奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统呼吁改革司法体系

Hi,everybody.Today,there are 2.2 million people behind bars in America and millions more on parole or probation¹.Every year,we spend $80 billion in taxpayer² dollars to keep people incarcerated³.Many are non-violent offenders⁴ serving unnecessarily long sentences.
大家好！当今的美国监狱里关押着220万人，还有数百万假释和缓刑人员。每一年，我们要花销800亿纳税人的钱来维持监狱的正常运行。有很多非暴力的犯罪分子却被判了很长的刑期，这是不必要的。
I believe we can disrupt the pipeline⁵ from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails.I believe we can address the disparities in the application of criminal justice,from arrest rates to sentencing to incarceration⁶.And I believe we can help those who have served their time and earned a second chance get the support they need to become productive members of society.
我相信我们可以打破把人从缺少资金支持的学校送进人满为患的监狱的现状。我相信我们可以解决司法过程中的种种不公，例如抓捕率、判刑年限等。我相信我们可以帮助那些刑满释放赢得人生第二次机会的人们，让他们得到必要的扶持，成为对社会有用的人。
That's why over the course of this year,I've been talking to folks around the country about reforming our criminal justice system to make it smarter,fairer,and more effective.
因此，过去的这一年，我一直在全国各地谈论要改革我们的司法体系，让这一体系更合理、更公平、更高效。
In February,I sat down in the Oval Office with police officers from around the country.In the spring,I met with police officers and young people in Camden,New Jersey⁷,where they're using community policing and data to drive down crime.Over the summer,I visited a prison in Oklahoma to talk with inmates⁸ and corrections officers about rehabilitating⁹ prisoners,and preventing more people from ending up there in the first place.Two weeks ago,I visited West Virginia to meet with families battling prescription¹⁰ drug and heroin¹¹ abuse,as well as people who are working on new solutions for treatment and rehabilitation¹².Last week,I traveled to Chicago to thank police chiefs from across the country for all that their officers do to protect Americans,to make sure they've got the resources to get the job done,and to call for commonsense¹³ gun safety reforms that would make officers and their communities safer.
今年二月，我在总统办公室与来自全国各地的警察们围坐一起。这个春天，我会见了新泽西州卡姆登的警察和年轻人，他们在用社区警务手段和相关数据降低犯罪率。夏天里，我视察了俄克拉荷马的一所监狱，与狱友和狱警们一起交流如何改造犯人，以及如何在第一时间防止人们被关进监狱。两周前，我到访西弗吉尼亚，与众多跟处方药和海洛因滥用进行斗争的家庭交流，那里的人们在采用新的方法接受治疗，戒掉毒瘾。上周，我在芝加哥与来自全国各地的警察官们相聚，感谢他们以及所有警察为保护美国的安全做出的贡献，保证他们有资源去完成他们的任务，并呼吁进行基本的枪支安全改革，让警察的工作更安全，让我们的社会更安全。
And we know that having millions of people in the criminal justice system,without any ability to find a job after release,is unsustainable.It's bad for communities and it's bad for our economy.
我们都知道，数百万在监狱关押过的人，获释后没有什么能力找到一份工作，这是不可持续的。这对我们的社会不利，对我们的经济发展不利。
So on Monday,I'll travel to Newark,New Jersey to highlight efforts to help Americans who've paid their debt to society reintegrate back into their communities.Everyone has a role to play,from businesses that are hiring ex-offenders to philanthropies that are supporting education and training programs.And I'll keep working with people in both parties to get criminal justice reform bills to my desk,including a bipartisan bill that would reduce mandatory¹⁴ minimums for non-violent drug offenders and reward prisoners with shorter sentences if they complete programs that make them less likely to commit a repeat offense¹⁵.
下周一，我要去新泽西州的纽华克，重点讲讲如何帮助那些已经接受监狱改造重新做人的人融入社会。每个人都有自己的一份责任，企业可以雇佣以前犯过罪的人，慈善机构可以为他们提供培训和教育。我将继续与两党人士共同努力，尽快把司法改革法案送到我手头，这一法案包括两党的共同提议，降低对非暴力毒品罪犯的最低强制关押时间，对完成改造任务，表现良好的犯人进行缩短刑期的奖励，确保他们不会再次犯罪。
There's a reason that good people across the country are coming together to reform our criminal justice system.Because it's not about politics.It's about whether we as a nation live up to our founding ideal of liberty and justice for all.And working together,we can make sure that we do.
为什么全国各地的有心人士都来帮助我们进行司法体系改革。因为这不仅仅是一个政治问题。更是关系到我们国家能否称得上是以自由、公正为立国之基的问题，让我们团结起来，我们可以做好我们应该做的事情。
Thanks,everybody.Have a great weekend.And have a safe and Happy Halloween.
谢谢大家，祝大家周末愉快，过一个快乐祥和的万圣节。

1 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。

2 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

3 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

4 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。

5 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

6 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

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 rehabilitating   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的现在分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• She was more concerned about protecting the public than rehabilitating the criminal. 她比较关心保护百姓，而不大关心改造罪犯。

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

11 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

12 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

13 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

14 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。

15 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。