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美国关于死刑的争议

时间:2005-04-27 16:00:00

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26  美国关于死刑的争议

DATE=5-12-01
TITLE=IN THE NEWS#480 - Death Penalty
BYLINE=Paul Thompson

    (start at 1'05") This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
    Arguments are increasing in the United States both for and against sentencing (1) convicted (2) criminals to die.  The death (3) penalty debate is caused by the planned (4) execution of convicted murderer Timothy McVeigh.  He is to be the first person executed by the federal government since Nineteen-Sixty-Three.  
    Thirty-eight states permit a convicted criminal to be sentenced to death.  Last year eighty-five people were executed in the United States.
    McVeigh placed a powerful bomb near a federal government building in Oklahoma City in Nineteen-Ninety-Five.  The (5) explosion killed one- hundred- sixty- eight people, including nineteen children.
    McVeigh has admitted he is guilty of murdering the most people in American history.  His execution by injection of chemicals was set for next week.  However, on Friday, Attorney General John Ashcroft postponed1 the execution until June eleventh.  The Justice Department announced Thursday that thousands of pages of evidence had been found.  The F-B-I should have given defense2 lawyers these (6) documents before McVeigh's trial.  Mister Ashcroft ordered an investigation3, but said McVeigh was still (7) guilty. 
    Recent public opinion studies show more than seventy-five percent of Americans support McVeigh's execution.  These include many Americans who usually oppose death sentences.
    Kent Scheidegger is with the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in California.  It is a victims' rights (8)organization that supports the death penalty.  Mister Scheidegger says McVeigh is a perfect example of why there is a need for a federal death penalty.  He says anything less than the death of McVeigh would show a complete lack of justice.  
    Groups opposed to the death penalty say the approval of the execution of McVeigh does not show an increase in general public support for the death penalty. (9) Opinion studies show that support for the death penalty has decreased.  Studies show seventy-seven percent of Americans supported it five years ago.  Now about sixty-three percent do.
    Ajamu Baraka directs an anti-death penalty program for Amnesty International in the United States.  He says the death of McVeigh will do little to change the debate.  However, he expects a strong international reaction to the McVeigh execution that could help death penalty (10) opponents.  
    Opponents of the death penalty have always argued that it was unfair.  They say poor people who cannot pay for good legal help receive the death penalty more often than others.  And they say courts order the death penalty more often when the accused is member of a racial minority group.
    Former President Bill Clinton called for a government study of the issue before he left office.  The results of the study are expected to be (11) released soon.  Nineteen more federal prisoners are sentenced to be executed.
    This VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS was written by Paul Thompson.  This is Steve Ember.

注释:
(1) convict[ 5kCnvikt ]v.证明...有罪, 宣告...有罪n.罪犯
(2) criminal[ 5kriminl ]n.罪犯, 犯罪者adj.犯罪的, 犯法的
(3) penalty[ 5penlti ]n.处罚, 罚款
(4) execution[ 7eksi5kju:FEn ]n.实行, 完成
(5) explosion[ iks5plEuVEn ]n.爆发, 发出
(6) document[ 5dCkjumEnt ]n.公文, 文件
(7) guilty[ 5^ilti ]adj.犯罪的, 有罪的
(8) organization[ 7C:^Enai5zeiFEn ]n.组织, 机构
(9) opinion[ E5pinjEn ]n.意见, 看法
(10) opponent[ E5pEunEnt ]adj.对立的, 对抗的n.对手, 反对者
(11) release[ ri5li:s ]n.释放, 让渡


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1 postponed 9dc016075e0da542aaa70e9f01bf4ab1     
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发)
参考例句:
  • The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
  • The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
2 defense AxbxB     
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。
3 investigation MRKzq     
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。

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