美国国家公共电台 NPR--South Carolina judge sentences Alex Murdaugh to life in prison

South Carolina judge sentences Alex Murdaugh to life in prison

Transcript¹

Murdaugh's sentencing Friday came less than 24 hours after a South Carolina jury convicted him for the murders of his wife and son.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Former attorney Alex Murdaugh will spend the rest of his life in prison. That's the sentence handed down by Judge Clifton Newman this morning. And South Carolina Public Radio's Victoria Hansen is back with us from outside the courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., to update us. Hi, Victoria.

VICTORIA HANSEN, BYLINE²: Hi. How are you guys?

FADEL: We're doing all right. I would love to start with what Murdaugh's reaction was to this sentencing.

HANSEN: You know, it was pretty stunning³. First of all, to walk in the courtroom this morning at 9:30 and see him dressed in that tan jumpsuit with the orange sandals and the white socks, you know, compared to the suits and the nice shirts that he's been wearing as of late, was just - that was a shock. It took us all back quite a bit. Then he stood, and Judge Clifton Newman was pretty terse⁴. You know, he was given two life sentences for the murders of Paul and Maggie to be served consecutively⁵. Murdaugh was stoic⁶. He did not show much emotion. But when asked if he had something to say, he basically continued to proclaim his innocence⁷. He said he would never hurt Paul or Maggie. And there was just a silence in the courtroom. You could just hear the hum of the air conditioning after that.

FADEL: Maggie and Paul, his wife and his son that were murdered. Judge Newman had a lot to say about Murdaugh's family and Murdaugh's fall from grace. If you - he called him a person from a respected family who had control of the justice system in this community. And then he said this...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLIFTON NEWMAN: It was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go on - go in the media from being a grieving father who lost a wife and a son to being the person indicted⁸ and convicted of killing⁹ them.

FADEL: Victoria, if you could, just remind us who Murdaugh is and what his family was in this community for so long.

HANSEN: Yeah. Sure. His family has been prominent in this community for nearly a century, founding the family law firm that was so well known that made so much money in this community. He is a fourth generation - well, he was actually an assistant solicitor¹⁰, but he did prosecute¹¹ cases. His forefathers¹² were all solicitors¹³. He, too, was an attorney, which the prosecution¹⁴ was quick to point out that, you know, his experience in the courtroom made it possible for him to hide evidence because this was a very circumstantial case. And when this story first began to break, there was a lot of fear in this community. People feared the Murdaugh family. You know, they knew him. They know the family. But he has a lot of pull - had a lot of pull with police because, basically, his family was the legal system in this rural community.

FADEL: Yeah. And the judge even mentioned that Murdaugh's grandfather's portrait had hung at the back of the courthouse and was removed to ensure a fair trial. Now, he also mentioned remaining cases against Murdaugh. What are those?

HANSEN: All right, so there are 99 additional charges. This was briefly¹⁵ brought up as the prosecution tried to prove motive¹⁶, which was basically that there was this perfect storm coming, that Murdaugh was facing these financial - this financial storm, that he needed to create a distraction¹⁷ with these murders to get sympathy. But he's basically accused of embezzling¹⁸ colleagues, friends, the law firm of nearly $10 million, including the family of his late housekeeper¹⁹ whose sons he had promised to get - oh, I think he said he could get them $100,000. And he admitted in court - and has yet to be tried, but he admitted to walking away with nearly $5 million.

FADEL: Wow. And you said 99 charges. I just want to make sure that was the number, right? That's a lot.

HANSEN: Ninety-nine charges. And I am told that the defense²⁰ plans to start scheduling that case very soon. And the defense, which has yet to speak about this verdict, about the sentence, is expected to come out before the courthouse in the next 10 minutes.

FADEL: South Carolina Public Radio's Victoria Hansen, thank you so much for your reporting.

HANSEN: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

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 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。

3 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

4 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

5 consecutively   

adv.连续地

参考例句：

• He was actually too depleted to think consecutively about anything. 他已经打不起一点精神，根本谈不上好好思考一下。 来自辞典例句
• In any game, the right to serve shall pass consecutively. 在一局中，不错的发球挨次应该是。 来自互联网

6 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

7 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

8 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

9 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。

10 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

11 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

12 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

14 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。

15 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

16 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。

17 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

18 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

19 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

20 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。