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115 陪审团继续商讨如何判决轰炸美国大使馆的罪犯
US Embassy Bombing Jury Continues Deliberations
Owen Fay
New York
5 Jul 2001 20:42 UTC
A New York city 1)jury is still in 2)deliberations, as it weighs the fate of a man convicted of taking part in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania three years ago. Because of the 3)severity of his crimes, the man may be sentenced to death.
If a death sentence for Khalfan Khamis Mohamed is to be avoided, one of two things must happen. The jury that 4)convicted him of participation in the 1998 embassy bombing in Dar Es Salaam must either decide to send him to jail for life instead, or be unable to reach a 5)unanimous 6)verdict on the death 7)penalty.
Final arguments in the penalty phase of Mohamed's trial have been heard and now the 12-member jury is weighing its decision. Because of the severity of Mohamed's crime, a bomb attack which left 11 dead and many others injured, U.S. Federal law 8)dictates that he can be put to death. That is the punishment being asked for by the 9)prosecution. Lawyers acting on behalf of the government tried to persuade the jury to opt for the death penalty by describing Mohamed as a dangerous, 10)remorseless killer who will still be a threat to others even from the confines of a jail cell.
Lawyers for Mohamed say otherwise. Earlier this week, they told the jury that he has accepted responsibility for his crimes and that executing him for them would be counterproductive. Because the bomb attack was part of an 11)orchestrated terrorist campaign, allegedly 12)choreographed by the Islamic fundamentalist Osama bin Laden, Mohamed is already a hero to bin Laden's supporters. Should he be put to death, he would come to be seen as a 13)martyr. Thus, the defense attorneys argued, the death penalty would be precisely what Mohamed and bin Laden would want.
That contention was widely seen as instrumental during the sentencing of one of Mohamed's co-defendents, who was convicted of the near-14)simultaneous bombing the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. He too faced the death penalty, but was instead sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, specifically to avoid letting him be seen as a martyr. The decision was made by the same jury 15)deliberating Mohamed's fate. While it is unknown what factors the jury in this case is considering, the expectation is that Mohamed, too, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
(1) jury[5dVJErI]n.[律] 陪审团, 评判委员会, 陪审员
(2) deliberation[dIlIbE5reIF(E)n]n.熟思,商议, 考虑
(3) severity[sI`verEtI]n.严肃, 严格, 严重
(4) convict[5kRnvIkt]vt.证明...有罪, 宣告...有罪n.罪犯
(5) unanimous[ju:5nAnImEs]adj.意见一致的, 无异议的
(6) verdict[5v:dIkt]n.[律](陪审团的)裁决, 判决, 判断
(7) penalty[5penEltI]n.处罚, 罚款
(8) dictate[5dIkteIt]v.指令, 指示, 命令, 规定n.指示(指理智,变心)
(9) prosecution[prRsI5kju:F(E)n]n.进行, 经营, 检举, 起诉
(10) remorseless[rI5mC:slIs]adj.冷酷的, 不知过错的, 不屈不挠的
(11) orchestrate[5C:kIstreIt]v.编管弦乐曲
(12) choreograph[5kRrIE^rB:f]v.设计舞蹈动作
(13) martyr[5mB:tE(r)]n.烈士, 殉教者v.杀害, 折磨
(14) simultaneous[sImEl5teInIEs; (?@) saIm-]adj.同时的, 同时发生的
(15) deliberate[dI5lIbEreIt]adj.深思熟虑的, 预有准备的v.商讨
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