美国国家公共电台 NPR San Francisco Jury Finds Man Accused Of Killing Kate Steinle Not Guilty Of Murder

San Francisco Jury Finds Man Accused Of Killing¹ Kate Steinle Not Guilty Of Murder

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

A jury in San Francisco has found an undocumented immigrant not guilty of murder or manslaughter in the shooting death of a young woman on the city's waterfront. The case resulted in national headlines last year when Donald Trump² used it in his presidential campaign to argue the country needs tougher immigration laws. The case raised questions about whether San Francisco, a so-called sanctuary³ city, should have released the man from jail two months before this woman was killed.

We're joined now by KQED's Alex Emslie, who covered the trial. Welcome to the show.

ALEX EMSLIE, BYLINE⁴: Hi. Thank you.

MCEVERS: Tell us what this jury decided⁵ today and what evidence supported their decision.

EMSLIE: Yeah. So they found not guilty on almost all of the charges that the defendant⁶ faced with the single exception of being a felon⁷ in possession of a handgun. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate has some prior felony convictions mostly for illegal re-entry into the U.S. and then additionally some - what would today be considered low-level drug crimes, at least in San Francisco, Calif.

So he is looking at a potential 16-month sentence to a three-year sentence. But depending on, you know, what level he gets, he would almost have time served for the most severe sentence for the one crime that he was convicted of in this case. So it's very likely that he will not be in criminal custody⁸ for very much longer. He is facing deportation⁹ again, however.

MCEVERS: What are some of the elements of this case that led jurors to this verdict?

EMSLIE: Yeah. And I think it doesn't hurt to keep reminding the people of facts that were probably glossed¹¹ over when this case gets to sort of the national level, when it is cited by the speaker of the House, by the president of the United States and - et cetera. They gloss¹⁰ over certain facts about this case. And probably the strongest one for the defense¹² that contributed most to the jury's verdict in this case is the fact that it was a ricochet shot that killed Kathryn Steinle.

The fatal bullet struck concrete about 12 feet away from the defendant and traveled another 78 feet to hit Kathryn Steinle. That and other physical evidence, other factors about the shooting that could be determined¹³ led to the defense's argument that, look; this looks like an accidental discharge. It looks like this gun went off accidentally. And by their verdict, the jury appears to have agreed with that.

MCEVERS: Do you think this will have any impact on San Francisco or other sanctuary cities in how they deal with these cases in the future?

EMSLIE: There has been some change to San Francisco sanctuary rules. And we do have a new sheriff in place right now who handles the custody of defendants¹⁴ and what, if anything, about their immigration status might be communicated to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But as far as I know, none of those small tweaks that have been made would have changed the fact that this defendant would have been let go in San Francisco. So if he was again arrested and in custody today, he would still be released without necessarily - without that necessarily being told to immigration officials.

The one difference here, though, is I understand that there is a federal warrant out for his custody. So that is something that sanctuary cities including San Francisco have always said they would comply with. So in this particular case, it does look like if and when this defendant is released, he would be released into federal custody for deportation proceedings¹⁵.

MCEVERS: KQED's Alex Emslie, thanks so much.

EMSLIE: 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 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

7 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

8 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。

9 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

10 gloss   

n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰

参考例句：

• John tried in vain to gloss over his faults.约翰极力想掩饰自己的缺点，但是没有用。
• She rubbed up the silver plates to a high gloss.她把银盘擦得很亮。

11 glossed   

v.注解( gloss的过去式和过去分词 )；掩饰（错误）；粉饰；把…搪塞过去

参考例句：

• The manager glossed over the team's recent defeat. 经理对这个队最近的失败闪烁其词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He glossed over his selfishness with a display of generosity. 他以慷慨大方的假象掩饰他的自私。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 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。

14 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

15 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