Federal prosecutor opens the hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers

Federal prosecutor¹ opens the hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers²

Transcript³

A federal hate crimes trial is underway for three white men convicted in state court of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. They killed the Black man as he ran through a Georgia neighborhood two years ago.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There's a federal hate crimes trial underway in Georgia related to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The central question is whether the three white men who killed Arbery were motivated by racism⁴. Benjamin Payne from Georgia Public Broadcasting joins us from Brunswick, Ga., where the trial is taking place. Thanks so much for being here.

BENJAMIN PAYNE, BYLINE⁵: Thanks, Rachel.

MARTIN: So, Benjamin, let's just start with what arguments the prosecutors⁶ plan to make.

PAYNE: Sure. Prosecutors say that the three defendants⁷ - Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan - held deeply racist⁸ worldviews, especially against African Americans, and that because of their views, they wrongly suspected that Arbery had committed a crime when he was running through their neighborhood. In terms of proof, prosecutors say they plan to introduce social media posts from the men, as well as sworn testimony⁹ from people who knew them and had interacted with them. For example, prosecutor Bobbi Bernstein said during opening statements yesterday that they plan to call up the person who they say brought up the NAACP in a conversation with Greg McMichael, at which point the witness says McMichael went off on a racist tirade¹⁰. Bernstein also said that his son, Travis McMichael, told someone the reason he enjoyed his job as a defense¹¹ contractor¹² so much was that there were zero African Americans who worked there, but that he didn't see African Americans, he used the N-word.

MARTIN: What about the attorneys for the defendants? What do they plan to argue here?

PAYNE: Basically, their argument is this - the McMichaels had a legitimate¹³ reason to chase Arbery when they saw him in the neighborhood because they recognized him from surveillance video inside a house that was under construction. As for "Roddie" Bryan, who tagged along, his attorney said in opening statements yesterday his client was just trying to document the incident on video, even though that also meant joining in on the chase. Now, what's interesting here is that none of the defense attorneys denied that the men have expressed racist views. For example, Greg McMichael's attorney told the jury that his client, quote, "said the types of things that would make people cringe and feel disgusted," unquote. The defense just argues these racist expressions were not motivating factors.

MARTIN: So, I mean, all this must be incredibly difficult for Ahmaud Arbery's family to go through. They've already been through the criminal trial. And now they're coming up on the two-year anniversary of Ahmaud Arbery's murder.

PAYNE: Yeah. Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said yesterday outside the federal courthouse that she's ready.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WANDA COOPER-JONES: I think it's going to be a long, long, hard trial. A whole lot of hard evidence is going to come into play, so I got to be prepared for that. But I'm grateful that we're here, that we made it this far. And I think that we're going to get victory as well.

PAYNE: Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, also said he was looking forward to a second victory.

MARTIN: The state murder trial was televised, right? Many Americans saw the guilty verdicts being read on television. But I understand there will not be cameras in the courtroom this time. Is that right?

PAYNE: That's correct. This is a federal courtroom with rules that prevent that. I spoke¹⁴ with Samantha Gilder¹⁵. She's with a community activist¹⁶ group that was formed after Arbery's murder. And she's frustrated¹⁷ this trial isn't more open to the public.

SAMANTHA GILDER: I think without that level of visibility that there was with the state trial - once you remove that, the only thing you're left with is, you have to be able to trust the process. And so trusting the process innately¹⁸ is determined¹⁹ upon having a diverse jury that can hear this trial.

PAYNE: And the jury in this case is more diverse than the first trial. That one had only one Black juror to 11 white jurors. This federal trial has three Black jurors, one Hispanic juror and eight white jurors.

MARTIN: But it's interesting what you pointed²⁰ out earlier. There is a high bar to clear here, right? Even though the defendants are known to have uttered racist phrases, they have to draw a connection to the murder of Arbery.

PAYNE: Correct - that basically they killed Arbery because he was Black. That's a much higher legal hurdle²¹ to clear than in the state murder trial since it now involves motive²².

MARTIN: Benjamin Payne from Georgia Public Broadcasting. We appreciate your reporting on this. Thank you.

PAYNE: Thank you, Rachel.

1 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。

2 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

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 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

10 tirade   

n.冗长的攻击性演说

参考例句：

• Her tirade provoked a counterblast from her husband.她的长篇大论激起了她丈夫的强烈反对。
• He delivered a long tirade against the government.他发表了反政府的长篇演说。

11 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。

12 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 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。

15 gilder   

镀金工人

参考例句：

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

17 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 innately   

adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地

参考例句：

• Innately conservative, Confucius was fascinated by the last of these disciplines. 由于生性保守，孔子特别推崇“礼”。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Different individuals are innately fitted for different kinds of employment. 不同的人适合不同的职业，这是天生的。 来自互联网

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

20 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。

21 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

22 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。