mental illness.

There is a general principle that people who knowinglyget themselves intoxicated must be held responsible for their acts. Consequently, intoxication is not a defense.

In English law, a defendant can avoid guilt for injuring someone if he can convince the court that the force he used was reasonable to protect himself in the circumstances.

I totally agree with the fact that a mentally ill person is not aware of their actions when he commits crimes. Such people should be sent to in a mental hospital. I am convinced that people who are consciously intoxicated or under the influence of drugs must be responsible for their acts and must be punished if they commit a crime.

In Russia a person cannot be found guilty of a crime if in a doctor’s opinion he cannot have been responsible for his actions because of mental illness. In Russian people who are consciously intoxicated or under the influence of drugs are punished if they commit a crime.

Defence vs. Defense: What’s the Difference?

Home » Defence vs. Defense: What’s the Difference?

The words defence and defense can be confusing for those not sure of their differences, and not knowing which to use can cause a writer to second-guess his or her work, even though there might not be anything wrong with it.

Do these words have different meanings or different functions in a sentence? Are they just variants of the same word? How exactly are they pronounced?

In this post, I want to answer each of these questions so that you will never again have to second-guess yourself while writing either defence or defense.

What is the Difference Between Defence and Defense?

Defence and Defense are both nouns, and they have a few different meanings.

Here are a few sentence examples,

Okay, you are probably still wondering, “How do I know which one to use?”

The answer to that question is surprisingly simple, as the only thing separating these two spellings is a dialectal difference.

That’s right; there is no difference in meaning or function between defence and defense. They are simply different spellings of the same word.

When to Use Defence

Although, there is no difference in meaning between the spellings, you should always keep your audience in mind when writing these words.

Defence (spelled with a “c”) is the preferred spelling of the word in British English. If you find yourself writing to a primarily British audience or for a British publication, this is the correct spelling for you.

For example, Fowler’s, a well-known British usage guide, lists defence as the preferred British English spelling.

In fact, if you graph out defence vs. defense in British English book publications, you can see that it is used much more frequently. Defence is also more common in Australia and Canada than it is in American English.

It is worth noting, however, that the American spelling defense appears to be gaining ground “across the pond,” as you can see a clear uptick in defense in the last 50 years or so. Perhaps one day the preference will be reversed, but for the time being defence is still the British English spelling.

When to Use Defense

Defense (spelled with an “s”) is the preferred spelling of the word in American English. If you find yourself writing to a primarily American audience or for and publication in the United States, defense is the correct spelling for you.

If you graph defense vs. defense across American book publications, you can see that for the last 100 years, defense has been the preferred spelling and, as we saw above, is gaining worldwide influence.

Some claim that this spelling is a better spelling of the word because it more closely resembles the word from which it was derived (the Latin dēfēnsa) and has a greater consistency with other words like defensible.

Defences or Defenses?

For example, the American-British spelling distinction doesn’t carry over to all derivatives of defence/defense.

It holds true for words like defences / defenses, and defenceless / defenseless, but not for other words like defensive, defensiveness, defensively, and defensible.

The words defensive, defensiveness, defensively, and defensible are spelled with an “s” everywhere in the English-speaking world.

Pronunciation of Defence / Defense

How do you pronounce defense? The traditional pronunciation of defense is with the stress on the second syllable.

As a result of sports commentators, however, it is now common to hear defense pronounced with the stress on the first syllable in athletic contexts.

If you talking about a military or legal strategy, you should use the first pronunciation. The second pronunciation is limited only to sports related contexts.

Can Defense Be a Verb?

In any bit of formal writing, defense is not to be used as a verb.

It is, occasionally, used in sports related contexts to mean, “defend against.”

Even in sports related contexts it is uncommon and should be avoided. For example, The AP Stylebook says never to use defense as a verb.

Remember the Difference

Given that the difference between these two words is similar to the difference between offense and offence, I will give you the same trick to remember defence vs. defense.

Defence is the British spelling and has a “C” in it. Think of this “C” as representing the Royal Crown of the United Kingdom.

Defense is the American spelling and has an “S” in it. Think of this “S” as representing the word “States” in United States.

Summary

Is it defense or defence? While these words have the same meaning, they are spelled differently in different regions. It’s important that you keep your audience in mind when using defense vs. defence.

Defence (spelled with a “c”) should be used in British English.

Defense (spelled with an “s”) should be used in American English.

In all uses other than sports, the pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable is preferred.

