欧美人文风情第214篇:看美国,思索死刑废存议题

 What would happen if the death penalty just disappeared in the U.S.?  如果死刑就这样从美国消失会怎样？

The government could continue executions of the roughly 3,000 inmates¹ currently sentenced to death,  政府可以继续执行目前约三千名死刑犯的处决，

or retroactively sentence them to life without parole instead.  或溯及既往改判他们无期徒刑且不得假释。

From a financial standpoint, this would make a lot of sense.  就财政立场来看，这会实际许多。

Death row inmates require stricter security that costs more money.  死囚需要更严密的看守，那花费更多钱。

And since prisoners can remain on death row for decades, that adds up. States would also save money on prosecutions².  而因为囚犯可能在死牢待上好几十年，那费用就增加了。各州也会省下诉讼费。

Death penalty cases can cost up to 10 times more than others. So, it's cheaper. 死刑案可能比其他案件花上多达十倍的费用。所以，无期徒刑比较便宜。

But shouldn't serious criminals pay the ultimate price? Perhaps.  不过难道重刑犯不该付出最终代价吗？或许吧。

But since 1973, more than 150 people on death row were eventually found innocent.  但自1973年来，超过一百五十名被判死刑的人最终被证实是清白的。

Prisoners wait years, even decades, for execution, not knowing when or if it will come.  囚犯等待处决好几年，甚至好几十载，不知道那天何时到来，或那天是否会到。

And recently, changes in drugs used for lethal³ injection have resulted in gruesomely botched executions.  近来，注射死刑用药的改变导致极拙劣的死刑执行案件。

Some prisoners have chosen not to appeal their cases to shorten the time they have to spend on death row. 有些犯人选择不上诉自己的案子以缩短他们等待处决的时间。

But doesn't the death penalty deter⁴ crime?  但死刑不是会吓阻犯罪吗？

Actually, murder rates in states without the death penalty have remained lower than states which have it.  事实上，没有死刑各州内的谋杀率比有死刑的州来得低。

The death penalty is also disproportionately applied⁵ to minority offenders⁶.  死刑也特别会被判在少数族裔犯罪者身上。

So, no death penalty might mean a little more equality in the justice system,  因此，废除死刑可能代表司法系统能有多一点平等、

a lot of money saved, and more time for prosecutors⁷ to try other cases. 省下更多金钱，而检察官能有更多时间审理其他案件。

 

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 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 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。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 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。

6 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

7 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。