How I help free innocent people from prison | Ronald Sullivan

翻译人员: xiao gu 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

So, imagine that you take a 19-hour, very long drive

想象你用了19小时，

to Disney World,

开车去迪斯尼，

with two kids in the back seat.

两个孩子坐在车后座。

And 15 minutes into this 19-hour trip,

在这 19 小时的行程中，

the immutable laws of nature dictate

每隔 15 分钟，

that you get the question:

你都会被问同一个问题：

"Are we there yet?"

“我们还没有到吗？”

(Laughter)

（笑）

So you answer this question a hundred more times, easily,

你要回答上百次，简单的说，

in the negative,

“还没有”，

but you finally arrive.

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,

当你到家时，

the police are waiting on you.

警察在等你。

They accuse you of committing a crime

他们指控你犯罪了，

that occurred while you were away in Florida.

那时候你还在佛罗里达。

You tell anybody and everybody who will listen,

你竭力想要告诉每个人，

"I didn't do it!

“我什么也没有做！

I couldn't have done it!

我怎么会做这个！

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.

没人相信你。

Ultimately, you're arrested,

最后，你被捕了，

you're tried,

被审判，

you're convicted

被定罪，

and you are sentenced.

被判刑。

And you spend 25 years in jail,

你需要在监狱里呆 25 年，

until someone comes along and proves --

直到有人替你证明——

has the evidence to prove --

有证据证明——

that you actually were in Florida

案发时，你的确

when this crime was committed.

人在佛罗里达。

So.

就是这样。

So, I'm a Harvard Law professor,

我是哈佛大学的一位法律教授，

and the last several years, I have worked on

过去几年，我一直致力于

winning the release of innocent people

帮助被误判的无辜人员

who've been wrongfully convicted --

被无罪释放——

people like Jonathan Fleming,

比如 Jonathan Fleming，

who spent 24 years, eight months in jail

因为发生在纽约布鲁克林区

for a murder that was committed in Brooklyn, New York,

的一桩谋杀案，在监狱里 呆了 24 年零 8 个月，

while he was in Disney World

而案发时他正在迪斯尼乐园，

with his kids.

和孩子们在一起。

How do we know this?

我们如何知道的？

Because when he was arrested,

因为当他被捕时，

among his property in his back pocket

在他的后口袋中

was a receipt --

有一张收据。

time-stamped receipt

盖有时间印章的收据，

that showed that he was in Disney World.

显示他就在迪斯尼乐园。

That receipt was put in the police file,

收据放在警察局档案袋中，

a copy of it was put in the prosecutor's file,

收据复印件在检察官的档案袋中，

and they never gave it to his public defender.

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,

我的团队审查案卷时发现了它，

did the rest of the investigation,

完成了调查，

and figured out someone else committed the crime.

发现了真正的罪犯。

Mr. Fleming was in Disney World,

Fleming 先生当时在迪斯尼，

and he is now released.

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.

3 年前，Brooklyn 地区检察官电话我，

He asked whether I'd be interested in designing a program

问我是否有兴趣设计一个项目，

called a "conviction review unit."

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

定罪重审小组是 检察官办公室的一个部门，

where prosecutors look at their past cases

检察官会重看以前的案子，

to determine whether or not they made mistakes.

判断是否有错误。

Over the course of the first year,

在第一年，

we found about 13 wrongful convictions,

我们发现 13 个错误定罪，

people having been in jail for decades,

这些人已经入狱几十年了，

and we released all of them.

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,

该项目还在继续中，

and they're up to 21 releases now --

已有 21 人被释放——

21 people who spent significant time behind bars.

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

我要给你们说说我在这个项目中

that I interacted with in the course of this program.

所接触到的几个人的故事。

One name is Roger Logan.

有一个人叫 Roger Logan，

Mr. Logan had been in jail 17 years

他被判入狱 17 年，

and wrote me a letter.

他给我写了一封信。

It was a simple letter; it basically said,

信的内容很简单，说的是，

"Professor Sullivan, I'm innocent. I've been framed.

