Community-powered criminal justice reform | Raj Jayadev

Translator: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

翻译人员: Nan Yang 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

This is my favorite protest shirt.

这是我最喜欢的抗议上衣，

It says, "Protect your people."

上面写着，“保护你的人民”。

We made it in the basement of our community center.

它是在我们社区中心 的地下室里制作的。

I've worn it at rallies,

我在所有针对警察暴力的集会，

at protests and marches,

抗议，游行

at candlelight vigils

和那些失去心爱之人的

with families who have lost loved ones to police violence.

烛光守夜活动中都穿着它。

I've seen how this ethic of community organizing

我们已经看见了， 这种社区组织的热情

has been able to change arresting practices,

能够改变逮捕行为，

hold individual officers accountable

让各个官员全体更有责任感，

and allow families to feel strong and supported

并且让家属在他们生命中 最黑暗的时刻

in the darkest moments of their lives.

感受到支持与力量。

But when a family would come to our center

但是当一位家属来到我们中心

and say, "My loved one got arrested, what can we do?"

问，“我爱的人被逮捕了， 我们能做什么？”

we didn't know how to translate

我们不知道如何

the power of community organizing that we saw on the streets

将我们在街头看到的社区组织力量

into the courts.

转移到法庭上去。

We figured we're not lawyers,

我们意识到因为我们不是律师，

and so that's not our arena to make change.

那不是我们 能去创造改变的领域。

And so despite our belief in collective action,

所以，尽管我们相信 集体行动的力量，

we would allow people that we cared about

我们还是只能让我们在乎的人，

to go to court alone.

独自去面对法庭。

Nine out of ten times -- and this is true nationally --

全国范围都是如此 ——十有八九

they couldn't afford their own attorney,

他们没法负担律师费，

and so they'd have a public defender, who is doing heroic work,

所以他们只能用公设辩护人， 这些律师做着伟大的工作，

but was often under-resourced

但是经常资源不足，

and stretched bare with too many cases.

而且被过多的案子搞得分身乏术。

They would face prosecutors aiming for high conviction rates,

他们要面对的法官， 瞄准的目标往往是高定罪率、

mandatory minimum sentences

强制最低刑罚，

and racial bias baked into every stage of the process.

以及在受检过程中 每个阶段里都少不了种族偏见。

And so, facing those odds,

所以，面对这些干扰性因素，

stripped away from the power of community,

社区的力量再次被夺走，

unsure how to navigate the courts,

不确定要如何在法庭上辩护，

over 90 percent of people that face a criminal charge in this country

这个国家里面对 犯罪指控的人中有超过九成

will take a plea deal.

会接受认罪协议。

Meaning, they'll never have their fabled day in court

意思是，他们永远无法在法庭上有

that we talk about in television shows and in movies.

像我们在电视和电影里 展示的那种传奇逆袭的一天。

And this is the untold part of the story of mass incarceration in America --

这也是美国大量入狱事件中 不为人知的一部分——

how we became the largest jailer in the world.

这导致了我们有世界上 最庞大的监狱系统。

Over two million people currently incarcerated in this country.

在这个国家有超过 两百万的人正在被关押。

And projections that say

而且据推测，

one out of three black men will see the inside of a prison cell

三个黑人中就会有一个人

at some point in their life on this trajectory.

将在人生的某个时刻 被送进监狱里。

But we have a solution.

但是我们有应对措施。

We decided to be irreverent to this idea

我们决心反抗这种

that only lawyers can impact the courts.

只有律师才能影响法庭的观点。

And to penetrate the judicial system

为了让有力量，有智慧 和聪明才智的社区组织

with the power, intellect and ingenuity of community organizing.

渗透进入司法系统。

We call the approach "participatory defense."

我们称这种方式为 “参与式辩护”。

It's a methodology for families and communities

这是一种为了那些 亲人正面对指控的

whose loved ones are facing charges,

家属和社区提出的方法，

and how they could impact the outcome of those cases

让他们知道要如何影响案子的结果，

and transform the landscape of power in the courts.

并转变法庭上权力的局势。

How it works is,

大概的流程是这样的：

families whose loved ones are facing criminal charges

面对刑事指控者的家属

will come to a weekly meeting,

会来参加每周的会议，

and it's half support group,

它算是个半支持小组，

half strategic planning session.

半策略制定会议。

And they'll build a community

他们会形成一个团体，

out of what otherwise would be an isolating and lonely experience.

