How I help free innocent people from prison | Ronald Sullivan

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Melody Tang

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

想像一下， 你開了 19 個小時的超長車程

to Disney World,

去迪士尼樂園。

with two kids in the back seat.

你的兩個孩子坐在後座。

And 15 minutes into this 19-hour trip,

在這 19 小時車程 開始的 15 分鐘左右，

the immutable laws of nature dictate

很自然地，

that you get the question:

你聽到孩子問：

"Are we there yet?"

「到了沒？」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

你還要回答這個問題至少一百次，

in the negative,

且答案都是否定的。

but you finally arrive.

你終於到了。

You have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip.

這個旅遊非常非常非常棒。

You drive 19 long hours back home.

你再開了 19 小時的車回家。

And when you get there,

當你回到家，

the police are waiting on you.

警察在等著你。

They accuse you of committing a crime

他們指控你犯了一項罪行，

that occurred while you were away in Florida.

案發時間是你遠在佛羅里達的時候。

You tell anybody and everybody who will listen,

你對所有肯聽的人說，

"I didn't do it!

「不是我做的！

I couldn't have done it!

不可能是我做的！

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

我當時和米奇、米妮 及我的孩子在一起啊！」

But no one believes you.

但沒人相信你。

Ultimately, you're arrested,

最終，你被逮捕了，

you're tried,

你受了審判，

you're convicted

你被定了罪，

and you are sentenced.

然後你被判了刑。

And you spend 25 years in jail,

你在牢裡待了 25 年，

until someone comes along and proves --

直到有人出現並證明——

has the evidence to prove --

有證據可以證明——

that you actually were in Florida

其實當犯罪發生時，

你人在佛羅里達。

when this crime was committed.

So.

各位，

So, I'm a Harvard Law professor,

我是哈佛的法律教授，

and the last several years, I have worked on

在過去幾年，我致力於

winning the release of innocent people

成功地釋放無辜的人，

who've been wrongfully convicted --

他們被誤判而定罪——

people like Jonathan Fleming,

像是強納森·佛萊明，

who spent 24 years, eight months in jail

他坐了 24 年又 8 個月的牢，

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

只因為一件在紐約 布魯克林犯下的謀殺案，

while he was in Disney World

而當時他與孩子在迪士尼樂園，

with his kids.

How do we know this?

我們怎麼知道？

Because when he was arrested,

因為當他被逮捕的時候，

among his property in his back pocket

他後口袋裡的東西中，

was a receipt --

有一張收據——

time-stamped receipt

蓋有時間戳印的收據，

that showed that he was in Disney World.

顯示他當時在迪士尼樂園。

That receipt was put in the police file,

那張收據被放入警方的檔案中，

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

一份複本被放在檢察官的檔案中，

and they never gave it to his public defender.

但他們始終沒有將它 給予他的公設辯護人。

In fact, nobody even knew it was there.

事實上，甚至沒人知道它存在。

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

它就被放在那兒二十多年。

My team looked through the file, and we found it,

我的團隊在檔案中尋找， 我們找到了它。

did the rest of the investigation,

我們做了剩下的相關調查，

and figured out someone else committed the crime.

認為是其他人犯下那個罪行。

Mr. Fleming was in Disney World,

佛萊明先生那時確實在迪士尼樂園，

and he is now released.

他現在已被釋放。

Let me give you a little bit of context.

讓我為各位說明一下背景。

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

約三年前，我接到一通來自 布魯克林區的地區檢察官的電話。

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

他問我是否有興趣設計一個專案，

called a "conviction review unit."

叫做「定罪複審單位」。

So I said yes.

我說好。

A conviction review unit is essentially a unit in a prosecutor's office

定罪複審單位在本質上是 檢察官辦公室底下的一個單位，

where prosecutors look at their past cases

在這個單位，檢察官會 審查他們過去的案件，

to determine whether or not they made mistakes.

以判定他們當時是否犯了錯誤。

Over the course of the first year,

在第一年，

we found about 13 wrongful convictions,

我們找到了大約 13 件 誤判的案件，

people having been in jail for decades,

這些被誤判的人 在監獄被關了數十年，

and we released all of them.

我們把他們全釋放了。

It was the most in New York history.

這是紐約史上的最高記錄。

The program is still going on,

這個專案仍在運作，

and they're up to 21 releases now --

目前已經協助釋放了 21 人——

21 people who spent significant time behind bars.

