美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ethan Crumbley pleads guilty to murdering 4 students at a Michigan school

Ethan Crumbley pleads guilty to murdering 4 students at a Michigan school

Transcript¹

The mass shooting happened at Michigan's Oxford² High School in November of 2021. Ethan Crumbley's parents are separately charged with involuntary manslaughter for giving him access to guns.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The teenager who shot and killed four classmates at Michigan's Oxford High School last year and wounded seven other people now faces the possibility of spending his life in prison. Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty on Monday to charges including murder and terrorism. Quinn Klinefelter from member station WDET in Detroit is following the case and joins us now. Hi, Quinn.

QUINN KLINEFELTER, BYLINE³: Hello.

FADEL: So, Quinn, what was the scene like at Crumbley's plea hearing?

KLINEFELTER: Well, Crumbley was very stoic⁴ and terse⁵. He kept his head down in the courtroom. Remember; he's 16 years old.

FADEL: Right.

KLINEFELTER: Some families of his victims were there. The only thing he really said was the word yes, as a prosecutor⁶ read the 24 charges against him. His lawyers claim Crumbley is taking accountability for his actions. He pleaded guilty. It was not part of any plea deal, though. He and his attorneys decided⁷ to plead guilty entirely⁸ on their own.

FADEL: OK. So Crumbley did offer some new information - right? - that could strengthen a case against his parents, who are also charged in connection with what their son did.

KLINEFELTER: Yeah. First, let me remind you what they were charged with. Prosecutors⁹ charged the parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. They accused the couple of ignoring numerous warning signs that their son was troubled and could become violent. And the prosecution¹⁰ alleges¹¹ the Crumbleys scoffed¹² at their son's request to receive some kind of counseling. They refused to remove him from school the day of the shooting. And their attorneys have since argued that the murder weapon, which was bought only days before the deadly rampage, was kept secure and locked away from their son. But during his plea hearing, prosecutors questioned Crumbley about that and allegations that his father had purchased the handgun as a present for his son.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Is it true that you asked him to buy the firearm?

ETHAN CRUMBLEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Is it true that you gave him your own money to buy the firearm?

CRUMBLEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: Is it true that on November 30, 2021, that 9 mm handgun that you used in Oxford High School was not kept in a safe or locked container?

CRUMBLEY: Yes, it was not locked.

KLINEFELTER: Now, this is a different story than we heard before from defense¹³ attorneys. Not only did Ethan Crumbley say his father did not prevent him from getting ahold of the gun, he says he actually gave his father the money to buy it for him. That's the first time we've heard that allegation. The parents will have their own trial. It's scheduled for next year.

FADEL: So we've been talking about Crumbley, but how are the families of Oxford High School students responding now that the shooter has pleaded guilty?

KLINEFELTER: Well, some say it's a relief they won't have to relive the incident during a trial. Others say they fear that without a criminal trial, they'll never know all the facts. There are questions about why the school officials left Crumbley in class the day of the shooting. Some teachers were allegedly worried about his state of mind. There's some possibility of a future civil trial. Several family members have filed civil lawsuits¹⁴ against the Crumbleys and the school officials.

During the plea hearing, a mother broke down in the courtroom as her child's name was read. They were one of the victims of the shooting. Some of the parents spoke¹⁵ to the media. Meghan Gregory said that her son escaped death by running from a bathroom after Crumbley had just gunned down another student there. She says her son was too traumatized to be in the same room with Crumbley again at the plea hearing. Gregory went on to say that she believes the stories that Crumbley had a rough home life and hopes that he receives some kind of treatment, as long as he's never allowed to set foot outside of a prison again.

MEGHAN GREGORY: For instance, medication or mental health, when he didn't have that at home. So I hope that someday he does feel that remorse¹⁶. I still saw evil.

KLINEFELTER: The families of the victims will have a chance to address Crumbley personally when he is sentenced next year.

FADEL: Quinn Klinefelter. Thank you so much for your time.

KLINEFELTER: Thank you.

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 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 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。

4 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

5 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

6 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。

7 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。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 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。

10 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。

11 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

12 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

13 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。

14 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

15 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。

16 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。