TED学院｜旧金山一男子“看热闹却被冤枉入狱20年”，30年后获$800万赔偿

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　　演讲者：Ronald Sullivan

　　演讲题目：How I help free innocent people from prison

　　

　　So, imagine that you take a 19-hour, very long drive to Disney World, with two kids in the back seat.

　　想象一下，你开车19个小时去迪斯尼，两个孩子坐在后座上。

　　And 15 minutes into this 19-hour trip, the immutable laws of nature dictate that you get the question: "Are we there yet?"

　　在这19小时的行程中，每隔15分钟，你都会被问同一个问题：“我们还没有到吗？”

　　So you answer this question a hundred more times, easily, in the negative, but you finally arrive.

　　你要简单地回答上百次，“还没有”，最后终于到达了。

　　You have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip.

　　你的旅行非常精彩。

　　You drive 19 long hours back home.

　　之后开车19小时回到家。

　　And when you get there, the police are waiting on you.

　　当你到家时，警察在等你。

　　They accuse you of committing a crime that occurred while you were away in Florida.

　　他们指控你犯罪了，那时候你还在佛罗里达。

　　You tell anybody and everybody who will listen, "I didn't do it!

　　你竭力想要告诉每个人，“我什么也没有做！

　　I couldn't have done it!

　　我不可能做的！

　　I was hanging out with Mickey and Minnie and my kids!"

　　我和米老鼠唐老鸭还有我的孩子在一起！”

　　But no one believes you.

　　但没人相信你。

　　Ultimately, you're arrested, you're tried, you're convicted and you are sentenced.

　　最终，你被逮捕，被审判，你被定罪，你被判刑。

　　And you spend 25 years in jail,

　　你在监狱里呆了25年，

　　until someone comes along and proves -- has the evidence to prove -- that you actually were in Florida when this crime was committed.

　　直到有人替你证明——有证据证明——案发时，你的确人在佛罗里达。

　　So.

　　就是这样。

　　So, I'm a Harvard Law professor, and the last several years,

　　我是哈佛大学的一位法律教授，过去几年，

　　I have worked on winning the release of innocent people who've been wrongfully convicted -- people like Jonathan Fleming, who spent 24 years,

　　我一直致力于帮助被误判的无辜人员被无罪释放——比如像乔纳森·弗莱明这样的人，

　　eight months in jail for a murder that was committed in Brooklyn, New York, while he was in Disney World with his kids.

　　零8个月，起因是一桩发生在纽约布鲁克林区谋杀案，而案发时他正在迪斯尼乐园，和孩子们在一起。

　　How do we know this?

　　我们怎么知道的？

　　Because when he was arrested, among his property in his back pocket was a receipt -- time-stamped receipt that showed that he was in Disney World.

　　因为当他被捕时，在他的后口袋中有一张收据，盖有时间印章的收据，显示他就在迪斯尼乐园。

　　That receipt was put in the police file, a copy of it was put in the prosecutor's file, and they never gave it to his public defender.

　　收据放在警察局档案袋中，收据复印件在检察官的档案袋中，他们从没有拿出来给公设辩护人看。

　　In fact, nobody even knew it was there.

　　实际上，根本没有人知道这个收据的存在。

　　It just sat there for 20-some-odd years.

　　它在档案中被封存了20多年。

　　My team looked through the file, and we found it, did the rest of the investigation, and figured out someone else committed the crime.

　　我的团队审查案卷时发现了它，完成了调查，发现了真正的罪犯。

　　Mr. Fleming was in Disney World, and he is now released.

　　弗莱明先生当时在迪斯尼，如今他被释放了。

　　Let me give you a little bit of context.

　　让我再多介绍一点。

　　So about three years ago, I got a call from the Brooklyn District Attorney.

　　大约三年前，我接到布鲁克林地区检察官的电话。

　　He asked whether I'd be interested in designing a program called a "conviction review unit."

　　他问我是否有兴趣设计一个项目，叫“定罪重审小组”。

　　So I said yes.