“Sullivan 教授，我是无辜的， 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,

咋一看，案子的判决似乎无可争议，

but my research had shown

但我的调查显示，

that single-witness identification cases

唯一目击证人作证的案件

are prone to error.

通常很容易出错。

It doesn't mean he was innocent,

不是说他无罪，

而是我们应该更加仔细审核这些案件。

it just means we ought to look a little bit closer at those cases.

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,

目击证人说她听见枪响，

and she ran to the next building and turned around and looked,

跑到隔壁楼里，四处查看，

and there was Mr. Logan.

发现 Logan 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:

客气的说：

Usain Bolt couldn't have run from where she said she was

Usain Bolt 女士不可能从她说的地方

to the other spot.

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。

So it still didn't mean that he didn't do it,

我们不是说他没有作案，

but we knew something was maybe fishy about this witness.

但我们认为目击证人可疑。

So we looked through the file,

于是我们全面查看了卷宗，

a piece of paper in the file had a number on it.

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

我们重新追溯了 20 年前的纸质文件，

to figure out what this record was about,

想弄清这个记录到底是什么。

and it turned out -- it turned out --

最后我们发现，

the eyewitness was in jail

当目击人说她在犯罪现场时，

when she said she saw what she saw.

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,

最后一个案子有关两个男孩。

Willie Stuckey, David McCallum.

Willie Stuckey 和 Daid McCallum。

They were arrested at 15,

他们被捕时 15 岁，

and their conviction was vacated 29 years later.

29 年后被无罪释放。

Now this was a case,

在这个案子中，

once again -- first blush, it looked open and shut.

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

但我经过研究发现，少年招供时

without a parent present

父母不在场，

are prone to error.

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,

我们研究了招供书，

and it turned out,

结果发现，

there was something in the confession

在招供书中有些内容

that those boys could not have known.

这些男孩并不知情，

The only people who knew it were police and prosecutors.

只有警察和检察官知情。

We knew what really happened;

真实情况是：

someone told them to say this.

有人指示他们这么做。

We don't exactly know who,

我们不知道他们具体是

which person did,

受了谁的指示。

but any rate, the confession was coerced,

但无论如何，他们是被逼认罪的，

we determined.

我们对此确信无疑。

We then went back and did forensics

于是我们回头开始取证，

and did a fulsome investigation

进行了事无巨细的调查，

and found that two other,

最后发现是另外两个

much older, different heights, different hairstyle,

年龄更大，有着不同的身高和发型

two other people committed the crime,

的人实施了犯罪，

not these two boys.

而不是这两个男孩。

I actually went to court that day,

我当天出席了

for what's called a "vacatur hearing,"

“Vacatur 听证会”，

where the conviction is thrown out.

罪名当场被推翻。

I went to court; I wanted to see

我想亲眼看着

Mr. McCallum walk out of there.

McCallum 先生走出法庭。

So I went to court,

于是我去了法庭，

and the judge said something that judges say all the time,

法官说了一句 他们经常说的话，

but this took on a really special meaning.

但这次却有非常特殊的意义。

He looked up after the arguments and said,

他看完论证结果后，

"Mr. McCallum,"

“McCallum先生，”

he said five beautiful words:

他说了 5 个漂亮的词：

"You are free to go."

“你现在自由了。”

Can you imagine?

能想象吗？

After just about 30 years:

在 30 多年后：

"You are free to go."

“你现在自由了。”

And he walked out of that courtroom.

他径直走出了法庭。

Unfortunately, his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,

不幸的是，他的伙伴，Stuckey 先生

didn't get the benefit of that.

没有等到这一天。

You see, Mr. Stuckey died in prison

他在 34 岁时

at 34 years old,

死在了狱中。

and his mother sat at counsel table in his place.

他的母亲坐在律师桌边， 他本该坐着的位置上。

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,

她在桌子前不停前后摇摆，说道，

"I knew my baby didn't do this.

