美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ex-cop pleads guilty to federal charge related to Breonna Taylor's killing

Ex-cop pleads guilty to federal charge related to Breonna Taylor's killing¹

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin talks Billy Kobin of the Courier Journal in Louisville about a former detective pleading guilty to a federal charge for her role in the deadly police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A former Louisville detective has admitted that she falsified the search warrant that led to the police killing of Breonna Taylor and lied to investigators³ about it afterwards.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy⁴ charge in Louisville, Ky. She is one of four white former police officers charged in the case. Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman, and her killing helped set off a wave of protests over police brutality⁵ all across this country and beyond in 2020.

MART?NEZ: Billy Kobin of The Courier-Journal has been covering this story. He joins us now from Louisville. Billy, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in 2020. Tell us what was learned in court and what's happening with this case.

BILLY KOBIN: Sure. Yesterday, Kelly Hanna Goodlett pleaded guilty, as y'all said. And basically, it was a pretty standard hearing in which she was expected to plead guilty, and that's what she did. As she appeared, she mostly answered questions from the judge yesterday in federal court, saying, you know, yes, your honor, and yes, ma'am, in terms of understanding the charges against her.

And then the prosecution⁶ with the Department of Justice laid out, again, some of the facts, which are that she helped basically lie on a search warrant that was obtained to search Breonna Taylor's apartment in March of 2020 and that she then worked with another detective at the time to kind of come up with a story that they would tell investigators that was false to connect Breonna to a former boyfriend who had been convicted of drug dealing⁷. And that's how officers kind of got the way in to her apartment.

MART?NEZ: Billy, what was the courtroom like? You were in there. I mean, what was the reaction of Breonna Taylor's mom?

KOBIN: Sure. Tamika Palmer, who is Breonna's mom, was there. But I would say it was very - there was not much reaction yesterday inside the federal courtroom. It's usually very, you know, protected. Nobody is allowed to have phones. Nobody is really allowed to, you know, shout, whereas sometimes in state court hearings, you might - you have people with phones, and you might hear more gasps⁸ and reactions. So it was very kind of muted and serious and kind of straightforward⁹. And then after the hearing, Ms. Palmer did not come outside immediately to talk with any reporters. No attorneys came outside. So it was very kind of a faster hearing yesterday and then no real reaction afterwards.

Ms. Palmer was wearing a shirt that said say her name on the back. And she later did post on her Instagram feed a photo of Goodlett, the detective, that basically said, Kelly Hanna Goodlett pleads guilty to federal charge. But that was about it as way of reaction yesterday.

MART?NEZ: You mentioned Goodlett. What's in store for her and the other officers charged in this case?

KOBIN: Sure. So the judge and prosecutors¹⁰ and defense¹¹ agreed yesterday to schedule a sentencing hearing for November. However, the judge said that the hearing for Ms. Goodlett is likely to get delayed, given that there are several detectives who are also obviously charged - and officers, I should say. The other sentencing hearings are currently scheduled for October, but those also could get delayed, given the complexity¹² of the different cases. So we'll have to wait and see what happens there.

MART?NEZ: That's Billy Kobin of The Courier-Journal in Louisville. Billy, thanks.

KOBIN: Thank you.

1 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。

2 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。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

10 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。

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 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。