PBS高端访谈:我与死囚犯的对话

JUDY WOODRUFF: This afternoon, we launched That Moment When, the PBS NewsHour latest Facebook Watch show, a special video-on-demand section of the social media site, appearing every Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and hosted by contributor Steve Goldbloom, the creator of our Brief But Spectacular series. This new series tells the behind-the-scenes stories of successful people at a pivotal moment in their lives. In our debut¹ episode, civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares that moment when he decided² to value redemption over revenge.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Can you describe the moment when you first visited death row and the experience that that left you?

BRYAN STEVENSON, Founder³, Equal Justice Initiative: I took a course that required me to spend the month with an organization providing legal services to people on death row. And that's what got me to death row. And I was completely unprepared. But they asked me to explain to somebody that he's not at risk of execution anytime in the next year. That was my task. And I went to Georgia's death row. And I was so nervous and distraught, that when this man walked in, I was a bit overwhelmed. And what I remembered about him is just how burdened with chains he was. He had handcuffs on his wrists. He had a chain around his waist. He had shackles⁴ on his ankles. It took them 10 minutes to unchain him. And when they did, he walked over. And I began to apologize. I said: I'm sorry. I'm just a law student. I don't know much about the death penalty. I don't know much about criminal appeals and procedure. I then said: They sent me down here to tell you that you're not at risk of execution anytime in the next year. And I was surprised that, when I said that, the man said: Wait, wait, wait. Say that again. I said: You're not at risk of execution anytime in the next year. And the man said: Wait, wait. Say that again. I said: You're not at risk of execution anytime in the next year. And that's when this man grabbed my hands. And he said: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. He said: You're the first person I have met in the two years I have been on death row who's not a death row prisoner or death row guard. He said: I have been talking to my wife and kids on the phone. But I haven't let them come and visit, because I was afraid they would show up, and I would have an execution date. He said: Now, because of you, I'm going to see my wife and I'm going to see my kids. And I couldn't believe how, even in my ignorance, being proximate to someone, showing up for someone, I couldn't believe the difference that could make in someone's life.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It's worth watching the entire episode.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：今天下午，我们《记忆时刻》栏目，这是PBS《新闻一小时》最新的脸书秀，这是脸书上呼声很高的特别栏目。该栏目每周二下午3点会准时和大家见面。主持人是投稿人史蒂夫·戈德布卢姆，他也是我们《简短而精彩》系列节目的创办人。这个新节目讲述的是成功人士幕后的故事，这些故事都在他们的人生中起到了关键作用。在我们的第一期中，民权律师布莱恩·史蒂文森分享了他的一个时刻，那时候他决定站在救赎而非复仇的一边。

史蒂夫·戈德布卢姆：您能描述一下您第一次进入死囚牢房的感受和体验吗？

布莱恩·史蒂文森，公正司法倡议的创始人：我过一节课，这节课的内容就是我必须用一个月的时间与一家组织共事，这家组织就是为死囚牢房提供法律服务的。这也促使我日后为死囚牢房发生，虽然我当时是毫无准备的。但这家组织要求我向一些人解释一件事，那就是他们明年是肯定不会受到处决的。这件事就是我的任务。于是我去了乔治亚州的死囚牢房。我当时特别紧张，心烦意乱，所以当我要劝服的对象走进来时，我彻底蒙了。我对他唯一的记忆就只剩下一点：他的镣铐让他抬不起步子。他手腕上有镣铐，腰上有，脚踝上也有。工作人员花了10分钟才解开他的镣铐。解开后，他向我走过来。我开始向他道歉。我说：对不起，我还只是一名法律专业的学生，我对死刑了解得不多，也不太了解刑事诉讼及其流程。然后，我又说：他们派我来这里是想告诉你，你明年肯定不会受到处决。令我惊讶的是，听了我的这番话后，这位男子说：等等，等一下，可以再说一遍吗？于是我说：你明年肯定不会受到处决。他又说：等等，等一下，可以再说一遍吗？我又说：你明年肯定不会受到处决。那时候，他突然紧握我的双手。他说：谢谢你，谢谢你，谢谢。他说：你是我两年来见到的第一个人，死囚牢房的狱友和守卫除外。他还说：我跟我的妻子和孩子一直都有通话。但我从不让他们来看望我，因为我害怕他们出现后，我有了处决的日期。他说：现在，因为你，我想要见我的妻子和孩子。我不敢相信，我竟然在毫不自知的情况下与某个人走的如此近，成为某个人希望看到的人，我也不敢相信这种出现对于一个人的生活影响会有多大。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：整个一期都是值得观看的。

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 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。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 shackles   

手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊

参考例句：

• a country struggling to free itself from the shackles of colonialism 为摆脱殖民主义的枷锁而斗争的国家
• The cars of the train are coupled together by shackles. 火车的车厢是用钩链连接起来的。