Практическая работа по дисциплине «Английский язык» для РОСИ

UNIT 3. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Exercise 1 Do you know the difference between felony, misdemeanor and
offence? Fill in the gaps in the definitions with one of these words, translate
them and give examples of each category of crime.
A … is an act that people consider to be shocking and unacceptable. It is a
less serious crime in nature.
A … is a very serious crime punishable by death or confinement in a state
prison.
A … is a violation of local laws or of rules of accepted public conduct and
behaviour.
Exercise 2 Translate the following word combinations. Fill in the gaps in the
sentences which follow with one of them. Put the verbs in the correct form.
Atrocious crime
Grave crime To investigate a crime
Crime instrument To commit a crime
Crime rate To charge somebody with a crime
Criminal career To convict of a crime
Criminal conspiracy To acquit of a crime
In the course of crime To plead guilty/not guilty to a crime
Incentive for crime To be wanted for/ on charges of a crime
Pattern of crime To be tried/ to stand trial for a crime
To confess to a crime A crime of passion
To solve a crime The scene of the crime
1. Aggressor’s NATO aviation and its commanders committed today an _____
crime over the civilian population in Nis, by bombarding its center with cluster
bombs.
2. The Crime Stoppers programs worldwide _____ over a half a million crimes and
recovered over 3 billion dollars worth of stolen property and narcotics.
3. Dangerous Orlando’s ____ is not excessive when compared to cities like New
York.
4. The FBI uses a number of federal statutes to ______ computer crimes.
5. The feminine _______ has the uniformity and degree of constancy which
usually attracts the attention.
6. He ____ the lesser crime of possessing a forged bond, rather than actually
forging it.
7. He ______ the crimes of murder and kidnapping.
8. He _______ the murder.
9. He was arrested and ______ the murder.
10. He ________ a serious driving offence.
11. If you want any sort of family life a _____ would destroy it.
12. In many cases the Internet can be considered to be an ____ computer crimes
and also environment of various illegal activities.
13. The Iranian government accused the Saudi authorities of a _____ to kill the
pilgrims.
14. The jury _____ her of theft.
15. No weapon was found at _______.
16. President Bush said on Monday that if anyone in his administration _____a
crime in connection with the public leak of the identity of an undercover CIA
operative, that person will «no longer work in my administration».
17. She killed her husband’s lover in a ______.
18. 13 per cent of homicides occur _____ other crime.
19. Want is not the sole _____ crime; men also wish to enjoy themselves and not
to be in a state of desire.
20. The woman _____ accused of murdering her husband.
Exercise 3. Read the text about defenses in Great Britain, translate the
words given in bold and answer the questions in a written form.
Defenses
If actus and mens have been proved, a defendant may still avoid guilt if he
can show he has a defense—a reason the court should excuse his act. Different
systems of law recognize different and usually limited sets of defenses. For
example, English law sometimes allow the defense of duress—being forced to
commit a crime because of threats that you or someone else will be harmed if you
don’t. Duress may be used as a defense against the charge of murder as secondary
party (helping the murderer), but is not available if the defendant is charged as the
principal murderer.
Another defense is that of insanity. In most countries a person cannot be
found guilty of a crime if in a doctor’s opinion he cannot have been responsible for
his actions because of mental illness. But this defense requires careful proof. If it is
proven the defendant will not be sent to a prison, but instead to a mental hospital.
It might be argued that a person is not responsible for his actions if he is
intoxicated—drunk or under the influence of drugs. In fact, an intoxicated person
may not even know what he is doing and thus lacks mens rea. However, in Britain
and many other countries, there is a general principle that people who knowingly
get themselves intoxicated must be held responsible for their acts. Consequently,
intoxication is not a defense.
Nearly every system of law recognizes the defense of self-defense. In
English law, a defendant can avoid guilt for injuring someone if he can convince
the court that the force he used was reasonable to protect himself in the
circumstances. In some countries, shooting an unarmed burglar would be
recognized as self-defense, but in other it might be considered unreasonable force.
1. What is the difference between defense and mitigation?
2. In what cases is duress not considered a defense?
3. What is needed to consider insanity a defense?
4. Why is intoxication not considered a defense in some countries?
5. What is considered self-defense in England?
6. What is your personal attitude to these defenses? Do you think a
person should really be excused if they are mentally ill or drunk?
7. Are the defenses the same in Russia?

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What is Preparedness?

Preparedness refers to the degree to which a household, community, nation, or other organization is prepared for a crisis. The term preparedness is used often in the context of preparing for extreme weather events and other natural disturbances.

Preparedness involves both strategy and resources. The necessary resources include anything that will be needed to respond to a crisis. This can include food and water to last three days, batteries for flashlights, mobile phones for communication, and supplies for sheltering-in-place. The supplies necessary will depend on the situation, such as whether evacuation or shelter-in-place order is issued.

