2016年CRI Judge Rejects Mistrial Motion for Ex-police Officer Peter Liang

 

Supreme¹ Court Justice Denny Chun's ruling means that Peter Liang will be sentenced on April 19th.

Liang was convicted in February in the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Akai Gurley in the darkened stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project in 2014.

The officer had been on a routine patrol, when he opened a door to a stairwell and accidentally fired his weapon. The bullet ricocheted and struck Gurley, who died at the scene.

Wu Yiping is the organizer of the Coalition² of Asian-Americans for Civil Rights (CAACR).

"I am really unsatisfied with the judgment³ of the court today. I cannot say the judgment is not fair, but my heart is heavy seeing such a judgment even with the juror having such a big defect."

The "defect" Wu mentioned refers to the fact that Juror No.9, Michael Vargas, might have withheld⁴ information during the jury selection process.

Liang's attorneys argued that Vargas told lawyers that no one in his family had been accused of a crime. But after the verdict, he said that his father was sent to prison for accidentally shooting and killing⁵ a friend.

Liang's sentencing was delayed while the judge listened to both sides. But after a two-day hearing on the juror, Chun said that Vargas had not deliberately⁶ lied.

The court sentenced Liang in February to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors⁷ later proposed a probation⁸ of five years, resulting in protests from many from African-American communities.

Soon after, people from both Chinese and African-American communities made statements, saying the sentencing will not divide the two parties.

Brooklyn Borough⁹ President Eric Adams delivered a speech during a meeting with Asian and African community leaders.

"We are clear that the incident that took place in 2014 on the stairwell of the Pink Houses was an incident that took place between two men. The future depends on the commitment of two communities. We will not allow what took place at that tragedy to divide and separate our communities. The purpose of the meeting today was to send a loud message that no matter what happens at this sentencing, it would not divide our community."

Wu Yiping with the CAACR echoes those beliefs.

"I have talked with African-Americans about many problems days ago. We want to get along well with African-Americans. I will not break off communication with African-Americans just because of a few people's behavior this year."

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

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 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

9 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。