21 個人在牢裡蹲了相當長的時間。

So let me tell you about a couple other of the men and women

讓我告訴各位另外兩件，

與我參與專案過程中 互動過的當事人有關。

that I interacted with in the course of this program.

One name is Roger Logan.

有一位的名字叫羅傑·羅根。

Mr. Logan had been in jail 17 years

羅根先生那時已經坐了 17 年牢，

and wrote me a letter.

他寫了封信給我。

It was a simple letter; it basically said,

信寫得很簡單；基本上，他說：

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

「蘇利文教授， 我是無辜的，我被陷害了。

Can you look at my case?"

你能否看看我的案件？」

At first blush, the case seemed like it was open and shut,

乍看之下，這個案件似乎沒有疑點。

but my research had shown

但我做過的研究顯示，

that single-witness identification cases

由單一證人指證的案件

are prone to error.

誤判的可能性很大。

It doesn't mean he was innocent,

這不表示他是無辜的，

只表示我們應該要 更仔細一點看那類案件。

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

So we did.

我們的確這樣做了。

And the facts were relatively simple.

事實相當簡單。

The eyewitness said she heard a shot,

目擊證人說她聽到槍聲，

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

她跑到隔壁大樓，轉過身一看，

and there was Mr. Logan.

看到羅根先生。

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

他被審判並定罪， 在監獄待了 17 年以上。

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

這是單一證人的案件， 所以我們仔細地去看。

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

我們派了一些人到現場， 發現了不一致的地方。

And to put it politely:

用禮貌的說詞：

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

烏珊柏特不可能從她聲稱的所在地

to the other spot.

跑到另一點去。

Right?

對嗎？

So we knew that wasn't true.

所以我們知道那不是真的。

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

但這仍然不意味著他沒有犯案，

but we knew something was maybe fishy about this witness.

但我們知道這個證人 有些可疑的地方。

So we looked through the file,

所以我們仔細地看了檔案，

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

在檔案中有一張紙，上面有個數字。

The number indicated that this witness had a record.

這個數字顯示這個證人有記錄在案。

We went back through 20 years of non-digitized papers

我們找遍了 20 年份且 沒有電子化的紙本資料，

to figure out what this record was about,

想找出這個記錄的內容是什麼，

and it turned out -- it turned out --

結果發現，結果發現，

the eyewitness was in jail

當目擊證人說她看到那些事的時候，

她其實在牢裡。

when she said she saw what she saw.

The man spent 17 years behind bars.

這個男人坐了 17 年牢。

The last one is a case about two boys,

最後一個案件與兩個男孩有關，

Willie Stuckey, David McCallum.

威利史塔奇、大衛麥卡倫。

They were arrested at 15,

他們 15 歲時被捕，

and their conviction was vacated 29 years later.

他們的定罪在 29 年後被撤消。

Now this was a case,

這個案件，

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

同樣地，乍看之下似乎簡單明白，

They had confessed.

他們認罪了。

But my research showed that juvenile confessions

但我的研究顯示，少年在自白時，

without a parent present

若沒有父母陪同，

are prone to error.

經常有錯誤。

The DNA cases proved this several times.

許多案件以 DNA 證明了這一點。

So we took a close look.

所以我們仔細去看。

We looked at the confession,

我們看了自白，

and it turned out,

結果發現，

there was something in the confession

在自白中有些內容

that those boys could not have known.

是那些男孩不可能知道的。

The only people who knew it were police and prosecutors.

唯一知道的人是警察和檢察官。

We knew what really happened;

我們知道真正發生了什麼事；

someone told them to say this.

有人叫他們這樣說的。

We don't exactly know who,

我們並不知道是誰，

which person did,

是誰這麼做，

but any rate, the confession was coerced,

但不論如何， 他們的自白都是被強迫的，

we determined.

我們這樣判斷。

We then went back and did forensics

我們接著回去做法醫鑒定，

and did a fulsome investigation

我們做了全面調查，

and found that two other,

發現有另外兩個人，

much older, different heights, different hairstyle,

年齡他們大一些， 不同身高，不同髮型，

two other people committed the crime,

這兩個人犯下了罪行，

not these two boys.

而非那兩個男孩。

I actually went to court that day,

我那天去了法庭一趟，

for what's called a "vacatur hearing,"

去參加所謂的「撤消聽證會」，

where the conviction is thrown out.

在那裡，這項定罪被否決。

I went to court; I wanted to see

我去了法庭；我想要看看

Mr. McCallum walk out of there.

麥卡倫先生走出那裡。

So I went to court,

所以我去了法庭，

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

法官說了些法官總是會說的話，

but this took on a really special meaning.