In addition to supplies and equipment, preparedness also involves planning and strategy. Most disaster response agencies advise that organizations have a disaster response plan. It is not always possible to plan when a crisis is already underway. For example, families are advised to have designated safe-places and rallying points outside their house to meet if they are not able to get to their actual house. Families are also advised to have designated rooms in the house to go to in the event of a shelter-in-place order. A shelter-in-place order is issued when it is safer for people to remain indoors than to evacuate. Shelter-in-place orders are most often issued during extreme weather events, incidents involving hazardous materials, and dangerous law enforcement situations.

Preparedness is more complicated for cities and nations, but the same principle applies. Cities and nations need to have both the resources and a strategy in the event of a crisis. Cities should have adequate resources for medical personnel, first-responders, and for civilians. They should also have a plan for what to do to protect the lives of their citizens, whether that involves evacuation or sheltering-in-place.

Preparedness is important since disasters can happen at any time and the more prepared an individual, organization, or community is for a disaster, the less heavily they will be impacted by the disaster.

What is Mitigation?

Mitigation refers to pre-emptive measures taken to reduce the negative impacts of a crisis or disaster. Mitigation does not completely prevent a disaster necessarily, but it does lessen the severity of the disaster both before it starts and during the ordeal. There are many types of mitigation.

Climate change mitigation, for example, refers to mitigation measures to lessen the impact of climate change resulting from anthropogenic carbon emissions. Climate change mitigation measures include investment in renewable sources of energy that are carbon neutral, such as wind and solar power. The purpose of this investment is to reduce reliance on carbon intensive energy sources, such as petroleum and natural gas.

Other types of mitigation include disaster mitigation. One type of disaster mitigation is buildings that are designed to be earthquake resistant in areas with high earthquake risk. One form of disaster mitigation which has been the subject of recent discussion is mitigating a potential asteroid impact.

Mitigation of an asteroid impact is being investigated by NASA and other space agencies. Mitigation strategies include concepts for asteroid deflection missions, impact effects studies, and planning emergency response procedures. An example of an emergency response procedure might be evacuating a city that is likely to be hit by an approaching city-killing asteroid.

Another form of crisis mitigation, which has become very common with the emergence of the 2019-2020 COVID-19 pandemic, is disease mitigation. The goal of disease mitigation is to slow or prevent the spread of an outbreak. For COVID-19, many countries have implemented mass-quarantines, including the closure of all nonessential businesses and shelter-in-place orders that people remain in their homes except for specific reasons, such as to get groceries or to seek medical care.

Another mitigation strategy that has been used is social distancing where people are required to not gather into large groups and remain at least 6 feet, or about 2 meters, apart in public. This is done to prevent the spread of the virus which is known to spread very easily from person to person.

Similarities between Preparedness and Mitigation

Preparedness and mitigation both involve response to crises and are both concerned with preventing the worse consequences of a crisis or disaster.

Differences between Preparedness and Mitigation

Although mitigation and preparedness are similar terms, there are important differences. These differences include the following.

Preparedness vs. Mitigation: Comparison Chart

Summary of Preparedness vs. Mitigation

Preparedness refers to the ability of an individual or organization to respond to a crisis. It involves both stockpiling the necessary resources and having a strategy to protect life and property during the crisis or disaster. Preparedness is important in response to natural crises, such as extreme weather events and incidents involving hazardous materials. It is also important in responding to societal crises, such as a law enforcement situation. Mitigation refers to strategies or methods used to either prevent a crisis or reduce the consequences of the crisis. Examples of mitigation include climate change mitigation, natural disaster mitigation, asteroid impact mitigation, and disease mitigation among many other types. Preparedness and mitigation are similar in that they are both responding to a crisis. They differ in that preparedness involves being able to act to prevent loss of life and property during a crisis, whereas mitigation also involves either preventing the crisis from happening in the first place or lessening its effects when the crisis occurs. Also, preparedness must be enacted before a crisis and must be re-established after each crisis. Resources must be re-stocked, and strategies may need to be reformulated if they proved sub-optimal in the last crisis. With mitigation, it is best to initiate before a crisis, but mitigation can also theoretically be initiated in the midst of an ongoing crisis. It is not necessarily too late to mitigate a crisis if it is already happening, but it is too late to prepare for a crisis that is already happening. Furthermore, preparedness anticipates a particular event, such as a hurricane or tornado, whereas mitigation is an ongoing strategy which may involve responding to many different events or crises.