VOA慢速英语--18岁少年去年击毙抗议者 ,美陪审团:自卫,谋杀罪不成立

An American teenager on trial for murder in Wisconsin was found not guilty Friday of all charges related to the shooting deaths of two men and the wounding of another.

Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injured Gaige Grosskreutz on August 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Rittenhouse shot the men with a semi-automatic weapon. The shootings took place during street protests and property destruction over police violence against Black people in the summer of 2020. The teenager is white. Those he shot also were white.

The verdict

A jury of 12 men and women found Rittenhouse not guilty of five charges including homicide, or murder, attempted homicide and reckless endangering.

Government lawyers told the jury that Rittenhouse had gone looking for trouble that night. They said he had created a dangerous situation by pointing his weapon at protestors. And, they noted² that he showed no remorse³ over the killings⁵.

The defense⁶ said that Rittenhouse had been repeatedly attacked and had shot the men in fear for his life. They said he had been in Kenosha to protect private property after several nights of unrest in the town south of the city of Milwaukee. The unrest followed the police shooting of a Black man named Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse said, "I did what I had to do to stop the person who was attacking me." Some of the videos shot by people in the area appeared to support his claim of self-defense. Wisconsin law says a person can use deadly force to defend himself if he "reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent⁷ death or great bodily harm to himself or herself."

After the decision, the parents of Huber who was shot and killed, Karen Bloom and John Huber spoke⁸ to the press. They said the outcome "sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians⁹ can show up in any town, incite¹⁰ violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify¹¹ shooting people in the street."

Rittenhouse was 17 when the events took place in Kenosha. His home is in nearby Antioch, Illinois.

The case was one of three trials in the United States that showed the division over race in the country. In the American state of Georgia, three white men are on trial in the killing⁴ of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man. And a trial is taking place in Virginia over the deadly gathering¹² of white supremacists in Charlottesville in 2017.

Wisconsin Lieutenant¹³ Governor Mandela Barnes, who is Black and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, denounced the outcome of the Rittenhouse trial.

She said, "We have seen so many black and brown youth killed, only to be put on trial posthumously¹⁴, while the innocence¹⁵ of Kyle Rittenhouse was virtually demanded by the judge."

Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, praised the verdict. He wrote on Twitter, "All of us who knew what actually happened in Kenosha last year assumed this would be the verdict. Thankfully, the jury thought the same."

Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Tony Evers called for calm. Last week, he announced that 500 National Guard members stood ready in case of trouble after the verdict.

Words in This Story

semi-automatic –n. able to fire bullets one after the other quickly but not automatically

reckless –adj. not showing the correct concern about the possible bad results of your actions

remorse –n. a feeling of being sorry for doing something bad or wrong in the past; a feeling of guilt¹

imminent –adj. happening very soon

virtually –adv. very nearly; almost completely

assume –v. to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true

verdict –n. the decision given by a jury at a trial

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 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。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 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。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 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。

13 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

14 posthumously   

adv.于死后，于身后；于著作者死后出版地

参考例句：

• He was confirmed posthumously as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. 他被追认为中国共产党党员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her last book was published posthumously in 1948. 她最后的一本书在她死后于1948 年出版了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。