VOA双语新闻 Americans' Support for Death Penalty

Convicted killer¹ Kenneth Boyd has become the 1,000 person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

自从1976年美国恢复死刑后，已经执行了第一千宗死刑。

Boyd, 57, received a lethal² injection and was pronounced dead early Friday, in a prison in the southern state of North Carolina.

被判定有罪的杀人犯57岁的波伊德星期五在北卡罗莱纳州被注射毒剂处决。

He had been convicted for the 1988 murder of his estranged³ wife and her father.

波伊德是因为1988年谋杀他分居的妻子和妻子的父亲而被处决的。

Boyd's execution was carried out after North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and the U.S. Supreme⁴ Court denied his final pleas for clemency⁵.

波伊德的死刑是在北卡罗莱纳州州长伊斯雷和美国高级法院驳回他的最终上诉后执行的。

In 1977, convicted killer Gary Gilmore became the first person put to death in the United States after the U.S. Supreme Court ended a 10-year moratorium⁶ on executions.

1977年，在美国最高法院终止了历时10年的取消死刑决定之后，吉尔摩成为美国第一名被处死的犯人。

Capital punishment was blocked for a time because the court ruled that state death penalty statutes⁷ were too arbitrary. Many states rewrote their laws, and today, more than 3400 prisoners are awaiting execution.

死刑在美国之所以被禁止了一段时间，是因为最高法院认定各州的死刑判决法令过于草率。之后许多州已经修订了各自的法律，现在，全美国有超过3400人正在等待被处决。

But since 1973, 122 prisoners have been freed from death row, mostly due to the increasing use of DNA⁸ evidence.

但是自从1973年以来，有122名死刑犯获释，其中大部份借助于DNA鉴定的结果。

Death penalty opponents argue that the U.S. criminal justice system makes mistakes, and that some inmates⁹ may have been sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit. Susan Karamanian is a legal scholar at George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C.

反对死刑的人认为，美国的司法体系会犯错误，使得有些犯人因为自己并没有犯的罪而被判死刑。卡拉马尼安是乔治华盛顿大学法学院的教授。

"We have heard year after year, month after month, day after day, horror stories about people who have been tried and convicted in a system that is not fair," she said.

她说：“我们年复一年、月复一月、日复一日地听到许多有关人们在不公正的体制下被审判和定罪的骇人听闻的故事。”

Ms. Karamanian says the public debate about capital punishment used to be about whether it deterred¹⁰ crime. But she says public opinion is now shifting to question whether the U.S. justice system adequately protects innocent people from execution.

卡拉马尼安教授说，有关死刑的公众辩论，过去集中在死刑能否吓阻犯罪的问题上。但是现在公众舆论的注意力已经转移到美国的司法体系能否有效保护无辜的人不被处决的问题上。

An October Gallup poll found that about two-thirds of Americans still support the death penalty. That compares with a high of 80 percent of Americans in 1994. And when respondents are given a choice of life in prison without parole, support for the death penalty falls to just 50 percent.

10月份的盖洛普民意测验显示，有大约三分之二的美国人仍然支持死刑。而1994年时，美国支持死刑的人更多，达80%。当被问及在无假释无期徒刑和死刑之间进行选择时，支持死刑的人则下降到50%。

Ms. Karamanian attributes the change in opinion partly to a trend, beginning in the 1990s, of highly qualified¹¹ lawyers representing inmates on death row and raising issues not addressed in the past.

卡拉马尼安教授把这种改变的部份根源归于90年代以来的一种趋向。当时一些非常能干的律师为死刑犯辩护，从而提出了许多未曾论及的问题。

"When you have prominent lawyers, members of the Bar [American Bar Association], getting active in these cases, one, you have a better standard of representation, but two, word is getting out," she said.

她说：“当你有著名律师积极为你辩护时，首先，提高了你的法律代表水平；其次，你的情况会广为传扬。”

For example, Virginia Governor Mark Warner recently blocked the execution of Robin¹² Lovitt, who would have been the 1,000h person to be executed in the United States. One of Mr. Lovitt's attorneys was Kenneth Starr, who led the special investigation¹³ into President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

举例来说，维吉尼亚州长沃纳最近就阻止了对洛维特的死刑执行。否则，洛维特就会成为第一千名被处死的死刑犯了。而洛维特的律师之一就是曾经在90年代领导了针对克林顿总统的特别调查的斯塔尔。

Mr. Starr successfully argued that Mr. Lovitt deserved clemency because a Virginia court clerk had wrongly discarded DNA evidence. Instead of being executed, Mr. Lovitt will now spend his life in prison for killing¹⁴ a night manager in a pool hall.

斯塔尔成功地辩解说，洛维特应该得到宽恕，因为一名维吉尼亚州的法院办事员错误地丢弃了DNA证据。现在，据控杀害一名游泳池夜班经理的洛维特没有被处决，而是在监狱度其余生。

Analysts¹⁵ say another factor influencing public opinion is the growing opposition¹⁶ to capital punishment among U.S. Catholics.

分析人士说，另外一个左右美国公众舆论的因素是，美国天主教徒越来越反对死刑。

In November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops¹⁷ overwhelmingly approved a new statement opposing the death penalty. The bishops' first comprehensive statement on capital punishment in 25 years said that, "the sanction of death violates respect for human life and dignity."

今年11月，天主教美国主教团一致通过一项反对死刑的声明。美国主教团在这份25年来首度全面论述死刑问题的声明里说，“死刑违犯了对人类生命的尊重。”

Still, advocates of the death penalty argue that abolishing capital punishment would hurt crime victims and their families.

然而，死刑的拥护者们表示废除死刑可能伤害到刑事犯罪的受害者和他们的家人们。

Michael Paranzino is the head of Throw Away the Key, a group in Maryland that advocates tough sentences for criminals.

帕兰兹诺是马里兰州一个名为“丢掉钥匙”支持死刑的团体组织的负责人。

"The idea that we would mourn the 1,000th murderer that died when there are 600,000 families who will never recover - that's where I think this debate has to be focused -- the lasting¹⁸ harm to entire families when people are murdered," he said.

他说：“在为第1000名杀人犯被处决而感到悲哀的时候，要想到那60万亲人心头永远无法愈合的伤痛。我们有关死刑的辩论当有的焦点是：谋杀对被害人全家带来永久持续的伤害。”

Regardless of how the American public feels about capital punishment, statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington D.C. show that death sentences nationwide have dropped by 50 percent since the late 1990s and executions carried out have declined by 40 percent.

无论美国民众对死刑的观点如何，华盛顿的“死刑信息中心”的统计数字显示，自90年代以来，美国全国的死刑判决率下降了50%，而死刑的执行率则下降了40%。
 
 

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 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。

3 estranged   

adj.疏远的，分离的

参考例句：

• He became estranged from his family after the argument.那场争吵后他便与家人疏远了。
• The argument estranged him from his brother.争吵使他同他的兄弟之间的关系疏远了。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

6 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。

7 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 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》

10 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 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。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 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。

17 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

18 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。