Californians to Vote on Ending Death Penalty

加州投票结束死刑

Californians will vote in November on whether to stop using execution as a form of punishment, or reform the legal process leading up to the death sentence.

加州将在11月投票是否停止使用死刑作为一种惩罚形式，或者是改革导致死刑的立法程序。

The state of California currently has about 750 people on death row. A lot of them were sentenced to die many years ago, but their cases are still being appealed in the courts.

加利福尼亚政府目前有近750人在死囚牢房。他们中的很多人在很多年前被判处死刑。但是他们的案件在法庭上仍被上诉。

Death penalty process broken

死刑程序被破坏

Activists on both sides of the issue agree that the current system needs to be fixed. Two competing ballot measures attempt to do this.

该问题的双边积极分子都表示目前的系统是需要修复的。双方的选票试图这样表达。

Proposition 62 would permanently abolish the death penalty in California. If it became law, death row prisoners would have their sentences changed to life in prison with no possibility of being released.

加州62号提案将永久性废除死刑。如果它变成法律，死刑囚犯没有被释放的可能性，将终身监禁。

Proposition 66 would try to speed up executions by reforming parts of the appeals process. The changes would set time limits on court appeals and make more lawyers available to dispute death penalty rulings.

加州66号提案将试图通过改革部分申诉程序加速死刑。该改变将设立法庭申诉的时间限制以及提供更多的律师质疑死刑判决。

Paula Mitchell is with Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California. She says Californians have spent way too much on executions since the state brought back the death penalty in 1978.

宝拉 米歇尔，洛杉矶洛约拉法学院。她说：自从1978年恢复死刑以来，加州已经在死刑上花费了太多。

Billions spent since 1978

自从1978年来，数以十亿的花费

“California taxpayers have spent $5 billion. The state has executed 13 people. Roughly 100 have died on death row before their appeals were finished or before the state could execute them.”

“加州纳税人已经花费了50亿”政府已经执行死刑13人。粗略统计约100人在申诉结束之前或者是政府执行死刑之前，已经死在死囚牢房。

Actor and activist Mike Farrell says the death penalty has killed innocent people. He claims it is used only against poor people and the poorly defended. “It entraps and kills the innocent. There is simply, in my view, no justice and no justification for it.”

演员和活动家麦克 法雷尔说：死刑已经杀死了许多无辜的人。他主张，死刑仅仅是用在贫穷的人和无钱辩护的人身上。“这欺骗了和杀死了无辜。在我看来，这是简单的，不公平的并且是没有正当理由的”

Former football player Kermit Alexander supports capital punishment. His mother, sister and two nephews were murdered in Los Angeles in 1984. But Alexander said he believes it should only be for justice, not revenge. The man found guilty of killing his family is still on death row, waiting in jail after more than 30 years.

前足球运动员凯米特 亚历山大支持死刑。他的妈妈，姐姐和两个侄女在1984年洛杉矶被谋杀。但是亚历山大说，他相信这仅仅应该是因为正义而不是报仇。该人有罪杀死他的家人，目前仍在死囚牢里，已经超过了30年。

In addition to California, 30 other American states have the death penalty. But it is rarely carried out in the United States.

除了加州，其他美国的30个州也有死刑。但是，在美国，却很少执行。

Sharp decline in U.S. Executions

美国死刑的极速下降

The rate of U.S. executions has fallen sharply over the past seven years. In 2009, 52 executions were carried out, according to the Washington D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center. In 2015, there were 28 executions. This year, there have been 15.

美国死刑率在过去的7年里已经极速下降。在2009年，据华盛顿死刑信息中心报道，52例死刑案已经执行。在2015年，28例。2016年，15例。

Many government lawyers say the punishment should be kept for people who carry out the very worst crimes.

许多政府律师说该刑法应该保留给那些严重犯罪的人。

Mike Hestrin is District Attorney for Riverside County, California. “I think it is a tool that we prosecutors need, and that the justice system needs, in order to appropriately punish people that commit outrageous and heinous crimes.

麦克 赫斯瑞（音译）是加州河滨县地方检察官。“为了适当的惩罚那些令人发指的罪犯和十恶不赦的罪行，死刑是我们检察官和司法系统需求的一种工具”

Hestrin added that executions are also a way for society to express anger at the crimes committed.

赫斯瑞强调：死刑也是社会表达对于犯下罪行的人的愤怒的一种途径。

Critics like Mike Farrell note that the United States is one of only a few democratic nations to keep the death penalty. “I think it corrupts the society. And I think it demeans us as people.”

评论家麦克 法雷尔指出美国为数不多的民主国家中保留死刑的国家之一。“我认为它腐化社会。并且我认为它贬低了作为人民的身份”

Californians will vote on the issue November 8.

加利福尼亚州将在11月8日投票该提案。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩 林恩报道。

Californians will vote in November on whether to stop using execution as a form of punishment, or reform the legal process leading up to the death sentence.

The state of California currently has about 750 people on death row. A lot of them were sentenced to die many years ago, but their cases are still being appealed in the courts.

Death penalty process broken

Activists on both sides of the issue agree that the current system needs to be fixed. Two competing ballot measures attempt to do this.

Proposition 62 would permanently abolish the death penalty in California. If it became law, death row prisoners would have their sentences changed to life in prison with no possibility of being released.

Proposition 66 would try to speed up executions by reforming parts of the appeals process. The changes would set time limits on court appeals and make more lawyers available to dispute death penalty rulings.

Paula Mitchell is with Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California. She says Californians have spent way too much on executions since the state brought back the death penalty in 1978.

Billions spent since 1978

“California taxpayers have spent $5 billion. The state has executed 13 people. Roughly 100 have died on death row before their appeals were finished or before the state could execute them.”

Actor and activist Mike Farrell says the death penalty has killed innocent people. He claims it is used only against poor people and the poorly defended. “It entraps and kills the innocent. There is simply, in my view, no justice and no justification for it.”

Former football player Kermit Alexander supports capital punishment. His mother, sister and two nephews were murdered in Los Angeles in 1984. But Alexander said he believes it should only be for justice, not revenge. The man found guilty of killing his family is still on death row, waiting in jail after more than 30 years.

In addition to California, 30 other American states have the death penalty. But it is rarely carried out in the United States.

Sharp decline in U.S. Executions

The rate of U.S. executions has fallen sharply over the past seven years. In 2009, 52 executions were carried out, according to the Washington D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center. In 2015, there were 28 executions. This year, there have been 15.

Many government lawyers say the punishment should be kept for people who carry out the very worst crimes.

Mike Hestrin is District Attorney for Riverside County, California. “I think it is a tool that we prosecutors need, and that the justice system needs, in order to appropriately punish people that commit outrageous and heinous crimes.

Hestrin added that executions are also a way for society to express anger at the crimes committed.

Critics like Mike Farrell note that the United States is one of only a few democratic nations to keep the death penalty. “I think it corrupts the society. And I think it demeans us as people.”

Californians will vote on the issue November 8.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

_______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

penalty – n. punishment for breaking a rule or law

death row – n. part of a prison where prisoners who will be killed as punishment for their crimes live until they are killed

abolish – v. officially end something

entrap – v. to lure someone into doing something by deception

revenge – n. the act of doing harm to someone in order to get even

heinous – adj. very bad or evil

demean – v. to lower in character, status or reputation