“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,

如果我们可以从公正定罪

with this conviction integrity work,

过程中学到什么，

it's that justice doesn't happen.

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

司法公正不是自上而下，

and makes everything right.

让一切都正确。

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

如果是这样，Stuckey 先生 就不会死在狱中。

Justice is something

正义是

that people of goodwill make happen.

怀有良好意愿的人创造的。

Justice is a decision.

正义是一个决定，

Justice is a decision.

一个决定。

We make justice happen.

我们决定创造正义。

You know, the scary thing is,

可怕的是，

in each of these three cases I described,

在我描述的 3 个案例中，

it would have only taken just an extra minute --

只要多花一分钟——

an extra minute --

多花一分钟——

for someone to look through the file

有人多看一眼案卷，

and find this receipt.

发现那张收据，

Just one -- to look through the file, find the receipt,

就多看一眼案卷，发现收据，

give it to the public defender.

交给公诉辩护人，

It would have taken someone just a minute

仅仅多花一分钟

to look at the video confession and say, "That cannot be."

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 Stuckey 先生今天还活着。

It reminds me of one of my favorite poems.

这让我联想到我很喜爱的一首诗，

It's a poem that Benjamin Elijah Mays would always recite,

Benjamin Elijha Mays 总是引用这首诗，

and he called it "God's Minute."

并把它称为“上帝的一分钟”。

And it goes something like this:

诗是这样的：

"I have only just a minute,

“我只有一分钟，

only 60 seconds in it,

60 秒，

forced upon me, can't refuse it,

强加到我身上，无法拒绝，

didn't seek it, didn't choose it.

我没有寻找它，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,

一瞬间

but eternity is in it."

即永恒。”

If I were to charge

如果我能指控

each and every one of us,

我们每个人，

I would want to say something like,

我想说，

"Every day,

“每一天，

every day,

每一天，

take just one extra minute

多花一分钟

and do some justice.

来伸张正义。

You don't have to --

你不必

I mean, some people spend their careers and their lives,

像公诉人一样，

like public defenders,

终其一生，

doing justice every day.

每天都要断案。

But in your professional lives, whatever you do,

但在你的职业生涯中， 无论做什么，

take time out

都要留出点儿时间，

to just

为了

do some justice.

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,

如果你听到有关性别歧视的言论，

don't laugh, speak up.

不要笑，大声抗议。

If someone is down, lift them up,

如果有人生活不顺，拉他们一把，

one extra minute each day,

每天一分钟，

and it'll be a great, great place.

世界就会变得更美好。

I want to show you something.

大家可以看看

Now, above me is a picture

我头顶上这张照片，

of David McCallum.

这个人是 David McCallum。

This is the day he was released from prison.

这天他出狱了。

After 30 years, he got to hug a niece

时隔 30 年，他第一次拥抱了自己

he had never been able to touch before.

从未见过的侄女。

And I asked him then,

我问他，

I said, "What's the first thing you want to do?"

“你最想做的第一件事是什么？”

And he said, "I just want to walk on the sidewalk

他回答，“我想在人行道上走走，

without anybody telling me where to go."

不需要别人告诉我该去哪里。”

Wasn't bitter,

多简单，

just wanted to walk on the sidewalk.

想走在人行道上。

I spoke to Mr. McCallum about two weeks ago.

两周前，我和 Mccallum 先生谈了一次话，

I went to New York.

我去了纽约，

It was on the two-year anniversary

那是在他出狱的

of his release.

两周年纪念日。

And we talked,

我们一起聊天，

we laughed, we hugged, we cried.

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

见面时，他说了一件事，

is that he now has dedicated his life

从现在开始，他会奉献自己的一生，

and his career

奉献自己的职业生涯，

to ensuring that nobody else is locked up unjustly.

确保不再有人被不公平对待。

Justice, my friends,

声张正义，我的朋友们，

is a decision.

这是一个决定。

Thank you very much.

谢谢你们。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）