这样他们就不需要独自面对。

And they'll sit in a circle,

他们会围坐成一个圈，

and write the names of their loved ones on a board,

把他们来到这要支持的

who they're there to support.

心爱之人的名字写在板子上。

And collectively,

然后大家一起，同心协力

the group will find out ways to tangibly and tactfully

找到能够切实并巧妙地

impact the outcome of that case.

影响案件审理结果的办法。

They'll review police reports to find out inconsistencies;

他们会审查警察报告， 来找到矛盾的地方；

they'll find areas that require

他们会找出需要辩护律师

more investigation by the defense attorney;

深入调查的地方；

and they'll go to court with each other,

而且互相陪同对方一起去法庭，

for the emotional support

提供情感上的支持，

but also so that the judge knows that the person standing before them

这也能让法官知道 在他面前的这个人，

is part of a larger community

有一个更强大的团体

that is invested in their well-being and success.

在为他们的福祉和成功付出。

And the results have been remarkable.

而且我们的成果是非常显著的。

We've seen charges get dismissed,

我们已经看见过有指控被取消，

sentences significantly reduced,

大规模的减刑，

acquittals won at trial

成功无罪释放，

and, sometimes, it has been literally lifesaving.

甚至有时候撤销死刑， 拯救了一个生命。

Like in the case of Ramon Vasquez.

例如，拉蒙·瓦斯奎兹 （Ramon Vasquez）的案子，

Father of two, family man, truck driver

他是两个孩子的父亲， 一个卡车司机，

and someone who was wrongfully charged with a gang-related murder

他被错误指控为 一个与帮派有关的杀人凶手，

he was totally innocent of,

而他是完全无辜的，

but was facing a life sentence.

但是即将面临着无期徒刑。

Ramon's family came to those meetings

拉蒙的家人在他被逮捕和扣押后，

shortly after his arrest and his detention,

很快就来参加了会议，

and they worked the model.

按照我们的方法模型工作。

And through their hard work,

通过他们的努力研究，

they found major contradictions in the case,

他们发现了案子中 有一个重大的矛盾，

gaping holes in the investigation.

是调查中的漏洞，

And were able to disprove dangerous assumptions by the detectives.

可以推翻警探的危险假设。

Like that the red hat that they found when they raided his home

报告上说当警察突袭他的家时， 发现的红色帽子

somehow affiliated him to a gang lifestyle.

指证他具备帮派的特征。

Through their photos and their records,

然而通过亲属的照片和记录，

they were able to prove that the red hat was from his son's Little League team

可以证明那个红色帽子其实是 来自于他儿子的少年棒球队的，

that Ramon coached on the weekends.

而拉蒙周末给那个队当教练。

And they produced independent information

而且他们找到了客观的信息，

that proved that Ramon was on the other side of town

可以证明拉蒙在凶案发生时，

at the time of the alleged incident,

正位于镇子的另一边，

through their phone records

证据是他们的手机记录，

and receipts from the stores that they attended.

和他们去过的商店发票。

After seven long months of hard work from the family,

家人们努力了长达七个月，

Ramon staying strong inside jail,

拉蒙在拘留所坚强等待，

they were able to get the charge dismissed.

最终他们成功使得指控被撤销。

And they brought Ramon home

然后他们带着拉蒙回家，

to live the life that he should have been living all along.

重新过上了他本该拥有的生活。

And with each new case,

针对每一个新案子，

the families identified new ways to flex the knowledge of the community

家属们都找了新的办法， 来灵活使用社区知识，

to have impact on the court system.

最终对法院系统产生影响。

We would go to a lot of sentencing hearings.

我们会去参加很多量刑听证会。

And when we would leave the sentencing hearing,

当我们离开听证会，

on the walk back to the parking lot

走向停车场时，

after someone's loved one just got sent to prison,

我们不太会听到那些，

the most common refrain we would hear

家属在自己的亲人被关进监狱后，

wasn't so much, "I hate that judge,"

通常会说的“我恨那个法官”，

or "I wish we had a new lawyer."

或者“我希望我们能 换一个律师。”之类的话。

What they would say was,

他们会说的是，

"I wish they knew him like we know him."

“我希望他们能像我们那样了解他。”

And so we developed tools and vehicles

所以我们开发了工具和方法，

for families to tell the fuller story of their loved one

让家属们能够更全面的 分享他们亲人的故事，

so they would be understood as more than just a case file.

