2006年VOA标准英语-9/11 Death Penalty Case in Jeopardy

By Jim Malone
Washington
16 March 2006
 
Government prosecutors² are trying to overcome a major legal setback³ in the death penalty case against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person tried and convicted in connection with the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

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Artist rendering⁴ of Moussaoui trial proceedings⁵, March 7, 2007  
  

Moussaoui pleaded guilty last year to terrorism and conspiracy⁶ charges. It is now up to a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, to decide if he should be put to death, as the government wants, or sentenced to life in prison without any chance for parole.

Prosecutors are urging federal Judge Leonie Brinkema to reverse an earlier decision that bars testimony⁷ from some key government witnesses in the Moussaoui case.

Judge Brinkema barred evidence from seven prosecution⁸ witnesses after it came to light that a government lawyer had improperly⁹ coached the witnesses on their testimony.

 
Carla Martin leaves federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, March 14, 2006
  
The lawyer in question, Carla Martin, works for the Transportation Security Administration and has been placed on administrative¹⁰ leave.

University of Maryland law Professor Michael Greenberger says the prosecution mistake could be crucial.

"The instruction that witnesses are not to be coached or be given access to information that may bias¹¹ their testimony is sort of a fundamental litigation doctrine¹² that is well understood, both in civil and criminal cases," he said.

Prosecutors say it would be impossible to move ahead with their case against Moussaoui without the seven witnesses, who are experts on aviation security. The government is trying to show that federal aviation officials would have taken defensive¹³ actions to prevent plane hijackings prior to the 9/11 attacks if Moussaoui had told the FBI what he knew about the plot.
 

Zacarias Moussaoui
(2001 file photo)   
  
Moussaoui was arrested three weeks before the September 11th attacks. Although he admits to being a member of al-Qaida, Moussaoui claims he knew nothing about the 9/11 plot and that he was supposed to be part of a second wave of attacks that would target the White House.

Former federal prosecutor¹ Tom Connolly says the judge's order barring the witnesses from testifying is a major setback for the government.

"It has just gotten half of its case thrown out. It is going to be a fatal blow to the prosecution," he said.

Judge Brinkema has said the government can still pursue the death penalty for Moussaoui, even though most of the important prosecution witnesses have now been barred.

Law Professor Michael Greenberger says the government could still prevail if the judge allows them to call one more witness who was not involved in the group coached by the government lawyer.

"So I think they had a very good chance to obtain the death penalty here," he said. "It is also a very conservative jurisdiction¹⁴. It is where the Pentagon is located, the CIA is located, a lot of military live there. That is why the United States likes to bring its cases in that jurisdiction."
 
 
Artist's rendering of prosecutor David Novak, right, and defense¹⁵ attorney Edward MacMahon, center, pleading their cases to Judge Leonie Brinkema during Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial, March 9, 2006
  
Some relatives of victims of the 9/11 attacks are upset about the prosecution's mistake in the Moussaoui case.

Rosemary Dillard lost her husband Eddie in the 9/11 attacks. He was aboard the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

"I felt like my heart had been ripped out," she said. "I felt like my husband had been killed again. I felt like the government has let me down one more time."

Judge Brinkema has recessed¹⁶ the penalty phase of the trial until Monday.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 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。

3 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

4 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

5 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

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 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。

9 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

10 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

11 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

12 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

13 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

14 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

15 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。

16 recessed   

v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的过去式和过去分词 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭

参考例句：

• My rooms were large, with deeply recessed windows and painted, eighteenth-century panellin. 我住的房间很宽敞，有向里凹陷很深的窗户，油漆过的十八世纪的镶花地板。 来自辞典例句
• The Geneva meeting recessed while Kennety and Khrushchev met in Vienna. 肯尼迪同赫鲁晓夫在维也纳会晤时，日内瓦会议已经休会。 来自辞典例句