The jury begins deliberations in the hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers

The jury begins deliberations in the hate crimes trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killers¹

Transcript²

As deliberations continue in the federal hate crimes trial of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery, NPR's A Martinez speaks to Charles Coleman Jr., a civil rights lawyer and former prosecutor³.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Jurors will continue deliberations today in the federal hate crimes case against three white men already convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. The 25-year-old Black man was jogging through a coastal⁴ Georgia town in 2020 when he was chased down, then shot and killed. The defendants⁶, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, are accused of targeting Arbery because of his race. Civil rights attorney and former prosecutor Charles Coleman Jr. joins us now. Charles, in closing arguments yesterday, the prosecutors⁷ said the defendants saw Arbery not as a human being but as an offensive racist⁸ stereotype⁹, and their case hinges on proving Arbery was chased and killed because he was Black. So, Charles, do you think the prosecution¹⁰ succeeded?

CHARLES COLEMAN JR: I do, A. I think that they did a wonderful job of laying out all of the evidence that was in front of them. They had a very difficult task, but they also were helped by a litany of witnesses that talked about different racial incidents involving all of the defendants, as well as social media posts that the defendants had made regarding violence against Blacks, racial epithets¹¹ and a lot of other evidence that came in during the course of the trial that they brought back during their summation¹² that really brought it home to the jury that this wasn't a case about what but a case about why.

MARTINEZ: And that video, too. I mean, we wouldn't even be here - right? - if it weren't for that video.

COLEMAN: Correct. And I think that that's an important point for us to think about is that despite everything that we have learned, despite everything that we now know about this case, none of it would have taken place if it weren't for that video. It is very conceivable that these individuals would not have even been arrested were it not for the perseverance¹³ of that family, as well as the presence of that video. We have to get to a place where we no longer require ocular evidence to be able to validate¹⁴ the lived experiences of Black people in America, and I think that this trial really brings that home. When you think about this trial, when you think about George Floyd, the question has to become, what happens for those individuals who are not beneficiaries, if you can use that word...

MARTINEZ: Yeah.

COLEMAN: ...Of having video present because those people still deserve to have accountability in their cases when they have been wronged, and they have been violated in the ways that so many people are.

MARTINEZ: What about the defense¹⁵, Charles? I mean, did those lawyers present evidence that negates¹⁶ the prosecution's case at all?

COLEMAN: I think from a legal standpoint, the defense did the best with what they could. But I think it was very telling that they were all willing to take plea bargains and plead guilty before this case went to trial, that - those pleas were rejected by the judge in this case, and so that did not move forward. But usually a defendant⁵ is not going to take a plea if they believe even they have a shot at being successful at trial. And the fact that they did not tells me a lot about what they knew going into this, that this was going to be beyond an uphill battle. I think, legally speaking, what the defense tried to do was basically suggest all of these things may be true, perhaps my clients are horrible people, maybe they're racist, maybe they're distasteful, but that does not necessarily coincide with their motive¹⁷ for the actions they took on August 25, when Arbery was killed.

MARTINEZ: We mentioned the video earlier, Charles. Was there any evidence presented during this federal trial that we did not see in the state case that really stood out?

COLEMAN: Well, I think that a lot of the evidence regarding the text messages, the conversations with co-workers, the use of racial epithets, the social media posts, those were not things that really came out during the state trial because they were things that all spoke¹⁸ to motive, things that all spoke to sort of their intent or at least their mindset, and in a way, that spoke a lot more to the elements of the federal charges, rather than those on the state level.

And so that focus on race, on racial animus¹⁹, on racial epithets, on their feelings about Black people and the conversations they had, the way they would refer to Black people, the conversations they had about previous actions around bullying²⁰ and things of that nature, those things had not come in during the state trial because they were of questionable²¹ relevance²². And I'm not sure that the judge would have allowed nearly as much of it to come into play, whereas for the federal case, because this is a case where they had to prove these things, I do believe that they had much more relevance and that the judge allowed them, so that's why we saw so much of that in this trial.

MARTINEZ: Civil rights attorney and former prosecutor Charles Coleman Jr. Charles, thanks a lot.

COLEMAN: Thanks, A. Have a great day.

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 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。

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 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。

6 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

7 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。

8 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。

9 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

10 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

11 epithets   

n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He insulted me, using rude epithets. 他用粗话诅咒我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He cursed me, using a lot of rude epithets. 他用上许多粗鲁的修饰词来诅咒我。 来自辞典例句

12 summation   

n.总和；最后辩论

参考例句：

• The exhibition was a summation of his life's work.这次展览汇集了他一生中典型的作品。
• The defense attorney phrased his summation at last.最后，辩护律师作了辩论总结。

13 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

14 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

15 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。

16 negates   

v.取消( negate的第三人称单数 )；使无效；否定；否认

参考例句：

• Alcohol negates the effects of the drug. 酒精能使药物失效。
• The lack of deep hardening in these alloys negates their use. 这些合金缺乏深层硬化能力使它们无法利用。 来自辞典例句

17 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。

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 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。

20 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

22 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。