Сборник текстов для перевода. Борисова Л.А. - 7 стр.

cially. Then, consider whether being married feels right for both of you emotion-
ally. If the answers come back positive for both of you, then proceed, but con-
sider creating a prenuptial agreement if any aspect of the traditional marriage
structure doesn't meet your needs. If the impact of marriage feels unduly nega-
tive for one or both of you, however, hold off. The push for legalizing same-sex
marriage isn't likely to make marriage mandatory.

                                        TEXT 4

                             The Death Penalty Dilemma

       On February 24th of this year, two masked men walked into the bodega
which Andre Gonzalez operated in a poor section of Manhattan. They demanded
money, and when Gonzalez resisted one of the robbers killed him with a shot-
gun blast to the chest. The robber in turn was killed by Gonzalez's son with a
licensed 38-calibre pistol kept in the store for protection. The other robber fled.
       Gonzalez's fate is not unusual in New York City. What is unusual is the
true justice achieved by the son's justified killing of his father's murderer. If
the murderer's confederate is caught and convicted, however, he will not pay
with his life, thanks to Governor Mario Cuomo's repeated rejection of efforts
to restore capital punishment in that state.

      Pace of Executions
       The pace of executions in this country has fluctuated in recent decades,
mostly in response to shifting rulings by the Supreme Court. During the 1950s,
executions averaged about 50 a year, but they slowed in the late 1950s and
came to a stop so that no executions occurred between 1967 and 1977. Exe-
cutions resumed sporadically and since 1984 have averaged roughly 20 a year.
       Thirty-six states now authorize the death penalty, typically for murder.
Federal law provides for the death penalty in various cases within federal juris-
diction, including: first-degree murder; murder while a member of the armed
forces; retaliatory murder of a member of the immediate family of law en-
forcement officials; murder of a member of Congress, an important executive
official, or a Supreme Court justice; destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or
related facilities resulting in death; destruction of government property result-
ing in death; mailing of injurious articles with the intent to kill or resulting in
death; assassination or kidnapping resulting in the death of the President or
Vice President; willful wrecking of a train resulting in death; bank robbery-
related murder or kidnapping; treason; murder of federal judges and officers;
espionage; death resulting from aircraft hijacking; and witness tampering
where death results. In 1988, Congress also authorized the death penalty for cer-
tain drug offenses, but no one has yet been executed under those provisions.
Various proposals introduced in Congress in 1993 would extend the death

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