Task 3

Task 1 – Vocabulary: Match the crimes from Shakespeare’s times to their meanings.
1. Treason a. Doing magic

2. Witchcraft b. Planning to do something bad to your country, e.g. kill the king or queen.
3. Public drunkenness c. Stealing money and jewellery from people.
4. Pickpocketing d. Having had too much to drink (when outside).
Task 2 – Reading: Read the text. Work in pairs to answer the questions.
a. What crime is committed in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth?

b. Why did pickpockets often have less than ten fingers? pickpockets got one finger cut off every time they
were caught
c. What two crimes were women often accused of? Women were accused of "nagging" and witchcraft
d. Why was punishment in Shakespeare’s times like going to the theatre? punishment was public
entertainment
e. Which punishment seems the most unfair to you? Why? All crimes at that time were not a valid justification
as social justice
f. Were any of your ideas from Task 1 correct? Not
Crime and Punishment in Sixteenth Century England
Shakespeare wrote about treason in his famous play, Macbeth. In this tragedy, Macbeth and his wife are guilty
of treason when they plan to kill King Duncan, and in the end, they both pay with their lives. In Shakespeare’s
times, treason was punished by hanging and dismemberment.
Punishments for less serious crimes were often very severe. For example, pickpockets got one finger cut off
every time they were caught. Sometimes, people were sentenced to years in prison for stealing very little.
Women had a very hard time in sixteenth century Britain – even when they hadn’t done anything wrong. If a
woman spoke too much or disagreed with her husband, she could be accused of being a “scold”. Such women
were punished in a horrible way. They had to wear a “scold’s bridle”, a very heavy piece of metal head wear
which pushed down on the tongue and stopped the woman from speaking. If you were a poor, unmarried
women with a pet cat you might be charged with witchcraft. The punishment for this “crime” was death, often by
drowning.
In Shakespeare’s times, punishment was public entertainment, a bit like going to the theatre. For example,
crowds of people came to the streets to watch people being punished for drinking too much in public. These
“criminals” had to wear a “drunkard’s shirt” (a wooden barrel) and walk around the streets while people laughed
at them.
Task 3 – Reading comprehension: Read and answer the questions below:
Forensic Evidence and the Law

Bite Marks as Evidence
In 1991, a cocktail waitress was murdered in

Phoenix Arizona. She had been stabbed 11
times and bitten through her shirt.
Ray Krone was convicted of the murder on the

basis of a single piece of evidence: A forensic
expert testified that the bite mark on the
waitress matched Krone’s teeth. Other experts
said the bite marks were inconclusive and that
bite marks were unreliable in general.
In the end, the jury was convinced by the bite

marks. Krone was sentenced to death. He
began waiting on death row.
However, a few years later, police regularly

began to use DNA as evidence to convict
criminals. Krone’s family still believed he was
innocent so they asked that the waitress’s shirt
be re-examined for saliva in the place where
she was bitten.
The police did indeed find saliva. From the

saliva, they concluded that Krone was
innocent and they were able to catch the
murderer who was in jail at the time for another
crime.
In short, Krone was sentenced to death for a

crime that later techniques for analyzing
evidence proved he didn’t commit. This leads
to an important question: what if the police
were unable to find saliva on the shirt?
Forensic Evidence and the Law
(1) What is the title of the article?

(2) Who was murdered?

a cocktail waitress
(3) How was she murdered?

She had been stabbed 11 times and bitten
through her shirt.
(4) What evidence was used to

convict Krone?
the bite mark on the waitress matched

Krone’s teeth.
(5) What did the forensic expert

testify?
The forensic testimony found, for the bite.
(6) What did other experts say about

the bite marks?
the bite marks were inconclusive and the bite

marks were generally unreliable.
(7) What was Krone’s sentence?

Krone was sentenced to death.
(8) What kind of evidence did police

begin to use a few years later?
DNA as evidence to convict criminals.
(9) What did Krone’s family ask the

police to do?
recheck the waitress shirt
(10) What did the police find on the

shirt?
someone else's saliva.
(11) What did the new evidence prove?

DNA marks and saliva from another inmate.
(12) Who did commit the murder?

a prison inmate.
(13) What question is asked at the end

of the article?
what if the police were unable to find saliva

on the shirt?

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Task 1 – Vocabulary: Match the crimes from Shakespeare’s times to their meanings.

1. Treason a. Doing magic

a. What crime is committed in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth?

Crime and Punishment in Sixteenth Century England

Forensic Evidence and the Law

In 1991, a cocktail waitress was murdered in

Ray Krone was convicted of the murder on the

In the end, the jury was convinced by the bite

However, a few years later, police regularly

The police did indeed find saliva. From the

In short, Krone was sentenced to death for a

(1) What is the title of the article?

(2) Who was murdered?

(3) How was she murdered?

(4) What evidence was used to

the bite mark on the waitress matched

(5) What did the forensic expert

The forensic testimony found, for the bite.

(6) What did other experts say about

the bite marks were inconclusive and the bite

(7) What was Krone’s sentence?

(8) What kind of evidence did police

DNA as evidence to convict criminals.

(9) What did Krone’s family ask the

(10) What did the police find on the

someone else's saliva.

(11) What did the new evidence prove?

(12) Who did commit the murder?

(13) What question is asked at the end

what if the police were unable to find saliva

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