美国国家公共电台 NPR--A 6-year-old shooter raises tough questions for the criminal justice system

A 6-year-old shooter raises tough questions for the criminal justice system

Transcript¹

Attorney Rene Sandler talks to NPR's A Martinez about legal representation in criminal cases involving children, after a six-year-old is accused of shooting his teacher in Newport News, Va.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

In Newport News, Va., authorities are still trying to figure out how a 6-year-old could get his hands on a gun. Police say the child brought his mother's gun to school in his backpack and shot his teacher in front of at least 16 other children who were in the classroom at the time. She's recovering from wounds in her hand and chest, but the incident has drawn² attention to what's become a perennial³ tragedy in American schools.

RENE SANDLER: The number of victims is tremendous. Then that plays to the larger issue of our country - about the frequency of school shootings and access to weapons day in and day out. Some school someplace is dealing⁴ with this and creating waves and waves and waves of victims.

BROWN: That's Rene Sandler, an attorney who's familiar with navigating⁵ complex cases at the intersection⁶ of criminal and family law. Our co-host, A Martínez, spoke⁷ with Sandler about how a child who commits an act of violence like this can avoid being defined by it later in life.

SANDLER: We have to look at this case from a service standpoint as well as a legal standpoint. We have to identify the issues in the home. We have to protect a child's constitutional rights as well as, you know, any potential criminal or other circumstances, just as you would an adult.

A MART?NEZ, BYLINE⁸: When you say from a service standpoint, what does that mean to you?

SANDLER: It means child welfare, child protective services. Typically, what's needed is a therapeutic⁹ evaluation¹⁰. This child may have learning issues, may have mental health issues. There may be substance use in the home. There may be domestic violence in the home. We don't know the exposure of this child to other stressors or other things. And those will be identified by a companion investigation¹¹ of a criminal case.

MART?NEZ: OK. So it goes beyond, like, maybe what we would think of a defense¹² attorney, who would be just trying to get their client off of the charges that are being levied¹³ against them.

SANDLER: Right. At 6 years old, or at an age really under the age of 11, you are looking at what the needs of this child and this family are. There may also be a companion actual prosecution¹⁴ of a child that young or a family member for allowing or not securing access to a firearm. But first and foremost are - what services are needed for this child?

MART?NEZ: At 6 years old, do they even have an understanding of what they've done?

SANDLER: In my experience of 30 years, a child that young has the inability to form certain mens rea or a certain mindset for specific intent and certainly cannot understand the nature of all the intricacies of a proceeding¹⁵ against him or her and can't meaningfully assist in his or her defense. So in strict terms, absolutely not.

MART?NEZ: When it comes to how the child accesses a weapon, how does a parent explain that their child somehow got their hands on a firearm?

SANDLER: I think it's a criminal investigation, just like any criminal case. Who lives in the home? In this case, for example, the gun was, by all reports, legally purchased. But it doesn't stop there. The gun was loaded, and certain laws in certain states require that a gun cannot be contained with its ammunition¹⁷. In other words, it has to be separated. So it's education in the home, but a criminal investigation into every aspect of that home and where that gun originated, how it got there, how long it'd been there and who had access to the whereabouts of where it was stored.

MART?NEZ: At what age, though, are children held accountable or prosecuted¹⁸, even, for their crimes?

SANDLER: One of the difficulties with young children being charged or being involved in a criminal system is that this is very state law driven. The overwhelming majority of states have no minimum age for prosecuting¹⁹ children, where others have the age of 7 or 8, 10, 11, 12 or 13. But 14 years old is the most common minimum age of criminal responsibility internationally.

MART?NEZ: So in a situation like this, at what point would there even be a discussion of the child being put back in the home with their parents?

SANDLER: So children can be removed from their home in the circumstances we have discussed and often times are until such time as the child welfare system, the state's attorney's office, you know, prosecutors²⁰, county attorneys, judge are satisfied that any dangers or any threats or anything in that regard that would either be abusive or neglectful to the child - any of those things have been removed. This child, once returned and once it's deemed safe for him to return - he will still be supervised and monitored going forward to make sure that everyone is doing their role and their part here.

MART?NEZ: And how can such a young child be made whole after something like this?

SANDLER: A lot of therapeutic interventions²¹ - in all likelihood, that child will not return to that school for a number of reasons - but a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of investment in this child and in this family by social service agencies and the family itself.

MART?NEZ: Have you been - or seen cases where, somehow, things get back toward a path where everyone can heal up? I mean, it just sounds like this is something that would take years - decades, even. But is there - have you ever seen anything in practice that makes things work again the way they should?

SANDLER: I have been involved in a case where an 8-year-old obtained a gun from his home, shot a 7-year-old. The gun was in his backpack. The father was charged with allowing access, if you will, by not properly securing an armed weapon - you know, a fully¹⁶ loaded weapon. That family healed. That family - the siblings²², the parents - put in a tremendous amount of work, and they healed. And they're doing well, and everyone grew up and had productive, positive lives.

MART?NEZ: So it is possible, then. It seems like that mountain is so high.

SANDLER: That mountain is high right now. We are too early in the traumatic event for everyone involved. And there are multiple levels of investigations²³ that are taking place, and we need to respect those investigations and see where they lead in the future for this family, this child, the teacher and everyone else.

MART?NEZ: That's Rene Sandler, an attorney based in Maryland. Rene, thank you very much.

SANDLER: Thank you.

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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 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

6 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

7 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。

8 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。

9 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

10 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 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。

13 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

14 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。

15 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

18 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

19 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

20 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。

21 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

22 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

23 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。