February 2008
Words of Crime and Punishment
February 1 (Friday)
accessory (noun)
Definition: person who, though not present at the time of the crime, aids in its commission or helps the perpetrator to escape; accomplice
Sentence: The alleged burglars have been apprehended, and the woman whose van they had borrowed to transport their loot is being held as an accessory.
February 5 (Tuesday)
charlatan (noun)
Definition: person who fraudulently claims to have expert skill or knowledge; fake; quack; impostor
Sentence: Anyone who practices medicine without ever having attended medical school is obviously a charlatan.
February 7 (Thursday)
culpability (noun)
Definition: quality or state of being culpable (deserving blame or censure); blameworthiness
Sentence: The injured passenger is suing the bus company for criminal negligence, but it has denied culpability.
February 11 (Monday)
extradition (noun)
Definition: surrender of an alleged criminal by one state or country to the jurisdiction of another for trial
Sentence: Now that the fugitive has been arrested in New Mexico, North Dakota is asking for her return to face trail, but she has decided to fight extradition.
February 13 (Wednesday)
incarceration (noun)
Definition: imprisonment; jailing, confinement
Sentence: Many people who oppose the building of more prisons sincerely believe that incarceration fails to rehabilitate the criminal.
February 15 (Friday)
larceny (noun)
Definition: unlawful taking away of another’s property, with intent to defraud the owner, theft
Sentence: The shoplifter was arrested and is being prosecuted for larceny.
February 19 (Tuesday)
penal (adjective)
Definition: involving punishment; having to do with penalties or correctional institutions
Sentence: Some of the industrial pollution tolerated in the past is now a penal offense.
February 21 (Thursday)
recidivist (noun)
Definition: (literally, “one who falls back”) person with a tendency to relapse ; chronic offender
Sentence: Should a recidivist, who time and again has lapsed into crime after supposedly being rehabilitated, be again given parole?
February 25 (Monday)
subpoena (noun)
Definition: (literally, “under penalty”) order summoning a person to testify in court under a penalty for failure to appear
Sentence: The person who witnessed the crime has been served with a subpoena directing her to appear in court to give testimony.
February 27 (Wednesday)
vandal (noun)
Definition: person who maliciously defaces, spoils, or destroys public or private property
Sentence: The vandals who broke into the museum overnight defaced the walls with graffiti and damaged priceless works of art.
February 29 (Friday)
venue (noun)
Definition: locality from which a jury is drawn and in which the trial is held
Sentence: Claiming her client cannot get a fair trial in this district, the attorney is asking for a change of venue.