　　我同意了。

　　A conviction review unit is essentially a unit in a prosecutor's office where prosecutors look at their past cases to determine whether or not they made mistakes.

　　定罪重审小组是检察官办公室的一个部门，检察官会重看以前的案子，判断是否有错误。

　　Over the course of the first year, we found about 13 wrongful convictions, people having been in jail for decades, and we released all of them.

　　在第一年，我们发现13个错误定罪，这些人已经入狱几十年了，我们协助释放了他们。

　　It was the most in New York history.

　　这是纽约历史之最。

　　The program is still going on, and they're up to 21 releases now -- 21 people who spent significant time behind bars.

　　该项目还在继续中，已有21人被释放——这21人都在监狱待了很多年。

　　So let me tell you about a couple other of the men and women that I interacted with in the course of this program.

　　我要给你们说说我在这个项目中所接触到的几个人的故事。

　　One name is Roger Logan.

　　其中一个人名叫罗杰·洛根。

　　Mr. Logan had been in jail 17 years and wrote me a letter.

　　洛根先生被判入狱17年，他给我写了一封信。

　　It was a simple letter; it basically said, "Professor Sullivan, I'm innocent.

　　信的内容很简单，说的是，“沙利文教授，我是无辜的。

　　I've been framed.

　　我被陷害了。

　　Can you look at my case?"

　　你能重新看我的案卷吗？”

　　At first blush, the case seemed like it was open and shut, but my research had shown that single-witness identification cases are prone to error.

　　乍一看，案子的判决似乎无可争议，但我的调查显示，唯一目击证人作证的案件通常很容易出错。

　　It doesn't mean he was innocent, it just means we ought to look a little bit closer at those cases.

　　不是说他无罪，而是我们应该更加仔细审核这些案件。

　　So we did.

　　于是我们这样做了。

　　And the facts were relatively simple.

　　事实比较简单。

　　The eyewitness said she heard a shot, and she ran to the next building and turned around and looked,

　　目击证人说她听见枪响，跑到隔壁楼里，四处查看，

　　and there was Mr. Logan.

　　发现洛根先生在现场。

　　And he was tried and convicted and in jail for 17-some-odd years.

　　他随后被判有罪，需要服刑17年。

　　But it was a single-witness case, so we took a look at it.

　　因为只有一个目击证人，所以我们仔细查看了案件。

　　I sent some people to the scene, and there was an inconsistency.

　　我派了一些人去现场，发现了矛盾的地方。

　　And to put it politely: Usain Bolt couldn't have run from where she said she was to the other spot.

　　客气的说：尤塞恩·博尔特女士不可能从她说的地方跑到事发现场。

　　Right?

　　明白吗？

　　So we knew that wasn't true.

　　我们知道这不是事实。

　　Right? so it still didn't mean that he didn't do it, but we knew something was maybe fishy about this witness.

　　我们不是说他没有作案，但我们认为目击证人可疑。

　　So we looked through the file, a piece of paper in the file had a number on it.

　　于是我们全面查看了卷宗，档案中有张写有号码的纸条，

　　The number indicated that this witness had a record.

　　表明目击者有犯罪记录。

　　We went back through 20 years of non-digitized papers to figure out what this record was about,

　　我们重新追溯了20年前的纸质文件，想弄清这个记录到底是什么。

　　and it turned out -- it turned out -- the eyewitness was in jail when she said she saw what she saw.

　　最后我们发现，当目击人说她在犯罪现场时，她其实正在监狱里服刑。

　　The man spent 17 years behind bars.

　　这男人在狱中白白待了17年。

　　The last one is a case about two boys, Willie Stuckey, David McCallum.

　　最后一个案子有关两个男孩，威利·斯塔基，大卫·麦卡勒姆。

　　They were arrested at 15, and their conviction was vacated 29 years later.

　　他们被捕时15岁，29年后被无罪释放。

　　Now this was a case, once again -- first blush, it looked open and shut.

