美国国家公共电台 NPR--Advocates seek compassionate release for women sexually abused while incarcerated

Advocates seek compassionate¹ release for women sexually abused while incarcerated²

Transcript³

Mistreatment of women inside a federal prison in Dublin, Calif., has been an open secret. It took years before prosecutors⁴ charged five people, including the warden⁵ and a chaplain, with crimes.

Now advocates for those survivors⁶ are asking for their freedom, preparing petitions under a program known as compassionate release, which allows people in prison to seek early release because of extraordinary and compelling circumstances.

Susan Beaty, a lawyer in Oakland, Calif., said she's spoken with more than three dozen people who experienced sexual abuse in the prison, now known for its notorious rape⁷ club.

"We've heard from a lot of survivors that staff intentionally⁸ targeted noncitizen women for abuse because of their added vulnerability," Beaty said. "I've heard so many stories about staff saying to people, 'I've looked in your file. I know you have an immigration hold. I know that once your sentence is up, you're going to be deported⁹, and you're not going to be a problem for me.' "

For decades, it was up to the Bureau of Prisons to pre-approve requests for compassionate release. But BOP hardly ever used that power, even for people with terminal illness. So four years ago, Congress gave prisoners the option of asking a federal judge for relief.

"We believe that judges across the country should have as much discretion¹⁰ as BOP does to decide what's an extraordinary and compelling circumstance," said Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory¹¹ Minimums, which advocates for people in prison and their families.

Courts have interpreted the issue differently, and the Supreme¹² Court declined to weigh in, so it's up to the U.S. Sentencing Commission to make the final call. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, the chairman of the panel, told NPR the issue of compassionate release "is probably the most important priority that we have" in the months ahead.

"The conflicting holdings and varying results across circuits and districts suggest that the courts could benefit from updated guidance from the Commission, which is why we have set this as an important part of our agenda this year," Reeves said in a news release Friday.

The Justice Department agreed that the panel should decide what counts as a compelling reason for early release, but DOJ hasn't yet proposed any boundaries.

Some prosecutors worry compassionate release could make it more difficult for women who agree to testify against their abusers because defense¹³ lawyers could call that a benefit and use it against them in cross-examination. DOJ is also calling on the sentencing panel to toughen punishments for prison workers who sexually abuse people in their custody¹⁴.

Advocate Kevin Ring wants the Justice Department to step up and do more for survivors

"They were not sentenced to being raped¹⁵ in prison, and not only were they raped, they turned around at great cost and cooperated with the investigation¹⁶ of this warden and this chaplain," Ring said. "And you're going to say we have no power to give them relief, that they're supposed to heal inside a prison?"

Mary Graw Leary, a legal scholar at the Catholic University School of Law who focuses on victims and their rights, has not studied the misconduct at the prison in California. But, Graw Leary said, "incarcerated people are extremely vulnerable to victimization and we have to have processes in place to protect them from the power differential that is inherent in incarceration¹⁷."

Graw Leary said it's important for wrongdoers to be held accountable when they fail to protect people in their custody. In fact, she said, all survivors of crime have a legal right to be protected and to have legal proceedings¹⁸ free from unreasonable¹⁹ delays.

Whatever the Sentencing Commission ultimately decides about the boundaries of compassionate release, Ring said it needs to leave room for extraordinary circumstances, including sexual violence in prison and the coronavirus pandemic.

A victims advisory²⁰ group that advises the sentencing panel did not address the situation at the Dublin, Ca., prison.

But in a recent letter to the commission, the group raised concerns that many survivors don't get advance notice when offenders²¹ win early release, as the law requires. In its Sept. 24 letter, the group pointed²² out the wide disparities in how judges have treated petitions for compassionate release, with some expanding the program "well beyond its intended meaning."

Graw Leary, who chairs the victims advisory group, said, "What members of the victim community are trying to underscore is that compassionate release is a very narrow mechanism²³ created to respond to a very narrow situation, and it should retain that identity."

The Sentencing Commission is expected to issue its plan on compassionate release early next year.

1 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

2 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

9 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

11 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

15 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

18 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

19 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

20 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

21 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

22 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

23 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。