这样他们就能够被更好地理解， 而不只是当作一个案件档案来看待。

They started making what we call social biography packets,

他们开始制作我们所谓的 社会人物传记包，

which is families making a compilation of photos and certificates and letters

也就是家属们整理的 照片，证书和书信，

that show past challenges and hardships and accomplishments,

用来展示过去他们 经历的艰辛和成就，

and future prospects and opportunities.

以及对未来的展望和机遇。

And the social biography [packets] were working so well in the courts,

这个人物传记包 在法庭上非常有用，

that we evolved it into social biography videos.

并且发展成了人物传记视频。

Ten-minute mini documentaries,

一个十分钟的小纪录片，

which were interviews of people in their homes,

里面采访了他们的家人，

and at their churches and at their workplace,

教堂，工作场所里的熟人，

explaining who the person was in the backdrop of their lives.

来说明在日常生活背景下， 他是一个怎样的人。

And it was a way for us to dissolve the walls of the court temporarily.

这是我们用来暂时打破 法院这面墙的方法。

And through the power of video,

通过视频的力量，

bring the judge out of the court and into the community,

把法官带出法庭，走入社区。

so that they would be able to understand the fuller context of someone's life

这样他们就可以了解 这个要被他们决定命运的

that they're deciding the fate of.

人的完整生活。

One of the first social biography projects that came out of our camp

最初来自于我们的人物传记之一

was by Carnell.

由卡内尔（Carnell) 制作。

He had come to the meetings

他曾经来过我们的会议，

because he had pled to a low-level drug charge.

因为他有轻量吸毒的前科。

And after years of sobriety,

而在多年的戒毒后，

got arrested for this one drug possession charge.

他因现在的毒品持有罪名被逮捕。

But he was facing a five-year prison sentence

由于加州量刑方案，

because of the sentencing schemes in California.

他面临着五年有期徒刑。

We knew him primarily as a dad.

我们对他的认识 主要是他父亲的身份。

He'd bring his daughters to the meetings

他会带着他的女儿们来参加会议，

and then play with them at the park across the street.

跟她们在街对面的公园里一起玩。

And he said, "Look, I could do the time,

他说：“看，

but if I go in, they're going to take my girls."

如果我坐牢了， 他们会带走我的女儿们。”

And so we gave him a camera

所以我们给了他一部照相机，

and said, "Just take pictures of what's like being a father."

告诉他，“把你当爸爸的样子拍下来。”

And so he took pictures of making breakfast for his daughters

所以他拍了他为女儿们做早餐，

and taking them to school,

送她们去学校，

taking them to after-school programs and doing homework.

然后送她们去课后班做作业的照片。

And it became this photo essay

而这些照片，

that he turned in to his lawyer who used it at the sentencing hearing.

在听证会时被交给了他的律师。

And that judge, who originally indicated a five-year prison sentence,

曾经考虑要给他 五年有期徒刑的法官，

understood Carnell in a whole new way.

了解到了卡内尔新的一面。

And he converted that five-year prison sentence

然后他修改了五年有期徒刑，

into a six-month outpatient program,

改成了六个月的门诊服务项目，

so that Carnell could be with his daughters.

这样卡内尔可以 跟他的女儿们在一起。

His girls would have a father in their life.

孩子们会继续有父亲的陪伴，

And Carnell could get the treatment that he was actually seeking.

而且卡内尔也可以 得到他需要的治疗。

We have one ceremony of sorts

我们在参与性辩护中，

that we use in participatory defense.

有一个仪式。

And I told you earlier that when families come to the meetings,

我之前说过家属们来参加会议时

they write the names of their loved ones on the board.

会把亲人的名字写在板子上。

那些名字是我们每周 通过家属的故事

Those are names that we all get to know, week in, week out,

through the stories of the family,

了解到的，

and we're rooting for and praying for and hoping for.

我们去祈求保佑， 来寄予希望的名字。

And when we win a case,

当我们赢了一个案件，

when we get a sentence reduced, or a charge dropped,

当我们得到了减刑，

or we win an acquittal,

或者无罪释放，

that person, who's been a name on the board,

那个人，曾经出现 在板子上的名字，

comes to the meeting.

也会来到这个会议。

And when their name comes up,

当他们的名字出现时候，

they're given an eraser,

我们会给他们一个橡皮擦，

and they walk over to the board

他们会走到板子前，

and they erase their name.

擦掉自己的名字。

And it sounds simple, but it is a spiritual experience.

这听起来很简单， 但这是个精神上的体验。

And people are applauding, and they're crying.

