VOA标准英语2009年-Death Row Inmates in Texas Tell Their Stor

By Greg Flakus
Huntsville, Texas
21 October 2009

 

 
The U.S. state with the busiest death chamber¹ and one of the largest prison populations is Texas, where public opinion polls show the death penalty is supported by more than 70 percent of the population. A new book by students at a Texas university compiles writings and art work done by condemned² prisoners. The book, Upon This Chessboard of Nights and Days, Voices from Texas Death Row, was published by Texas Review Press, on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville - a city that is the location of one of the state's largest prisons and where executions are carried out. The book provides a rare look into the minds of men who await their moment in the death chamber.

Texas courts have condemned nearly 350 men and 10 women to be executed. The men are kept in a high-security prison near Livingston, Texas, a short drive from Huntsville, where the execution chamber, known as Ellis Unit One is housed.

One of the men on death row is 31-year-old Robert Will, who, at the age of 22, took part in a crime that resulted in the murder of a police officer.

 
Robert Will
When asked to write something for the book on Texas' death row, he chose not to write about himself, but about a fellow inmate³ who took his own life. "My friend was a genuinely good person who just made some bad choices in life," he wrote. Will says many inmates⁴ on death row struggle with guilt⁵ over the people they killed as well as the anxiety of knowing they are condemned to die."

"There is more stress on a person's psyche⁶, because you are living under a sentence of death and that can weigh heavily on a person's mind. I mean I have seen guys literally⁷ go completely insane," he said.

In addition to writings, the new book contains art work done by death row inmates, many of whom Will regards as true artists. "There is so much talent back here. And I know that this might sound outrageous⁸, but if someone reads that book, perhaps it will not sound so outrageous. You have individuals back here who, I mean, you have artists who are brilliant, absolutely brilliant artists," he said.

 
Paul Ruffin (red shirt) with students
The idea for the book on death row originated with Sam Houston State University English Professor Paul Ruffin, who teaches a class in which students develop a book from inception⁹ to printing. He says this book gives a voice to people who society has cast off. "What we wanted to do was give them an outlet¹⁰ for their work, for their expression. We wanted to know what it was like, day-to-day, living on death row," he said.

Around 50 male inmates submitted writings and art work. But none of the condemned women responded, much to Ruffin's disappointment. He says they, like many male inmates, might have distrusted the motives¹¹ of the people working on the book. A photo of a torn-up request for submissions¹³ is featured in the book.

 
Paula Khalaf, student editor
But one of the book's seven student editors, Paula Khalaf, says those who did contribute seemed to like the idea. "One of the inmates said, 'Thank you for the opportunity to show that we are not monsters; we are human beings,'" she said.

Khalaf says that before working on this book, she never thought much about the death penalty, but she was deeply touched by reading the stories of men who often grew up in broken homes and who, as one inmate says, "became lost souls as children." "I have to say I have probably changed my feelings about the death penalty. Probably, if I had to come down as either for or against it at this point, I would be against it," she said.

 
James Ridgway
But fellow editor James Ridgway has mixed feelings about that issue and the prisoners themselves. "The first reaction is to be sympathetic, like, 'Oh, wow, these are really sad stories and I feel bad.' And then, the second thing that happens is you look up the crime and you are horrified," he said.

Although the book does not describe the crimes committed by the inmate contributors, the information is provided online by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Ridgway says working on the book challenged him intellectually and emotionally. You are reading these things and this kind of dark mood sets over you and again, whether you are for or against the death penalty, that is not my point - it is that sifting¹⁴ through enough of that [writing] sort of puts that mood on you," he said.

There is so much interest in the book that Professor Ruffin says his new class is already at work on a follow-up book that will include creative writing by inmates and various kinds of art work as well. One early submission¹² is a dice¹⁵ game made of scrap¹⁶ material by an inmate who also included detailed¹⁷, handwritten instructions on how to play the game he invented in his cell.

Ruffin says one goal of this project has already been accomplished¹⁸ in that the condemned men are no longer just names and numbers. "They have become something like people we know now, whereas before they were obscure," he said.

Copies of the Texas death row book were sent to the inmate contributors. Upon This Chessboard of Nights and Days, Voices from Texas Death Row is available for purchase in bookstores as well as online.

1 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。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

4 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》

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 psyche   

n.精神；灵魂

参考例句：

• His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

9 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

10 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

11 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

12 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

13 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

14 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

15 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

16 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

18 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。