VOA常速英语2014--美国民众对死刑支持下降 但支持率仍很高（在线收听）

Americans' Support for Death Penalty Drops, Remains Strong 美国民众对死刑支持下降 但支持率仍很高

HOUSTON, TEXAS—

When executions are carried out at the prison facility in Huntsville, Texas, death penalty opponents are usually on hand to protest.

每当得克萨斯州汉茨维尔监狱执行死刑时，死刑反对者们总会前往现场进行抗议。

Texas carries out more executions than any other state — 16 last year.  And polls show most Texans support the punishment.

得克萨斯州去年执行的16起死刑比其它任何一个州都要多。而且民意调查显示大多数德州人都对这种极刑表示支持。

One is self-described death penalty advocate Dudley Sharp, who argues that executions ensure killers do not kill again and deter others from doing so.

杜德利·夏普就是其中一位这样的自称支持者。他表示死刑能够保障杀人犯不会再次行凶，也能遏制其他人行凶的意图。

“The evidence that the death penalty deters no one does not exist," he said. "The evidence that the death penalty deters some people is overwhelming.”

“虽然没有证据能够证明死刑不能威慑任何人，但却有压倒性证据表明能够遏制一些人的意图。”

Sharp said most families of murder victims want proportional justice, but they find no joy in an execution.

夏普称大多数受害者家人都希望看正义得到伸张，但执行死刑却不会让他们感到快乐。

“All of this is in the context of losing an innocent life to an unjust murder, so none of it is good,” he said.

所有这一切都是因为一次不公正的谋杀再次失去一条无辜的生命，所以都不好”。

Houston attorney Pat Monks opposes the death penalty, contending that it's carried out within a flawed judicial system.

而持反对意见的休斯敦律师帕特·蒙克斯认为死刑是由一个满是缺点的司法体系所执行。

“It assumes that the system is perfect in one instance, maybe just in one instance, and it is not,” he said.

“它假定司法系统完美无缺，但也许实际上并不完美。”

Monks cites cases in which new evidence has led to the release of prisoners on death row. He calls capital punishment an archaic practice that the United States inherited from a country that has now abandoned it.

蒙克斯列举了最终导致死刑犯获释的许多案例证据。他表示死刑是美国从一个早已取消该刑法的国家继承的过时做法。

“It is from England, the common law system in which the king owns all of us, we are all subject to the king, and so the state," he said. "It is their case [judges and prosecutors], as opposed to our case.”

“它来自英国的普通法制度。在这个法律体系中国王拥有无上权力，民众都对这位君主表示臣服，国家也是如此。所以国王掌控生杀大权，而不是民众。”

In early December, an appeals court issued a stay in the planned execution of convicted murderer Scott Panetti, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Houston attorney Kathryn Kase of the Texas Defenders Service, who represents Panetti, says the nationwide attention this case has received is encouraging.

12月初，一家上诉法院裁决暂缓执行已判谋杀罪的斯科特·帕乃迪的死刑。因为这位待罪之人被诊患有精神分裂症。

而帕乃迪的代理律师休斯敦律师凯瑟琳·凯思表示这件案子引发了全国关注，令人鼓舞。

“What we see in the stay is this emerging awareness in the United States that we don’t want to execute people with serious mental illness,” she said.

“我们之所以延缓执行死刑是希望越来越多的美国人意识到，我们不想对患有严重精神疾病的人处以极刑。”

The state of Texas contends Panetti meets its standard of competence.  But Kase says executing such a delusional person does not serve the purpose most people associate with the death penalty.

而德州检方认为帕乃迪符合行刑标准。但凯思表示对这种患病人士执行死刑同大部分人所提倡的死刑相悖。

“We are supposed to be reserving the death penalty for the worst of the worst," she said. "The problem is that when we get into choosing who that is, we are not consistent.”

“我们应将死刑留给最严重的罪犯。问题是在选择谁是这名罪人时我们的标准并不一致。”

Surveys show that younger respondents tend to favor life imprisonment for murderers over the death penalty and that fewer than half of all respondents favor executing the mentally ill.

调查显示年轻人群更倾向于判处谋杀者终身监禁而非死刑；只有不到一半的人赞成对精神病患者处以极刑。