美国国家公共电台 NPR Once Sentenced For Life, Some Juvenile Convicts Get A Second Chance

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Here's a question. Should people who commit serious crimes as minors¹ be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole? Well, the Supreme² Court has ruled that, in many cases, the answer should be no. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that in Michigan, which has long had a get-tough approach for juvenile³ offenders⁵, the court's rulings have left the fate of hundreds of prisoners in limbo⁶ and also reopened old wounds for victims' families.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE⁷: Before the Supreme Court rulings, in Michigan, about 360 inmates⁸ convicted as minors were serving life without parole, the second-highest number in the country. Now some are working to adjust to a new world. Six of those former inmates showed up for a recent workshop set up by the State Appellate Defenders⁹ Office, or SADO, to learn about establishing good credit.

DEANGELO STEWART: I'm DeAngelo Stewart. I've been out since August 15 after serving 31 years.

ERIC KAMEN: Eric Kamen. I've been home...

CORLEY: There was also 60-year-old Edward Sanders, looking businesslike in a blue shirt and a tie. He was paroled this past summer after spending 42 1/2 years in prison. Sanders was 17 when he was convicted of first-degree murder in 1975. He was a passenger in the car of a drive-by shooting. He says he is nothing like the teenager sentenced four decades ago.

EDWARD SANDERS: I don't identify with that youth that committed the offenses¹⁰ that he committed. I condemn¹¹ that youth. I rebuke¹² his behavior. I'm not that person.

CORLEY: While in prison, Sanders got his undergraduate degree and helped other inmates. There are about 40 former juvenile lifers in Michigan that are out of prison now. That's a result of two Supreme Court decisions that ruled, first, that mandatory¹³ life without parole for juveniles¹⁴ is unconstitutional and, second, that all of those with that sentence should have a chance to go home. Michigan has long been a battleground in the fight over keeping those convicted minors, many now middle-aged¹⁵, behind bars.

DEBORAH LABELLE: We're talking about 236 youth. They have not had any opportunity to show and demonstrate that they are rehabilitated¹⁶ and that they're entitled to go home.

CORLEY: Defense¹⁷ attorney Deborah LaBelle says more than 60 percent of the juvenile lifers would stay in prison without parole if Michigan prosecutors¹⁹ have their way. She says that's wrong. She adds, resentencing hearings for hundreds of inmates are on hold because of another court fight which could delay opportunities for parole for years. LaBelle says that clearly was not the intention of the U.S. Supreme Court.

LABELLE: Then they said, while as children, they may have committed quite awful offenses of murder, there is among them only the rarest of that group that should be held to the standard of having a life-without-parole sentence.

CORLEY: Because the Supreme Court said many of those young people could be rehabilitated.

LABELLE: And you have to know that many of these kids that they're saying are irredeemable or irreparable - they haven't even killed anyone. They were the bystanders, the aiders and abettors, the kid who was the lookout²⁰.

CORLEY: Michigan county prosecutors had a deadline to name the juvenile lifers they thought were too dangerous to ever be released and who should be resentenced. Several decided²¹ that the sentence of life without parole for all the juvenile lifers in their custody²² should remain the same.

KYM WORTHY²³: I can't speak about other counties. I can speak about Wayne County. I am aware that some counties are contesting all of these. That's their right to do so. We chose to take a different approach.

CORLEY: Kym Worthy is a prosecutor¹⁸ for Wayne County, which includes Detroit and has the state's largest number of juvenile lifers - more than 140. She recommended life without parole in 62 of those cases. She says her office evaluated each of the cases individually, reviewing case files, psychological evaluations²⁴ and talking to victims' families. Worthy says too often, the family's plight²⁵ is ignored.

WORTHY: No one talks about - that would be if your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, one of your children were killed under these circumstances. Think about how you would feel if the person was convicted - rightfully so. No one's saying anything's wrong with the convictions here. And then we're going to redrudge (ph) this up for you again. Well, that's very, very difficult.

JODY ROBINSON: I go back to May 12, 1990, and I am reliving the horror that I felt as a young teenager myself.

CORLEY: Jody Robinson is president of the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers. Her 28-year-old brother, James Cotaling, was stabbed to death in 1990. A 16-year-old girl and her 19-year-old pimp were both sentenced to life without parole. Robinson says many families hope that sentence would provide some legal finality, but they continue to be at the mercy of the offenders and their advocates.

ROBINSON: For these individuals, life meant nothing. The offender⁴ wants a second chance. I ask, where's my second chance to dance at my brother's wedding, or dance with him at my wedding or to see his children? That was stripped from me, and nobody's moving mountains, trying to give me a second chance.

CORLEY: Advocates for the prisoners say they understand the anger of some victims' families, but the Supreme Court ruled it's not what the prisoners did when they were minors but who they are now. And for now, victims' families, prosecutors and advocates continue to wrestle²⁶ with what happens next for juvenile lifers in Michigan. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Detroit.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE ALBUM LEAF'S "INTO THE SEA")

1 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

4 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

5 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

6 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

7 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。

8 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

11 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

12 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

13 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

14 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

15 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

16 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。

20 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

23 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

24 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

25 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

26 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。