美国国家公共电台 NPR Gov. Gavin Newsom Suspends Death Penalty In California

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Green in Culver City, Calif., a state that has by far the largest death row population of any U.S. state. Now, those inmates¹ will remain there. They won't be sent for execution. Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign an executive order today placing a moratorium² on the death penalty. He is a longtime critic of the death penalty system, which he says is applied³ unequally. Scott Shafer from member station KQED in San Francisco told me what the governor's order does.

SCOTT SHAFER, BYLINE⁴: Yeah. So it really is several things. The most important is that this order he's going to sign places a moratorium on executions in California basically by giving a reprieve⁵ to the men and women - mostly men - who are on death row, so suspending the executions for a while. The second thing it does is closes the state's execution chamber⁶ at San Quentin Prison. And that's almost a formality since it really hasn't been used at all since 2006. That was the last time California put somebody to death.

And finally, it withdraws the state's lethal⁷ injection protocol⁸. It's been under review for several years now. That's why there haven't been any executions. And that's important because there are some 25 inmates on death row right now who've exhausted⁹ their legal appeals. So if executions were to begin, we would have sort of a season of executions in California.

GREENE: So one big central question here is whether the governor can do this at a moment when it seems like California voters are against him on this issue. I mean, voters in the state twice rejected measures to repeal¹⁰ the death penalty. And Newsom actually talked about this in 2016. He was talking to the Modesto Bee when a repeal was on the ballot¹¹. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GAVIN NEWSOM: My position has always been, if ever I was in a position to actually be accountable, I would be accountable to the will of the voters. I would not get my personal opinions in the way of the public's right to make a determination of where they want to take us as it relates to the death penalty.

GREENE: So now he's governor, is he doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do?

SHAFER: Not really. You know, the governor in California has the power to issue reprieves¹², and he can do that. That's what he's doing. Now, if you support the death penalty, you're going to be very angry because, you know, in 2016, voters passed another ballot measure to speed up executions, narrowly passed it, 51-49. So if you're one of those folks who voted for that, you're going to say, hey, wait a minute. I voted for this already, and you're - you know, you're screwing it up. So - but technically¹³ he isn't eliminating the death penalty. He's just suspending it.

GREENE: OK. Technically he's just suspending it, and he has the power to do it. But given what voters have said, I mean, politically this could be quite a challenge for him if - as this goes forward. Let me ask you this. As this goes forward, I mean, there - there's 737 people on death row in the state, I think more than in any state in the country. What happens to them now?

SHAFER: Well, kind of the same thing that's been happening for the past 13 years, David. The population is getting older. There's a saying - or a joke, really - that the leading cause of death on death row in California is old age, and that's pretty much true. The governor's order doesn't change anyone's conviction or their sentence. No one's getting out of prison. There'll be no executions as long as Newsom is governor. But, you know, that could change if a new governor comes in or if there's a lawsuit¹⁴ that somehow forces California to change the policy and get rid of those reprieves.

GREENE: All right. Scott Shafer reports from member station KQED in San Francisco, giving us that news about the governor's moves today. Scott, thanks a lot.

SHAFER: You're welcome.

1 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

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 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

9 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

10 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。

11 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。

12 reprieves   

n.（死刑）缓期执行令( reprieve的名词复数 )；暂缓，暂止v.缓期执行（死刑）( reprieve的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Death: You all say that. But I grant no reprieves. 死神：你总是这样说，但是，我不再容许拖延。 来自互联网

13 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

14 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。