　　在这个案子中，再一次，乍一看没有疑点。

　　They had confessed.

　　他们都认罪。

　　But my research showed that juvenile confessions without a parent present are prone to error.

　　但我经过研究发现，少年招供时父母不在场，他们很容易被误导认罪。

　　The DNA cases proved this several times.

　　DNA检测已经多次证实了这个事实。

　　So we took a close look.

　　所以我们进行了全面审查。

　　We looked at the confession, and it turned out, there was something in the confession that those boys could not have known.

　　我们研究了招供书，结果发现，在招供书中有些内容这些男孩并不知情，

　　Only people who knew it were police and prosecutors.

　　只有警察和检察官知情。

　　We knew what really happened; someone told them to say this.

　　真实情况是：有人指示他们这么做。

　　We don't exactly know who, which person did, but any rate, the confession was coerced, we determined.

　　我们不知道他们具体是受了谁的指示，但无论如何，他们是被逼认罪的，我们对此确信无疑。

　　We then went back and did forensics and did a fulsome investigation and found that two other, much older, different heights, different hairstyle,

　　于是我们回头开始取证，进行了事无巨细的调查，最后发现是另外两个年龄更大，有着不同的身高和发型的人，

　　two other people committed the crime, not these two boys.

　　是他们两个实施了犯罪，而不是这两个男孩。

　　I actually went to court that day, for what's called a "vacatur hearing," where the conviction is thrown out.

　　我当天出席了“Vacatur听证会”，罪名当场被推翻。

　　I went to court.

　　我去了法庭。

　　I wanted to see Mr. McCallum walk out of there.

　　我想亲眼看着麦卡勒姆先生走出法庭。

　　So I went to court, and the judge said something that judges say all the time, but this took on a really special meaning.

　　于是我去了法庭，法官说了一句他们经常说的，但这次却显得意义非常特殊的话。

　　He looked up after the arguments and said, "Mr. McCallum,"

　　他看完论证结果后，“麦卡勒姆先生，”

　　said five beautiful words: "You are free to go."

　　他说了5个漂亮的词：“你现在自由了。”

　　Can you imagine?

　　你能想象吗？

　　After just about 30 years: "You are free to go."

　　在30多年后：“你现在自由了。”

　　And he walked out of that courtroom.

　　然后他走出了法庭。

　　Unfortunately, his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey, didn't get the benefit of that.

　　不幸的是，他的伙伴，斯塔基先生没有等到这一天。

　　You see, Mr. Stuckey died in prison at 34 years old,

　　他在34岁时死在了狱中。

　　and his mother sat at counsel table in his place.

　　他的母亲代替他坐在律师桌边。

　　I'll never forget this the rest of my life.

　　我这一生都不会忘记这个时刻。

　　She just rocked at the table, saying, "I knew my baby didn't do this.

　　她在桌子前不停前后摇摆，说道，“我知道我的孩子没有做这种事。

　　I knew my baby didn't do this."

　　我知道他没做。”

　　And her baby didn't do this.

　　她的孩子的确没有做。

　　Two other guys did it.

　　是另外两个人做的。

　　If there's anything that we've learned, anything that I've learned, with this conviction integrity work, it's that justice doesn't happen.

　　如果我们可以从公正定罪过程中学到什么，那就是，正义不会自己出现。

　　People make justice happen.

　　要人为创造正义。

　　Justice is not a thing that just descends from above and makes everything right.

　　司法公正不是自上而下，让一切都正确。

　　If it did, Mr. Stuckey wouldn't have died in prison.

　　如果是这样，斯塔基先生就不会死在狱中。

　　Justice is something that people of goodwill make happen.

　　正义是怀有良好意愿的人创造的。

　　Justice is a decision.

　　正义是一种决定。

　　Justice is a decision.

　　正义是一种决定。

　　We make justice happen.

　　我们决定创造正义。

　　You know, the scary thing is, in each of these three cases I described,

　　可怕的是，在我描述的3个案例中，

　　it would have only taken just an extra minute -- an extra minute -- for someone to look through the file and find this receipt.

