美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why are people across the country so interested in a South Carolina murder trial?

Why are people across the country so interested in a South Carolina murder trial?

Transcript¹

The murder trail has been fascinating people. NPR's Leila Fadel talks with Liz Farrell, co-host of the Murdaugh Murders podcast.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now, people around the country have been, well, fascinated with this murder trial. Cable news outlets² broke away from scheduled programming when Alex Murdaugh took the stand. And even before the trial began, HBO Max released a miniseries. Netflix had a docuseries. I definitely watched that. And then there's the "Murdaugh Murders Podcast." Liz Farrell is one of the co-hosts, and she's been reporting on the Murdaugh family since 2019, since before Murdaugh murdered his wife and son and captured the country's attention. And Liz is here on the program. Hi, Liz.

LIZ FARRELL: Good morning. How are you doing?

FADEL: Good morning. So I wanted to start with the why. I mean, you've been reporting on this family for so long. Why do you think the country is so obsessed³ with this case, these murders that happened in a tiny South Carolina town?

FARRELL: I think there's so many reasons...

FADEL: Yeah.

FARRELL: ...The first being that this is a powerful family. And I don't know, you think - I think that people can relate to sort of the powerful guy versus⁴ this sort of community of maybe poorer people who have lived under their rule for four generations. And it's just so unusual in that. And then there's the span of the crimes. There's just so many crimes involved in this one family. And then there's the lack of justice throughout the years. I think there's just sort of a fatalism here among the people that have grown up with the Murdaughs, that whatever the Murdaughs get into, they can get out of. So I think that that's sort of - those are sort of universal themes, I think...

FADEL: Yeah.

FARRELL: ...That people can relate to or at least cheer on. You can sort of cheer on the call for justice, so...

FADEL: Yeah.

FARRELL: ...I think that's what it is.

FADEL: Well, you mentioned how for so long people thought this family can get away with anything. And then this verdict comes in less than three hours. And you've been covering the court case from the beginning. Were you surprised by how quickly it came back?

FARRELL: So surprised.

FADEL: Oh, really?

FARRELL: Yeah, I'm still stunned⁵. Yes. I kind of was trying to temper my hopes and just saying that, you know, if we can get a hung jury, that is better than anything I could have imagined before because part of this is that the law enforcement - I would say community or the justice system in general has sort of favored the rich and powerful in South Carolina and this family in particular, because we're talking about 86 years of this family being in charge of the solicitor's office, which is the district attorney's office here, and basically deciding who goes to jail and who doesn't, and who doesn't includes themselves. So...

FADEL: Yeah.

FARRELL: ...I think that that was why. It was just I really didn't know. I mean, this was a Murdaugh being tried in Murdaugh country. And I am just still so stunned and happy. And it's bittersweet because obviously you have two people murdered and just - this was such a tremendous expense for the state and so much energy that everyone put into it. But it was worth it.

FADEL: What do you think ultimately convinced the jurors that Murdaugh was guilty in this case? I mean, you mentioned these other questions around other criminal behaviors that never - there was no justice in those, or no - yeah. So what was different?

FARRELL: Well, I think it was the lie, the big lie, which would be the video that was found on Paul's phone in March 2022. Alex had said that he had never gone down to the kennels⁶ that night, and here we find out that he did, in fact, go down there. And I honestly think right into the middle of the trial, he was planning on leaving that sort of nebulous, if not outright⁷ denying it. So when he took the stand in his own defense⁸ and admitted to it, that was quite stunning⁹. And then he had to retrofit his entire alibi¹⁰ to the evidence and testimony¹¹ that he had heard over the previous five weeks. So I think that that's hard for anyone to get past. And then the state did such a tremendous job in telling the story of what happened and putting it all together - so many dots to connect, and it can get sort of fuzzy, especially to people who are just joining this saga¹². So I think that's it. I think it was just - it's hard. You know, how many times can you tell a lie before somebody stops believing you?

FADEL: Do you think, now that he's been convicted, that the public obsession¹³ with this family and this case will continue?

FARRELL: I actually do. We have more to do. So there was the death of Stephen Smith, which was clearly a murder that was masked as a hit-and-run in 2015 that the Murdaughs are purported¹⁴ to have been connected to in some way. And we're expecting charges to come in that case. So I think - yeah, I think there's a lot of loose ends that people really want to see tied up.

FADEL: Liz Farrell is the co-host of the "Murdaugh Murders Podcast." Thank you so much for your time.

FARRELL: Thank you.

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 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

4 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

5 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

6 kennels   

n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场

参考例句：

• We put the dog in kennels when we go away. 我们外出时把狗寄养在养狗场。
• He left his dog in a kennels when he went on holiday. 他外出度假时把狗交给养狗场照管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 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。

9 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

10 alibi   

n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口

参考例句：

• Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
• The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

11 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。

12 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

13 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

14 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》