美国国家公共电台 NPR--Jurors in Florida will consider the death penalty for the Parkland school shooter

Jurors in Florida will consider the death penalty for the Parkland school shooter

Transcript¹

Attorneys in the Parkland school shooting trial gave closing arguments. The jury will decide whether Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to death or spend life in prison for the murder of 17 people.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

A jury in Florida is expected to begin deliberations on whether the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gets the death sentence. Nikolas Cruz has pleaded guilty to the murders.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Yeah. Defense³ attorneys argued that Cruz, though, should be spared and given life in prison without the possibility of parole instead because of his troubled history and his mental health.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Greg Allen has been following the trial. He joins us now from Miami. And some of what you'll hear in his report might be disturbing. Greg, how will the jury decide whether Cruz deserves the death penalty?

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE⁴: Well, under Florida law, jurors can hand down a sentence of death if they find that aggravating⁵ factors outweigh⁶ mitigating⁷ factors. And prosecutors⁹ detailed¹⁰ several aggravating factors they think that apply here. Prosecutor⁸ Mike Satz says videos Cruz recorded on a cell phone, social media posts and even internet searches showed that he planned this attack on the school months in advance.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE SATZ: And what he did was to murder children at school and their caretakers. That's what he wanted to do. That's what he planned to do. That's what he wanted to do. And that's what he did.

ALLEN: And there are other aggravating factors - the fact that multiple murders were carried out, that they were done at a school, and that they were done in a way that was especially, quote, "heinous¹¹, atrocious or cruel." On that point, the jury heard disturbing testimony¹² from survivors¹³ about the terror they experienced that day. Jurors also watched surveillance videos showing Cruz returning to victims he wounded and shooting them again, killing¹⁴ them.

MARTINEZ: Now, as we mentioned, Cruz's guilt² has already been established. He pleaded guilty. What's the case his defense has made for giving him a life sentence?

ALLEN: Well, I've spoken to experienced lawyers who say this is one of the most difficult death penalty cases for the defense they've ever seen in Florida. Yesterday, the jury once again viewed a 14-minute surveillance video from the school that recorded the entire attack. It's not been made public - very disturbing - but it depicts¹⁵ Cruz methodically shooting into classrooms and down hallways and then reloading his AR-15-style rifle several times with new magazines. Several weeks ago, the jury visited the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the shootings occurred, where they saw bloodstains, bullet holes and other evidence of the attack. Defense lawyer Melissa McNeill has tried to move past the shooting, saying by pleading guilty to the murders, Cruz is accepting responsibility. She's tried instead to focus on Cruz's troubled history that began when before he was born, when his mother abused drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him.

MARTINEZ: But how would that help him avoid the death penalty?

ALLEN: Well, McNeill spent a lot of time yesterday in her closing argument recounting all the problems Cruz had in school and in his interactions with others. She talked about testimony from experts who said Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum¹⁶ disorder¹⁷. She said he never received a proper diagnosis¹⁸ or treatment because everyone from his adoptive mother to school officials dropped the ball. And if at least one juror opts¹⁹ for life, the death penalty then is off the table. McNeill acknowledged, though, to jurors, that vote would require courage.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MELISSA MCNEILL: Your individual moral decision must not be based upon what you think that this community wants or what you think anybody else wants. This is your individual moral decision.

ALLEN: Many of the family members of those who've died have been outspoken²⁰ about their desire to see Cruz receive the death penalty. Throughout the trial, many of them have been in the courtroom. There's been some difficult days. And I'm sure they will be there when the jury finally comes in with the verdict, whenever that is.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Greg Allen in Miami. Greg, thanks.

ALLEN: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

3 defense   

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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。

6 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

7 mitigating   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Are there any mitigating circumstances in this case ? 本案中是否有任何情况可以减轻被告的罪行？ 来自辞典例句
• A sentencing judge is required to consider any mitigating circumstances befor imposing the death penalty. 在处死刑之前，要求量刑法官必须考虑是否有任何减轻罪行之情节。 来自口语例句

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 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。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

16 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

17 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

18 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

19 opts   

v.选择，挑选( opt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One player hoping to get another chance to shine if Mourinho opts to rest Cole backBridge. 假如穆里尼奥安排阿。科尔轮休，那么同一位置上的将会得到一个上场的机会来证实自己。 来自互联网
• If he opts out this summer, he d sign a five year deal. 如果今夏跳出，他估计会签五年。 来自互联网

20 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。