A 2nd trial is about to begin in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery

A 2nd trial is about to begin in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery

Transcript¹

The three white men sentenced to life in prison for murdering Ahmaud Arbery are now standing² trial on federal hate crime charges. At issue is whether the men targeted Arbery because he was Black.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

A second trial gets underway today in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man. Three white men have already been sentenced to life in prison by the state of Georgia for chasing Arbery down with pickup³ trucks and killing⁴ him as he ran through their neighborhood just outside of Brunswick. His killing has been likened to a modern-day lynching, and the federal hate crimes trial centers on whether the killing was racially motivated. Jury selection begins today. NPR's Debbie Elliott joins us now. Debbie, first tell us how the hate crimes case differs from the state trial last year that resulted in those murder convictions.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁵: Well, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, are facing federal charges that they violated Arbery's civil rights and that they targeted him because of his race, because he was Black. The state murder conviction last year did not address motive⁶. This case will.

MARTINEZ: OK. So what kind of evidence is expected to come out during this trial?

ELLIOTT: You know, investigators⁷ have said they will testify that they found evidence of racial animus⁸ on the defendants⁹' cellphone messages and in social media posts. For instance, Travis McMichael allegedly used racial slurs¹⁰. He linked Black people to criminal behavior, and he supported a vigilante-like response to that. I talked with Bobby Henderson, a civil rights activist¹¹ in Brunswick, and he told me that all of that needs to come to the surface here.

BOBBY HENDERSON: The determining factor as to why they gave chase to Ahmaud was that he was Black. It was their motivation, why they felt he was not supposed to be in the neighborhood in the first place. And it's important that people understand that those things were the motivation so that they can begin to really interrogate¹² their own biases¹³.

ELLIOTT: Henderson sees this hate crimes trial as part of the larger racial reckoning that's been underway since the killings¹⁴ in 2020 of Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

MARTINEZ: I know last week it appeared that the McMichaels were willing to plead guilty and admit they had targeted Arbery because he was Black. What happened?

ELLIOTT: Well, they said they'd reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors¹⁶, but it fell apart when the judge rejected the deal. Part of that would have allowed the McMichaels to spend 30 years in federal custody¹⁷ before finishing out their life sentence in a Georgia prison. Arbery's family had objected to that. They were quite upset about it. They said it was not fair to give their son's murderers the option of better conditions in federal prison. So the McMichaels stuck with their not-guilty pleas. The question now, as jury selection is starting today, is whether potential jurors will be affected¹⁸. You know, this got a lot of media attention, so people know that these men had been willing to admit racial motivation before the trial.

MARTINEZ: OK, but with these men already sentenced, I mean, why also pursue a federal hate crimes case?

ELLIOTT: That's a question I put to former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. He's a former head of the civil rights division at the Justice Department. Historically, he says, federal prosecutions¹⁹ like this were a backstop, a way to, like, seek justice if a state or local prosecutor¹⁵ did not go after such crimes. Today, Patrick says, it's more about taking a national stand against racist²⁰ behavior.

DEVAL PATRICK: In the most egregious²¹ examples, even if there has been a conviction in a state court, there's a national interest in there being federal consequences. And I think this is one of those cases.

ELLIOTT: Now, we should note that two years ago, the state of Georgia did not have a state hate crimes law that would have applied²² here. The public outcry over Arbery's murder changed that.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Debbie Elliott. Debbie, thanks a lot.

ELLIOTT: 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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

4 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。

5 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。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 animus   

n.恶意；意图

参考例句：

• They are full of animus towords us.他们对我们怀有敌意。
• When you have an animus against a person,you should give it up.当你对别人怀有敌意时，你应当放弃这种想法。

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 slurs   

含糊的发音( slur的名词复数 )； 玷污； 连奏线； 连唱线

参考例句：

• One should keep one's reputation free from all slurs. 人应该保持名誉不受责备。
• Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian. 种族主义辱骂，种族笑话，都是跟亚裔有关的。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 interrogate   

vt.讯问，审问，盘问

参考例句：

• The lawyer took a long time to interrogate the witness fully.律师花了很长时间仔细询问目击者。
• We will interrogate the two suspects separately.我们要对这两个嫌疑人单独进行审讯。

13 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

14 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

15 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。

16 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。

17 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

18 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

19 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

20 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

21 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

22 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。