　　只要多花一分钟——多花一分钟——有人多看一眼案卷，发现那张收据。

　　Just one -- to look through the file, find the receipt, give it to the public defender.

　　就多看一眼案卷，发现收据，交给公诉辩护人。

　　It would have taken someone just a minute to look at the video confession and say, "That cannot be."

　　仅仅多花一分钟看着认罪视频说，“不可能”。

　　Just a minute.

　　仅仅多花一分钟。

　　And perhaps Mr. Stuckey would be alive today.

　　也许斯塔基先生今天还活着。

　　It reminds me of one of my favorite poems.

　　这让我想起了我最喜欢的一首诗。

　　It's a poem that Benjamin Elijah Mays would always recite, and he called it "God's Minute."

　　本杰明·伊莱贾·梅斯总是引用这首诗，并把它称为“上帝的一分钟”。

　　And it goes something like this: "I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it, forced upon me, can't refuse it, didn't seek it,

　　诗是这样的：“我只有一分钟，60秒，强加到我身上，无法拒绝，我没有寻找它，

　　didn't choose it.

　　没有选择它。

　　But it's up to me to use it.

　　但它任我使用。

　　I must suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it.

　　一旦失去，我将遭受痛苦；一旦滥用，我将遭受惩罚。

　　Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it."

　　一瞬间即永恒。”

　　If I were to charge each and every one of us, I would want to say something like, "Every day, every day,

　　如果我能指控我们每个人，我想说，“每一天，每一天，

　　take just one extra minute and do some justice.

　　多花一分钟来伸张正义。

　　You don't have to -- I mean, some people spend their careers and their lives, like public defenders, doing justice every day.

　　你不必像公诉人一样，终其一生，每天都要断案。

　　But in your professional lives, whatever you do, take time out to just do some justice.

　　但在你的职业生涯中，无论做什么，都要留出点儿时间，为了声张正义。

　　Make a colleague feel better.

　　让身边的同事感觉好些。

　　If you hear something that's sexist, don't laugh, speak up.

　　如果你听到有关性别歧视的言论，不要笑，大声抗议。

　　If someone is down, lift them up, one extra minute each day, and it'll be a great, great place.

　　如果有人生活不顺，拉他们一把，每天一分钟，世界就会变得更美好。

　　Now, I want to show you something.

　　大家可以看看我头顶上这张照片。

　　Now, above me is a picture of David McCallum.

　　这个人是大卫·麦卡勒姆。

　　This is the day he was released from prison.

　　这是他出狱的那一天。

　　After 30 years, he got to hug a niece he had never been able to touch before.

　　时隔30年，他第一次拥抱了自己从未见过的侄女。

　　And I asked him then, I said, "What's the first thing you want to do?"

　　我问他，“你最想做的第一件事是什么？”

　　And he said, "I just want to walk on the sidewalk without anybody telling me where to go."

　　他回答，“我想在人行道上走走，不需要别人告诉我该去哪里。”

　　Wasn't bitter, just wanted to walk on the sidewalk.

　　多简单，想走在人行道上。

　　I spoke to Mr. McCallum about two weeks ago.

　　两周前，我和麦卡勒姆先生谈了一次话。

　　I went to New York.

　　我去了纽约。

　　It was on the two-year anniversary of his release.

　　那是在他出狱的两周年纪念日。

　　And we talked, we laughed, we hugged, we cried.

　　我们一起聊天，欢笑，拥抱，哭泣。

　　And he's doing quite well.

　　他很好。

　　And one of the things he said when we met with him is that he now has dedicated his life and his career to ensuring that nobody else is locked up unjustly.

　　见面时，他说了一件事，从现在开始，他会奉献自己的一生，奉献自己的职业生涯，确保不再有人被不公平对待。

　　Justice, my friends, is a decision.

　　声张正义，我的朋友们，这是一个决定。

　　Thank you very much.

　　非常感谢。

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