Ahmad Arbery's 3 killers found guilty of federal hate crimes

Ahmad Arbery's 3 killers¹ found guilty of federal hate crimes

Transcript²

A jury in Brunswick, Ga., has reached a verdict in the case of three white men facing hate crimes charges in the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The three white men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery are guilty of federal hate crimes, that's a verdict today from a federal jury in Brunswick, Ga., that's been hearing evidence that the crime was racially motivated. Travis and Greg McMichael, along with William "Roddie" Bryan, chased Arbery down and killed him two years ago as he was jogging through a residential³ neighborhood. NPR's Debbie Elliott joins us now. Debbie, so let's start with some details about this verdict. What did the jury find?

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁴: You know, they deliberated for about four hours and then came back with guilty verdicts against all three men on all of the charges they faced. First, they're guilty of violating Ahmaud Arbery's civil rights. This is the charge that's about the motivation behind the crime, that they targeted Arbery because he was Black and deprived him of his right to use a public street. They're also guilty of attempted kidnapping for using pickup⁵ trucks to chase Arbery for five minutes through the Satilla Shores neighborhood and cornering him there. The McMichaels are also convicted on firearms charges, using a firearm during a violent crime. Greg McMichael had a revolver. And his son Travis had a pump action shotgun. That's the weapon that he used to kill Arbery at close range.

MARTINEZ: Now, the verdict comes after about a week of testimony⁶. Can you recap for us the evidence in this case?

ELLIOTT: You know, the government used the defendant's own words very effectively in this case, citing both digital evidence and conversations that they'd had where they used hateful racial slurs⁷ and demeaning terms for Black people and that they associated Black people with criminality. There was also a good bit of evidence that the McMichaels advocated vigilante justice, taking the law into their own hands. Prosecutors⁹ said from the moment the McMichaels armed themselves and jumped in their pickup truck to go after Arbery and then when Bryan saw that chase and joined in, they were acting¹⁰ on racist¹¹ assumptions, racist resentment¹² and racist anger that had been building for years. The defense¹³ presented only one witness and unsuccessfully argued that even though the men held vile¹⁴, racist views, that this was simply a case of them being vigilant⁸ neighbors, that they were trying to question Arbery because they'd seen him on surveillance video in a house under construction.

MARTINEZ: What happens next here, Debbie?

ELLIOTT: The judge gave the defendants¹⁵ 14 days to file any appeals. Then she'll schedule a sentencing. They face up to life in prison on the federal hate crimes charges. They've already been sentenced to life in prison on a state murder conviction. And Arbery's family has been adamant¹⁶ that they should serve out their terms there in Georgia and not in a federal prison where conditions might be more favorable. Still, they wanted this federal hate crimes trial, as did activists¹⁷ in Brunswick, as painful as it was to hear. They wanted to shine a public light on the deep seated racism¹⁸ at the heart of this crime.

MARTINEZ: What's been the reaction in the area?

ELLIOTT: You know, speaking outside the courthouse just after the verdict, Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, called it a small sense of victory because she said they can never have victory when her son is dead. She said, quote, "Ahmaud will continue to rest in peace, but now he will start to rest in power," a very much - a poignant¹⁹ moment there. You know, getting a verdict this week has some symbolic²⁰ meaning, as well, in Brunswick. Wednesday will mark two years since Ahmaud Arbery was murdered.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Debbie Elliott, thank you very much.

ELLIOTT: You're welcome.

1 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

2 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。

3 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

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 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

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 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 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。

12 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

13 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。

14 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

15 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

16 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

19 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

20 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。