人们在鼓掌，他们在哭泣。

And for the families that are just starting that journey

而且对于其他家属们， 那些刚刚起步，

and are sitting in the back of the room,

坐在屋子后面的人，

for them to know that there's a finish line,

让他们知道有一条终点线，

that one day, they too might be able to bring their loved one home,

终有一天，他们可以 带自己的亲人回家，

that they could erase the name,

他们也可以擦掉那个名字，

is profoundly inspiring.

这很鼓舞人心。

We're training organizations all over the country now

我们现在在全国范围内 给一些组织做

in participatory defense.

这个参与性辩护的培训。

And we have a national network of over 20 cities.

我们的网络已经覆盖了 超过 20 个城市，

And it's a church in Pennsylvania,

包括宾夕法尼亚的教堂，

it's a parents' association in Tennessee,

田纳西的家长协会，

it's a youth center in Los Angeles.

洛杉矶的青年中心。

And the latest city that we just added to the national network

最近加入到这个网络

to grow and deepen this practice

来发展这个做法的城市

is Philadelphia.

是费城。

They literally just started their first weekly participatory defense meeting

实际上他们这周 刚刚进行了他们第一次的

last week.

参与性防御会议。

And the person that we brought from California to Philadelphia

而我们从加州带到费城，

to share their testimony, to inspire them to know what's possible,

去和大家分享证词， 激励他们相信一切可能性的

was Ramon Vasquez,

是拉蒙·瓦斯奎兹，

who went from sitting in a jail in Santa Clara County, California,

他离开了加州圣克拉拉郡的牢房，

to inspiring a community about what's possible

来鼓舞社区的人们相信

through the perseverance of community across the country.

通过大家的坚持不懈 可以带来很多可能性。

And with all the hubs, we still use one metric that we invented.

在所有的项目中心，我们仍在 使用一个我们发明的指标，

It's called time saved.

叫做"被拯救的时间"。

It's a saying that we actually still say at weekly meetings.

我们每周例会仍在提起，

And what we say when a family comes in a meeting for the first time is:

而且每当家属第一次来 参加会议时，我们也会提起：

if you do nothing,

如果你什么都不做，

the system is designed to give your loved one time served.

司法系统就会夺走 你所爱人生命里的时间。

That's the language the system uses to quantify time of incarceration.

这个说法是我们的系统 用来量化监禁时间的。

But if you engage, if you participate,

但是如果你介入并参与，

you can turn time served into time saved.

你可以把“被剥夺的时间” 变成“被拯救的时间”。

That's them home with you, living the life they should be living.

这些时间本应该是 他们在家里跟你们一起度过的。

So, Carnell, for example, would represent five years of time saved.

因此，例如卡内尔， 代表了五年的时间被拯救了。

So when we totaled our time saved numbers

当我们估算了所有

from all the different participatory defense hubs,

不同的参与性辩护案子，

through the work in the meetings and at court

通过会议上和法庭上的工作

and making social biography videos and packets,

制作人物传记视频和资料，

we had 4,218 years of time saved from incarceration.

我们已经有 4218 年 的时间被拯救了。

That is parents' and children's lives.

那是家长和孩子的生命。

Young people going to college instead of prison.

年轻人应该去上大学， 而不是呆在监狱。

We're ending generational cycles of suffering.

我们结束了一代代的痛苦循环。

And when you consider in my home state of California,

想一下我的家乡加州，

it costs 60,000 dollars to house someone in the California prison system,

在加州监狱体系里， 要花六万美元去养活一个人，

that means that these families are saving their states

说明这些家属为他们州

a ton of money.

省了很大一笔钱。

I'm not a mathematician, I haven't done the numbers,

我不是数学家，没有具体数字，

but that is money and resources that could be reallocated

但是这些钱和资源可以被

to mental health services,

用在心理健康服务，

to drug treatment programs, to education.

药物治疗计划和教育中来。

And we're now wearing this shirt in courts

现在我们在全国的法庭中，

all across the country.

都会穿这件衣服。

And people are wearing this shirt

人们穿这件衣服，

because they want the immediacy of protecting their people

因为他们想要在法庭上

in the courtroom.

直接地保护这些人。

But what we're telling them is,

但我们也是在告诉他们，

as practitioners, they're building a new field,

作为实践者， 他们正在构建一个新的领域，

a new movement

一场新的运动，

that is going to forever change the way justice is understood in this country.

而这将会永远改变大家 看待这个国家司法的方式。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）