美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Jim Crow's Last Stand' In Louisiana May Fall To Ballot Measure

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

There are many issues on the ballot¹ this Tuesday. And in Louisiana, voters will decide whether to require a unanimous jury verdict for criminal convictions. A proposed state constitutional amendment² would repeal³ a Jim Crow-era law that allows 10 out of 12 jurors to return a guilty verdict. Here's NPR's Debbie Elliott.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁴: In 1975, Norris Henderson went on trial for second-degree murder in New Orleans. He thought he was a free man when there were two holdouts on the jury.

NORRIS HENDERSON: You know, being 19 years old, it's like, watched "Perry Mason" all my life and realized that, OK, 10-2, I'm out of here.

ELLIOTT: He was mistaken.

HENDERSON: Sheriff put the handcuffs on me and took me to the back. I was like, something ain't right.

ELLIOTT: The sheriff put the handcuffs on, and Henderson spent the next 27 years in prison until a judge released him. Now he's leading a coalition⁵ to push for unanimous juries.

HENDERSON: This is Jim Crow's last stand.

ELLIOTT: The split-jury rule is a vestige⁶ of Louisiana's 1898 Constitution, adopted in the period after the Civil War when slavery was abolished.

HENDERSON: During Reconstruction⁷, they realized only way we going to disenfranchise all these African-Americans and be able to keep this free label - we have to devise a way. And this is what they concocted⁸.

ELLIOTT: At the time, the state would lease convict labor⁹ to private landowners. The intent was clear, says Andrea Armstrong, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.

ANDREA ARMSTRONG: That constitutional convention is really interesting because it put into place a number of measures in order to - and it - this is a quote from the convention itself - "to maintain the supremacy¹⁰ of the white race."

ELLIOTT: Armstrong says the legacy¹¹ of that today is seen in racial disparities in the criminal justice system of Louisiana, which has the second-highest incarceration¹² rate in the country.

ARMSTRONG: I would certainly say that African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by this split-jury law. What I think is also interesting, though, is this law allows the district attorney to have more leverage¹³ in terms of plea deals, in terms of the charges that they make.

ELLIOTT: The only other state that does not require a unanimous jury is Oregon. And even there, all 12 jurors must agree when it comes to murder. At the coalition campaign headquarters in New Orleans, canvassers are getting ready to deploy¹⁴.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Just take a look at your maps. You might want to do a driver and a door-knocker in some cases, which is also...

ELLIOTT: Janice Long says this door-to-door work is about educating voters.

JANICE LONG: A lot of people have not even heard of it.

ELLIOTT: So they don't really realize that you don't have to have a unanimous jury?

LONG: Well, when I explain to them what it is, they say, well, I thought that was the way it was. No, it is not.

ELLIOTT: There's no organized opposition¹⁵ to the amendment, but some local prosecutors¹⁶ are speaking out.

SCOTT PERRILLOUX: Why would I support a change in the law which, in my opinion, will make it more difficult to achieve a just result? - justice, not convictions but justice.

ELLIOTT: Scott Perrilloux is the district attorney for Livingston, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes.

PERRILLOUX: I think there'll be some mistrials and hung juries that will result in, you know, more work and additional time, delayed justice for victims and their families. And for that reason, I'll be voting no.

ELLIOTT: But all kinds of advocacy groups are saying yes - criminal justice reformers, civil rights groups, even gun rights supporters.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

BLAKE MIGUEZ: Here in Louisiana, we don't take our rights for granted - our rights to bear arms, our rights to worship...

ELLIOTT: This ad features Republican State Representative Blake Miguez, a champion handgun shooter, at target practice.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

MIGUEZ: And no jury of our peers should be able to take away these rights from any of us if there is reasonable doubt. That means their decision should be 100 percent unanimous.

ELLIOTT: It's made for strange political bedfellows. Republicans and Democrats¹⁷ are behind the amendment. Outside financial support has come from both liberal philanthropist George Soros and the conservative Koch brothers. Lawyer Ed Tarpley is a former Republican DA who lobbied for the change. He says the guarantee of a unanimous jury is deeply rooted in American culture.

ED TARPLEY: In fact, John Adams, who was the second president, said that it's the unanimity¹⁸ of the jury that preserves the rights of mankind.

ELLIOTT: Tarpley says Tuesday's vote in Louisiana is a fundamental question of liberty. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, New Orleans.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 vestige   

n.痕迹，遗迹，残余

参考例句：

• Some upright stones in wild places are the vestige of ancient religions.荒原上一些直立的石块是古老宗教的遗迹。
• Every vestige has been swept away.一切痕迹都被一扫而光。

7 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

8 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

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。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

12 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

13 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

14 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 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。

17 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。