VOA标准英语2013--美国药品量刑政策引发争论

 

US Drug-Sentencing Policy Shake-up Sparks Debate 美国药品量刑政策引发争论

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder's recent announcement that the Justice Department will no longer pursue mandatory¹ minimum sentences for certain non-violent crimes marks a shift in American law enforcement and penal² policy. 

Federal prosecutors³ call mandatory minimum sentences one of their best tools in the war against illegal drugs. The sentences usually call for years of prison time depending on the quantity and type of drugs. Critics argue that such sentences take away judicial⁴ discretion⁵ from judges and are partially⁶ responsible for the explosion in the U.S. prison population. 

In April of 1998, twins Lawrence and Lamont Garrison⁷ were about to graduate from Howard University in Washington D.C. Both worked at the U.S. Justice Department and planned to attend law school. Then, they got the shock of their lives.

The man who had repaired their car a year earlier was indicted⁸ for cocaine⁹ and crack distribution. He told drug agents that the Garrisons¹⁰ had been involved in the drug conspiracy¹¹.

“They questioned me and showed me a picture of Tito Abea," said Lawrence, who along with his brother, ended up serving a mandatory minimum sentence. "They said, 'Have you ever seen this guy? And I said, 'Yes, he fixed¹² my car.'”

The Garrisons found themselves trapped on the darker side of federal laws that set mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses¹³ -- laws intended to make it easier to prosecute¹⁴ drug kingpins. 

The garage owner faced a mandatory 10 years to life in prison. The only way to reduce that sentence was to implicate¹⁵ someone else -- the Garrisons.

Critics of mandatory sentences say that is a common practice in drug cases. They also say the people implicated¹⁶ often have nothing to do with the crime. 

“So they will give someone up," said Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimum Sentences. "Other times, people actually make up names, and say, 'Well, yes, so and so did this. I saw him one time.'”

Lamont Garrison remembers being offered the opportunity to reduce his time.

“They said, o.k. Mr. Garrison, this is your opportunity to help yourself. 'Well help myself? How? What do you mean?' 'Well you know what this is about you guys are doing XYZ, you got to tell us what you are doing,'” he said.

“They call it the best tool in their arsenal¹⁷. Because they can hold a hammer over a defendant’s head and say either you give us more Information or you are going to get a five- or 10-year sentence,” said Julie Stewart.

But the Judicial Conference of the U.S. opposes mandatory minimum sentences because they tie judges' hands. 

The Garrisons were never charged with possession, just conspiracy, and maintain they knew nothing about the drugs. They say they refused to lie and ruin someone else’s life. 

A federal jury in Virginia convicted the Garrisons on the testimony¹⁸ of the garage owner and his brother. Prosecutors presented no other evidence against them. 

Those in favor of mandatory minimum sentences argue no judge should have 100 percent discretion when it comes to sentencing. Georgetown Law School Professor William Otis says mandatory minimums ensure justice is applied¹⁹ evenly across the legal system.

"There is written across the entrance to the supreme²⁰ court: "equal justice under law." Where you give judges 100 percent discretion, you are taking taking a big gamble that there isn't going to be anything like equal justice," he said.

Lawrence served 12 years in prison, his brother almost 14. The garage owner who implicated them was sentenced to 18 months. The brothers no longer have any interest in the law. They say the system is corrupt²¹, and federal mandatory minimum sentences play a big role.

1 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。

2 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

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 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

5 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

8 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

9 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

10 garrisons   

守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I've often seen pictures of such animals at the garrisons. 在要塞里，我经常看到这种动物的画片。
• Use a Black Hand to garrisons, and take it for yourself. 用黑手清空驻守得步兵，为自己占一个。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

14 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

15 implicate   

vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌

参考例句：

• He didn't find anything in the notebooks to implicate Stu.他在笔记本中没发现任何涉及斯图的东西。
• I do not want to implicate you in my problem of the job.我工作上的问题不想把你也牵扯进来。

16 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

18 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

19 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

20 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

21 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。