VOA常速英语2014--美国拥有全球最高监禁率（在线收听）

US Has Highest Incarceration Rate in World 美国拥有全球最高监禁率

In observance of International Human Rights Day, we have decided to look at the U.S. incarceration rate.  Human rights groups often criticize the United States for having the largest prison population in the world. They argue that U.S. courtrooms consistently hand out disproportionately long sentences for non-violent crime.  After 30 years of get-tough-on-crime policies, both conservatives and liberals are beginning to agree it is time for reform.

In April of 1998, twins Laurence and Lamont Garrison were convicted of cocaine distribution.  Under mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, which bypass a judge’s discretion, they served 12 and 14 years in prison.  Experts say a typical judge would have given them less than five years.

1998年4月,双胞胎劳伦斯和拉蒙特·加里森因分销可卡因被判刑。但无视法官的自由裁量权依照强制性最低量刑指南,他们分别被判处12年及14年的监禁。专家表示一般法官则会判处他们不到5年的监禁。

To this day, Lamont Garrison maintains their innocence.

直到今天, 拉蒙特·加里森仍然坚持维护自己的清白。

“And they said, O.K. Mr. Garrison this is your oportunity to help yourself," he said.  "And I said uh, help myself how?  You know what do you mean?  Well you know what this is about, you guys were doing wrong, XYZ, you got to tell us what you are doing.  Well, I said I wasn’t doing anything wrong, so there is nothing to talk about.”

“他们说好吧，加里森先生，这是你帮助自己的机会。我说嗯,我要如何做呢?你知道你是什么意思吗?你肯定清楚的,你们这些家伙是做了错事等等,你得告诉我们你们的所作所为。好吧,我说我没做错什么,所以没什么可谈的。”

Human rights organizations have often criticized the U.S. for ignoring the basic principles of justice and rendering disproportionately severe punishment.  

人权组织经常批判美国无视正义的基本原则并且判处不成比例的重刑。

“The incarceration rates started to go up in the 1970s, but they really took off in the 1980s with the start of the tough on crime movement - mandatory sentencing," said Marc Maur, executive director of the Sentencing Project. "Basically, a political initiative to send more people to prison and keep them there for longer periods of time.”

量刑计划执行董事马克·莫尔说道:“20世纪70年代监禁率开始上升,但80年代由于严厉打击犯罪运动—强制性量刑标准的开始走下坡路。坦白讲是一个政治提议就将更多人送去吃牢饭,并且他们还得在狱中呆很长一段时间。”

The intention was to target violent criminals.  But tough sentencing guidelines began to creep into non-violent, often drug related, offenses.  

这一举措的目的起初是针对暴力犯罪分子。但严格量刑指南开始慢慢渗透进非暴力,通常是毒药相关的罪行宣判中。

Thirty years later, the incarceration rate has increased 500 percent. The more than two million people now incarcerated in the U.S. make up the largest prison population in the world.  Maur says long prison sentences send ripple effects through society.

30年后, 监禁率增加了500%。现在被关押的超过二百万人使美国的监狱关押人数达世界之最。马克·莫尔表示长期徒刑给社会造成连锁反应。

“When a person is sent off to prison, it is not just that person that is affected, but his or her family," he said. "So, at the very least, the children have the psychological loss of a parent who is behind bars - the shame, the stigma that often goes along with that.”

“当一个人被送进监狱,不仅仅是待罪之人受到影响,而且家人也受到牵连。所以,至少,孩子们会蒙受父母坐牢失去家人的心理问题，而且这种羞愧感，这种耻辱感经常会一直陪伴他们。”

The collateral effect has triggered bipartisan calls for reform.  

这种间接效应引发了两党改革的呼声。

“Conservatives said what can we do to improve this, and one of the things they thought of, well you know, if we don’t impose criminal records, or long protracted jail sentences on people who are not violent felons, whose crimes are minimal damage to society, then perhaps we will have better family formation,” said Michael Barone, who is with the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

美国企业研究所保守派迈克尔·巴龙说道:“保守派表示我们能做些什么改善这种情况,他们想到的一件事是你知道,如果我们不对对社会造成最小伤害的非暴力罪犯添加犯罪记录或判处长期徒刑，那么也许我们的家庭会更完整。”

“It is going to be a slow development," Mark Maur said. "You can pass mandatory sentencing in 20 minutes, but it sometimes takes 20 years to undo the harm that has been done.”  

“这会是一个缓慢的发展过程。你短短20分钟内就可以通过强制性判决,但有时却需要20年消除已经酿成的危害。”

There is a bipartisan movement in Congress to reduce mandatory sentences.  But that will be left up to the Republican-controlled House and Senate in the next session.

在国会正在发起减少强制性判决的两党运动。但这将留给下一任的共和党控制的众议院和参议院解决。