【09.05.13 CNN】美国版佘祥林事件

noonoo

Man who spent 22 years on death row is cleared
美国一“死刑犯”含冤被囚22载后终获清白

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/12/death.row.exoneration/index.html

翻译：noonoo From Anti-CNN.com

May 12, 2009 -- Updated 0131 GMT (0931 HKT)
By  Bill Mears
CNN Supreme Court Producer





  WASHINGTON (CNN)-- A former death row inmate in Tennessee has been cleared of murder,three years after the Supreme Court raised repeated questions about his conviction.

一田纳西州的死刑犯终获清白。三年前，最高法院提出重审对他的判决。

State prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to drop all charges against Paul House, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in 1986. Special Judge Jon Blackwood accepted the request.

州检查官司在周二要求法官撤消所有对Paul House的指控，其在1986年因被控犯有谋杀罪而判处死刑。 主法官司接受了这个要求。

House had been scheduled to be executed next month for the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey. He had been on death row for 22 years but was released on bail last year. He has multiple sclerosis and must use a wheelchair.
The high court ruled in June 2006 that House was entitled to a new hearing.

House本来将在下个月被执行死刑，因被认定在1985年谋杀Carolyn Muncey的罪名成立。他已经在死囚牢里被关了22年，不过去年因为其得了多重硬化症需要坐轮椅而被保释。高级法院在2006年6月裁定House有权得到新的听证。

"Although the issue is closed, we conclude that this is the rare case where -- had the jury heard all the conflicting testimony -- it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror viewing the record as a whole would lack reasonable doubt," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the 5-3 majority.

“尽管这个问题已经结束，但是我们认为这是一个非常罕见的案例——陪审团听取了互相矛盾的证词——更应该是，没有一个理性的陪审员去纵观档案的整体，否则就不会缺乏合理的怀疑”，Anthony Kennedy针对5-3的（有罪表决）写道。（译注：这句翻译不是很会，请高手指正。）


   House's appeal was championed by the Innocence Project, affiliated with the Cardozo School of Law in New York.

House的上诉获得the innocence project(清白计划)的支持，此计划隶属于纽约Cardoco法律学校。

   "In the three years since the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into this case and sent it back to the trial court, substantial additional DNA testing and further investigation have shown that he is innocent," said Peter Neufeld, the group's co-director. "Each time a layer of this case was peeled away, it revealed more evidence of Paul House's innocence."

“自从美国最高法院涉入此案，并发回审判法庭重审后，这三年中，通过大量的DNA检测和进一步调查显示，他是清白的。”Peter Neufeld，此组织的主任说。“这个案件的每一层被剥开，就有更多证据显示Paul House 是清白的”

Muncey disappeared from her rural Luttrell,Tennessee, home on July 13, 1985. Her body was found a day later, badly beaten and showing signs of a struggle. She had been raped.

Muncey于1985年7月13日，在田纳西州，Luttrell的乡下的家中失踪的，她的尸体在次日被发现，尸体显示其在死前受到残忍的欧打并有挣扎的痕迹，同时死前遭到强奸。

House, who was on parole at the time as a sex offender, was questioned by police. He denied any involvement in the crime. He was a friend of Muncey's husband, but claimed he was in his own house several miles away the evening of the murder. But prosecutors found a hole in his alibi, discovering that he had left his home the night of the murder and returned about an hour later with unexplained cuts and bruises.

House，那时是一个假释期间的性侵罪犯，（案件发生后）他被警察审问， 他否认自己与此案有任何关联。他曾是Muncey丈夫的朋友， 但是他说他当时在凶案现场几里之外的家里。 但是检查官发现了他证辞的一个漏洞， 发现他在凶案发生当晚离家大约一个小时，并且回来时带有未经解释的伤痕。

Forensic evidence found Muncey's blood on House's jeans, but questions were later raised whether the samples were contaminated en route to an FBI lab for analysis.

法院的证据发现House的牛仔裤上有Muncey的血迹，但是后来产生了一些疑问，此样品是否是在前往联邦调查局的实验室进行分析时受污染？

Subsequent state-of-the art DNA testing conducted after the conviction showed that semen on the victim belonged to her husband, not House. Blood under her fingernails and cigarette butts discovered near the wooded crime scene also did not match the accused.

在他被判有罪之后，当今高先进的DNA测试表明受害人身上的精液属于他的丈夫，而不是House，她指甲里的血液及在离凶案现场不远烟头也与被告不匹配。


But prosecutors maintain that other evidence points to his guilt. Muncey's family has also continued to believe that House was involved in the crime.

但是检查官坚持称其它证据证明了他有罪， 而Muncey的家庭也相信House与此案脱不了干系。

In 2005, House told CNN he did not rape or kill Muncey, and he wondered why he was still on death row.
"I guess that's the million-dollar question," he said.

2005年，House告诉CNN，他并没有强奸和杀害Muncey，他很不明白自己为什么还被关在死囚牢里。“我猜那是“百万美元”的问题”，他说。


While maintaining his innocence, he said that lying to police about his whereabouts that night was a big mistake.

为了坚持自己的清白，他说，对警察谎报自己当晚的下落是（自己犯下的）一个极大的错误。

Kennedy, in his 2006 high court ruling, offered an extensive summary of the facts of the investigation, especially the DNA evidence, which he said might point to "a different suspect." Kennedy said jurors might conclude that Muncey's blood found on House's pants may have inadvertently spilled there during the autopsy or through mishandling by police at the crime scene.

Kennedy，在他2006年高级法院的判决里，提供了一个广泛的事实调查摘要，特别是DNA证据，他称其可能指向另一个“嫌疑人”。Kennedy说，陪审团可能以House的裤子上有Muncey的血液来下结论，但是这可能是在验尸时没注意的情况下洒上去的，也或能是在凶案现场的警察失手造成的。

District Attorney Paul Phillips wrote in his petition this week that he still believes House could have been convicted again in a new trial, "but the new evidence (including the forensic examinations)raises a reasonable doubt that he acted alone and the possibility that others were involved in the crime."

地方检查官司Paul Philips本周在他的陈情书上表示，他依然认为，House可能会在新的审判上再次被判有罪。“但是新的证据（包括法医的检查）提出了一个合理的怀疑，他是单独行动，并且凶手可能是其它人。”


But Phillips noted the "substantial sentence" House has served as another reason for the charges being dropped now.

但是Philips强调这次"具有实质意义"（译注：这句翻译不会，请高手指正）。虽然指控现在被取消，但是House因为另一个原因要继续服刑。

中华武士

美国的佘祥林？

rainne

美国有国家赔偿吗

rlsrls08

"Although the issue is closed, we conclude that this is the rare case where
-- had the jury heard all the conflicting testimony -- it is more likely
than not that no reasonable juror viewing the record as a whole would lack
reasonable doubt," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the 5-3 majority.

the 5-3 majority.的意思是8名陪审员，5名认为有罪，3名认为无罪。5比3，所以最后判决是有罪

But Phillips noted the "substantial sentence" House has served as another reason for the charges being dropped now.
但是Philips强调由于HOUSE"实际上已经服刑"，所以对他的指控应该撤销。