对巨星迈克尔·杰克逊各项指控不成立，宣告无罪释放

Pop Star Michael Jackson Acquitted¹ on All Charges

对巨星迈克尔·杰克逊各项指控不成立，宣告无罪释放

 

A California jury has cleared singer Michael Jackson of charges of child molestation², conspiracy⁴, and providing alcohol to a child. 

 

The verdict, read by a court clerk in Santa Maria, California, was a vindication⁵ for the pop star.

 

The verdict: Count one, verdict. We the jury in the above-entitled case find the defendant⁶ not guilty of conspiracy as charged in count one of the indictment⁷.

 

For all 10 counts of the indictment, the verdict was the same: not guilty.

 

The 46-year-old pop star had been charged with molesting⁸ a 13-year-old cancer survivor⁹ in 2003. He was also charged with plying¹¹ the boy with alcohol and conspiring¹² to hold the boy and his family captive so they could rebut¹³ a British television documentary, which the Jackson camp considered damaging. In the program, called Living with Michael Jackson, the singer said he shared his bed with children but insisted that the practice was innocent.

 

The eight women and four men on the jury deliberated over seven days, following a three-and-a-half month trial.

 

The singer's lawyers said the family of the boy were lying and were "con³ artists." Santa Barbara district attorney Tom Sneddon said he would not quarrel with the verdict, but said he was justified¹⁴ in filing the charges.

 

Mr. Sneddon: We evaluate the case and try to make a conscientious¹⁵ decision as to whether or not we have enough evidence to go forward. And that's what we did in this case.

 

The trial has been closely watched by the world's news media, drawing reporters from more than 30 countries. Several thousand fans were outside the courthouse for the start of the trial, and hundreds were there as the verdict was announced. Afterwards, Judge Rodney Melville told the pop star "you are free to go."

 

In 1993, the singer faced other allegations of child molestation, which ended with a civil settlement paid to the family of his accuser.

 

Jackson has been a stage performer since childhood, when he was part of his family's singing group, the Jackson Five. He went on to become a superstar as a solo performer, and his 1982 recording¹⁶ Thriller¹⁷ became the best-selling album of all time.

 

Mike O'Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.

 

注释：

molestation [mEules5teiFEn] n. 骚扰

conspiracy [kEn5spirEsi] n. 共谋，阴谋

verdict [5vE:dikt] n.（陪审团的）裁决，判决

vindication [7vindi5keiFEn] n. 辩护，辩明

defendant [di5fendEnt] n. 被告

indictment [in5daitmEnt] n. 控告，起诉

count [kaunt] n. 罪状

ply¹⁰ [plai] vt. 不断供应

rebut [ri5bQt] v. 反驳

innocent [5inEsnt] adj. 清白的，无罪的

trial [5traiEl] n. 审讯，审判

attorney [E5tE:ni] n. 律师

evaluate [i5vAljueit] vt. 判断，估计

conscientious [7kCnFi5enFEs] adj. 尽责的，谨慎的

allegation [7Ali5^eiFEn] n. 指控

accuser [E5kju:zE] n. 原告

 

1 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

2 molestation   

n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨

参考例句：

• Michael Jackson is arrested by police on charges of child molestation. 2003年的今天，迈克尔·杰克逊因被警方指控有儿童性骚扰行为而被捕。 来自互联网
• Jackson pleads not guilty on the molestation charges. 2004年：杰克逊认罪不认罪的性骚扰指控。 来自互联网

3 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

6 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

7 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

8 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

9 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

10 ply   

v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲

参考例句：

• Taxis licensed to ply for hire at the railway station.许可计程车在火车站候客。
• Ferryboats ply across the English Channel.渡船定期往返于英吉利海峡。

11 plying   

v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rather Mrs. Wang who led the conversation, plying Miss Liu with questions. 倒是汪太太谈锋甚健，向刘小姐问长问短。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

12 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

13 rebut   

v.辩驳，驳回

参考例句：

• He attempted to rebut the assertions made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳控方证人所作的断言。
• This open letter is to rebut the argument of abstractionism.这封公开信是反驳抽象派论点的。

14 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

15 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

16 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

17 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。