Judge rejects a plea deal on federal hate crime charges in Arbery's murder

Judge rejects a plea deal on federal hate crime charges in Arbery's murder

Transcript¹

A federal judge has denied a plea deal by a father and son in the hate crimes case stemming from the 2020 killing² of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man shot to death while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A federal judge is denying a plea deal in a hate crimes case concerning the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. A Georgia state court previously³ convicted three white men of murder. Two of them were ready to plead guilty to separate federal hate crime charges when a judge yesterday rejected the terms. NPR's Debbie Elliott is covering the story. Debbie, good morning.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: What unfolded in court yesterday?

ELLIOTT: Well, Travis McMichael entered a guilty plea. His father, Gregory, was ready to do the same. And the federal prosecutor⁵, Tara Lyons, described what the government offered the McMichaels in exchange for them admitting that this killing was racially motivated. According to the deal, the McMichaels would have been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison to be served during the first stretch of their life sentence from the state of Georgia. That is what had Arbery's family so upset. And they spoke⁶ up and urged the judge to reject that.

INSKEEP: Wouldn't it normally be that the family in a case like this would be consulted on the way to the plea deal?

ELLIOTT: You would think so. And the Department of Justice says it did confer with the Arbery family and their lawyers before signing the proposed agreement. A statement from Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke says DOJ entered the deal, quote, "only after the victims' attorneys informed me that the family was not opposed to it." But we heard a completely different take from Arbery's family members in a very emotional part of this hearing. His mom, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said no one asked for her consent. She said the men got exactly what they deserved, being locked away for life in state prison for hunting down her son with pickup⁷ trucks and killing him. She said it's not fair to give them their preferred confinement⁸ in federal custody⁹, which the family thinks would make their punishment, you know, easier on them. After the hearing, she told WSB the deal was disrespectful.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WANDA COOPER-JONES: I fought so hard to get these guys in state prison. I told them very, very adamantly¹⁰ that I wanted them to go to state prison.

INSKEEP: And so the judges rejected the deal. What now?

ELLIOTT: Well, U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood said she would still, you know, be willing to accept guilty pleas from the McMichaels. But she did not like the idea of being locked into the sentencing terms that the federal government had arranged. So she gave the McMichaels until Friday. There's a hearing Friday. And they can decide now whether they continue with the guilty pleas and that - you know, subject to whatever her sentencing judgment¹¹ would be - or they would face trial. And jury selection for that trial is set to begin on Monday.

INSKEEP: Suppose jury selection goes ahead, what would a federal hate crimes trial be like in this case?

ELLIOTT: Well, the basic facts are the same as the trial, you know, we covered last year when they were convicted of the state charges. This murder was documented on cellphone video, recorded by the third defendant¹², William Roddie Bryan. We have not heard any plea deals mentioned for him thus far. That video, if you recall, shows the men chasing Arbery with pickup trucks, cornering him. And then Travis McMichael shoots him with a shotgun in a struggle. The federal case will get into the motivation of the crime, using a cellphone messages and social media posts and other things to show racial animus¹³. An FBI investigator¹⁴ told the court during this hearing yesterday that Travis McMichael had frequently used racial slurs¹⁵. Now, community leaders in Brunswick are telling me that it's really important to establish racism¹⁶ here - that these men weren't just trying to protect their neighborhood, as they argued, but that they targeted Arbery because he was a Black man in a place they did not think he had a right to be, out for a run on a public street.

INSKEEP: Well, we'll find out soon if, in fact, that case will be argued in court or averted¹⁷ by some kind of other plea deal. Debbie, thanks so much.

ELLIOTT: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: NPR's Debbie Elliott.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH'S "AVENGHER")

1 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。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

8 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

9 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。

10 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

13 animus   

n.恶意；意图

参考例句：

• They are full of animus towords us.他们对我们怀有敌意。
• When you have an animus against a person,you should give it up.当你对别人怀有敌意时，你应当放弃这种想法。

14 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

15 slurs   

含糊的发音( slur的名词复数 )； 玷污； 连奏线； 连唱线

参考例句：

• One should keep one's reputation free from all slurs. 人应该保持名誉不受责备。
• Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian. 种族主义辱骂，种族笑话，都是跟亚裔有关的。

16 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

17 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。