美最高法院废除青少年死刑

 

US Supreme¹ Court Abolishes Juvenile² Death Penalty

美最高法院废除青少年死刑

 

Opponents of capital punishment won a major victory at the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday.  By a vote of five to four, the high court ruled that it is now unconstitutional to execute criminals who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes.

 

The majority opinion striking down juvenile death sentences was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.  He noted³ what he called the "overwhelming weight of international opinion" that has moved against the juvenile death penalty in recent years.

 

Justice Kennedy also wrote that American society views juveniles⁴ as, in his words, "categorically less culpable⁵ than the average criminal" because of their lack of maturity⁶ and emotional stability.

 

Reaction from death penalty opponents was swift and positive.

 

Marsha Levick is with a group called the Juvenile Law Center in New York.

 

Ms. Levick: We cannot impose capital punishment on offenders⁷ who do not demonstrate the same degree of adult blameworthiness, adult culpability⁸ and mature judgment⁹ as adult offenders do.

 

The narrow five to four decision affects 19 states that had allowed offenders under the age of 18 to be put to death. The ruling abolishes death sentences for more than 70 murderers now on death row who committed their crimes when they were 16 or 17.  The Supreme Court outlawed¹¹ executions for those 15 and younger back in 1988.

 

The United States had been among a dwindling¹² handful of countries in recent years that still permitted juvenile executions.  Other nations that have been moving to end the practice include Iran, Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia.

 

Richard Dieter is the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a group based in Washington that opposes capital punishment.

 

Richard Dieter: What Justice Kennedy is saying is that if we look to serving in the military, voting, drinking, age 18 is a bright line. Surely, we should apply the same standard to those who can be executed.

 

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote a dissenting¹³ opinion for the four-member minority.  She argued that even though those under 18 may be less culpable for their crimes than adults, they should still be eligible¹⁴ for the death penalty depending on the severity of the offense¹⁵.

 

The decision was not welcome news for family members who have lost loved ones to teenage murderers.  Bill Green and Adolph Pena both lost children to killers¹⁶ who committed murder at the age of 17.

 

Bill Green: Well, the person who killed our son had already committed over 14 felonies account by the time he was 17 years old.

 

Adolph Pena: But I’d say one thing.  These 17-year-olds definitely knew what they were doing when they murdered my daughter.

 

The Death Penalty Information Center says 22 criminals have been executed for crimes committed when they were 16 or 17 since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.  

 

The latest ruling continues a trend on the Supreme Court in recent years to restrict the use of the death penalty.  The high court banned the execution of mentally retarded¹⁷ criminals in 2002, calling it a violation¹⁸ of the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

 

Jim Malone, VOA news, Washington.

 

注释：

capital punishment 死刑

juvenile [5dVu:vinail] adj. 青少年的

culpable [5kQlpEbl] adj. 该责备的，有罪的

outlaw¹⁰ [5autlC:] v. 宣布……为不合法

severity [si5veriti] n. 严重，激烈

felony [5felEni] n. [律]重罪

reinstate [5ri:in5steit] v. 恢复

retarded [ri5tB:did] adj. 智力迟钝的，发展迟缓的

1 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。

2 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

3 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。

4 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

5 culpable   

adj.有罪的，该受谴责的

参考例句：

• The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

6 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

7 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。

8 culpability   

n.苛责，有罪

参考例句：

• As if the estrangement between them had come of any culpability of hers. 姐弟俩疏远的责任竟仿佛落到了她的身上！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• The offence, as now defined in English law, covers a wide spectrum of culpability. 英国法律规定，违法包括很多种过失行为。 来自互联网

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

11 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

12 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

13 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

14 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

15 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

16 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

17 retarded   

a.智力迟钝的，智力发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
• He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很，许多人以为他智力低下。

18 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。