美国国家公共电台 NPR D.C. Prosecutors, Once Dubious, Are Becoming Believers In Restorative Justice

D.C. Prosecutors², Once Dubious³, Are Becoming Believers In Restorative Justice

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's come back to the United States now and note that anybody who spends much time watching television in America learns how the justice system works.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "LAW & ORDER")

STEVEN ZIRNKILTON: (As Narrator) In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute⁴ the offenders⁵. These are their stories.

INSKEEP: That's from the long-running show "Law & Order." The attorney general in Washington, D.C., is trying to change the system that we know so well, experimenting with a new way to dispense⁶ law and order. Local prosecutors have developed a program to connect young offenders with their victims, bringing them together to work out plans to move forward without jail time. Here's NPR national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE⁷: D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine says he started as a reluctant innovator⁸.

KARL RACINE: I think my exact words was that I think the idea is a little hokey.

JOHNSON: After all, Racine's an elected official, and he says every day he comes to work with this on his mind.

RACINE: We are committed to public safety.

JOHNSON: But the D.C. attorney general says he's convinced there can be a better way to keep the community safe. It's called restorative justice. And here in Washington, it brings together young people accused of breaking the law with the people they hurt.

RACINE: Unlike traditional prosecution⁹, restorative justice is really focused on the victim.

JOHNSON: There are a few ground rules. Victims have to agree to participate in the sessions. The program is only open to juveniles¹⁰ who don't use guns during their crimes. And if young people follow through on the plan they develop with their victims, their charges get dismissed.

RACINE: Our objective in our prosecutions¹¹, particularly since we're dealing¹² with the prosecution of young people, is to put them in a position to learn from their mistakes - i.e., rehabilitation¹³.

JOHNSON: Prosecutors across the country have been experimenting with restorative justice, but Racine is the first to create a unit within his own office - right down the hall from the lawyers who appear in court to prosecute. Seema Gajwani runs the group of seven people. Every week, they get together in a circle to discuss their cases in meetings like this one.

SEEMA GAJWANI: So I know there were two cases that were up to today, one defendant¹⁴...

JOHNSON: Gajwani says that people used to doing things the traditional way have started to accept the new approach, people like Erika Clark.

ERIKA CLARK: I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a prosecutor¹.

JOHNSON: Clark has spent three years in the attorney general's office, but her commitment to the law goes back.

CLARK: My mother first suggested it to me, I think when I was maybe 6 or 7. On the playground, I would try to stick up for kids who were being bullied¹⁵. And just injustice¹⁶ in general has been very upsetting to me from a very young age.

JOHNSON: Clark remembers her first impression of restorative justice. She was skeptical¹⁷.

CLARK: Oh, OK. So we were not going to prosecute you. We're going to sit around in a circle with, like, the hippies down the hallway. And we're going to have a talk, and then you don't have any punishment.

JOHNSON: But with experience, Clark says, she's become a convert to the idea.

CLARK: I've come to believe that the public is actually safer if we can do a successful restorative justice conference rather than less safe - because if you can actually change the hearts and minds of this young person or these young people, then the hope is that they are less likely to reoffend.

JOHNSON: The attorney general's office says early data is showing signs the program is a success. And it's starting to include more serious offenses¹⁸, including assaults on police officers. Jason Dixon is with the Metro¹⁹ Transit²⁰ Police. He's also the victim of a crime. About a year-and-a-half ago, Dixon tried to break up a fight on the subway among a group of kids. Dixon got in between the kids in the scuffle, and he bore the brunt of the assault. He tore his rotator cuff²¹ and strained his knee. But when prosecutors called, Dixon opted²² for a restorative justice session rather than take the case to court.

JASON DIXON: If this was my son and somebody saw an opportunity to help him, I would hope that person would take that opportunity. You know? And I saw something in this young man that I felt like it was enough to me to say, hey, I know I'm injured, but I want to see how I can change his life to the point where he doesn't make a decision like this again.

JOHNSON: Afterward²³, the young man agreed to call Dixon once a week for six months, avoiding a possible criminal record. In the end, the officer wound up offering parenting advice to the 16-year-old who assaulted him, a new father himself.

DIXON: I really feel like this program opens up doors for kids that don't - have a lot of doors shut in their face.

JOHNSON: This program is underway in a city where police interactions with young people have become very public and very controversial.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: All right. This video of D.C. police running down a 9-year-old and handcuffing him is going viral. It is the third such incident in about four months where D.C.'s police practices with children are being questioned.

JOHNSON: The police department declined an interview request about that issue, but the attorney general's office is reviewing how the police handle encounters with young people.

Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

1 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。

2 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。

3 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

4 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？

5 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

6 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

7 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。

8 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

9 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。

10 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

11 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

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

14 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

15 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 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

19 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

20 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

21 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

22 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

23 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。