美国国家公共电台 NPR--What a hate crime case might look like for the Colorado Springs shooter

What a hate crime case might look like for the Colorado Springs shooter

Transcript¹

Officials are investigating the Colorado Springs nightclub shooting as a possible hate crime. Last year, state lawmakers made it easier for prosecutors³ to pursue hate crime charges.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We are learning this morning about another mass shooting, this time in Chesapeake, Va., where a gunman killed six people in a Walmart store. Police say the shooter was an employee who also wounded at least four people before dying of a self-inflicted wound. This happened just a few days after a shooter walked into an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs and killed five people. The suspect in that shooting is 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who is in custody⁴. Investigators⁵ are still gathering⁶ evidence to charge the suspect with murder and potentially with committing a hate crime.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Here to talk about what a hate crime prosecution⁷ might look like, we're joined by NPR's Adrian Florido. All right, I realize, you know, different states have different definitions about what makes a hate crime, but how does Colorado, Adrian, handle these kinds of crimes?

ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE⁸: Well, in Colorado, they're called bias⁹-motivated crimes, and that's a crime in which an attacker is driven by prejudice against a victim's race, religion, sexual orientation¹⁰ or gender¹¹ identity. At a press conference Sunday, the day after the shooting, the district attorney for Colorado Springs, Michael Allen, said this shooting is being investigated as a potential hate crime. The challenge is proving motive¹², A. In this case, how do prosecutors show that the suspect was motivated by bias against the LGBTQ community? Some legal experts say the mere¹³ fact that the shooting was at a gay club on a night when it was commemorating¹⁴ victims of anti-transgender violence could be pretty powerful evidence on its own. And, of course, investigators will be scouring¹⁵ the suspect's background, digital trail, text messages in search of more evidence of anti-gay prejudice.

MART?NEZ: All right. So let's say they find the evidence that they're looking for. How hard is it going to be to prove a hate crime in Colorado?

FLORIDO: Well, it used to be that prosecutors had to convince a jury that a suspect was motivated solely¹⁶ by hate. That made convictions very hard to win. But last year, state legislators in Colorado rewrote the law, and now prosecutors only have to prove that bias was one factor in a suspect's motivation. I spoke¹⁷ with Bilal Aziz, who leads hate crime prosecutions¹⁸ in the district attorney's office in Denver.

BILAL AZIZ: So the ability to say to a jury, you don't have to find that his only reason for acting¹⁹ was his racial or sexual orientation-based animus²⁰. Even if it was part of why he was acting the way he was acting, you may still convict.

FLORIDO: Aziz said prosecutors across the state have welcomed this new tool as a powerful one in the fight against hate.

MART?NEZ: So what does it mean, then, if the suspect in the Colorado Springs shooting - if there is a charge and then a conviction of a hate crime, what does that mean at that point?

FLORIDO: Well, it's important to note that the most serious charges the suspect is likely to face our first-degree murder charges, which would mean a life sentence if convicted. If convicted of hate crimes, that could mean several years in prison on those charges. But in practical terms, that doesn't mean much if you're already serving life for murder. Regardless, Bilal Aziz, the Denver prosecutor², said if the evidence is there, filing those charges is still important.

AZIZ: Whether or not it is a lead or top charge, it is still important to signal to communities that we see them and that we are not going to allow this behavior to continue and pursue those charges where appropriate.

MART?NEZ: All right. So it sounds like there's still a lot that has to happen. But immediately, what's going to happen next?

FLORIDO: Well, the suspect got out of the hospital last night and is now in county jail. A first court appearance is set for today. It's happening virtually. But we still don't know when formal criminal charges will be filed. The local district attorney said earlier this week that investigators want to gather as much evidence as possible before filing those charges.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Adrian Florido. Thanks a lot, Adrian.

FLORIDO: Thank you, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

8 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。

9 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

10 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

11 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

12 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

15 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

16 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

17 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

18 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

19 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

20 animus   

n.恶意；意图

参考例句：

• They are full of animus towords us.他们对我们怀有敌意。
• When you have an animus against a person,you should give it up.当你对别人怀有敌意时，你应当放弃这种想法。