但這次的意義很特別。

He looked up after the arguments and said,

在聽了辯論之後，法官抬起頭，說：

"Mr. McCallum,"

「麥卡倫先生，」

he said five beautiful words:

他說了五個美好的字：

"You are free to go."

「你可以自由離開了。」 （註：英文原文是五個字）

Can you imagine?

你們能想像嗎？

After just about 30 years:

大約 30 年後，

"You are free to go."

「你可以自由離開了。」

And he walked out of that courtroom.

他走出了那間法庭。

Unfortunately, his codefendant, Mr. Stuckey,

不幸的是， 他的共同被告，史塔奇先生，

didn't get the benefit of that.

沒有得到這樣的好處。

You see, Mr. Stuckey died in prison

史塔奇先生在獄中過世了，

at 34 years old,

享年 34 歲。

and his mother sat at counsel table in his place.

他的母親代替他坐在律師桌前。

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

我一生都不會忘記這一景。

She just rocked at the table, saying,

她只是搖動著桌子，說：

"I knew my baby didn't do this.

「我知道不是我的寶貝做的。

I knew my baby didn't do this."

我知道不是我的寶貝做的。」

And her baby didn't do this.

的確不是她的寶貝做的。

Two other guys did it.

另外兩個人做的。

If there's anything that we've learned, anything that I've learned,

如果我們有學到任何事， 如果我有學到任何事，

with this conviction integrity work,

從這份確認定罪工作中學到的，

it's that justice doesn't happen.

那就是：正義並不會自動發生。

People make justice happen.

是「人」讓正義發生的。

Justice is not a thing that just descends from above

正義不會自動從天而降，

and makes everything right.

解決一切問題。

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

如果是這樣，史塔奇先生 就不會死在獄中了。

Justice is something

正義，是有善意的人

that people of goodwill make happen.

努力去讓它發生的。

Justice is a decision.

正義是一個決定。

Justice is a decision.

正義是一個決定。

We make justice happen.

我們使正義發生。

You know, the scary thing is,

可怕的是，

in each of these three cases I described,

在我前述的三個案件中，

it would have only taken just an extra minute --

都只需要多花一分鐘的時間，

an extra minute --

多花一分鐘的時間，

for someone to look through the file

只要有人去看過檔案，

and find this receipt.

找到收據。

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

只要一分鐘—— 去看過檔案，找到收據，

give it to the public defender.

把它拿給公設辯護人。

It would have taken someone just a minute

只要有個人願花一分鐘，

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

去看自白影片， 並說：「不可能這樣。」

Just a minute.

只要一分鐘。

And perhaps Mr. Stuckey would be alive today.

也許史塔奇先生現在可能還活著。

It reminds me of one of my favorite poems.

這讓我想起我最愛的詩之一。

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

它是班傑明·以利亞·梅斯 經常背誦的一首詩。

and he called it "God's Minute."

他稱之為「神的一分鐘。」

And it goes something like this:

內容是像這樣的：

"I have only just a minute,

「我只有一分鐘，

only 60 seconds in it,

那分鐘裡只有六十秒，

forced upon me, can't refuse it,

那是我被強迫給的，我無法拒絕它，

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

我沒有去尋求它、沒有選擇它。

But it's up to me to use it.

但我可以決定怎麼用它。

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

如果我失去它，我得要受苦；

如果我濫用它，我必須要說明。

Just a tiny little minute,

只是短短的一分鐘，

but eternity is in it."

但永恆就在其中。」

If I were to charge

如果我要囑咐

each and every one of us,

我們每一個人，

I would want to say something like,

我會想說這樣的話：

"Every day,

「每天，

every day,

每天，

take just one extra minute

多花一分鐘的時間，

and do some justice.

來伸張一些正義。

You don't have to --

你並不需要——

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

像有些人投入他們的職涯以及一生，

like public defenders,

就像公設辯護人，

doing justice every day.

每天都在伸張正義。

But in your professional lives, whatever you do,

但在你的職業生活中， 不論是什麼職業，

take time out

暫停一下，

to just

就只要…

do some justice.

伸張一些正義。

Make a colleague feel better.

讓一個同事感覺好一點。

If you hear something that's sexist,

如果你聽到性別歧視的話語，

don't laugh, speak up.

別笑，說出來。

If someone is down, lift them up,

如果有人很消沉，協助他振作，

one extra minute each day,

一天花一分鐘就好，

and it'll be a great, great place.

就能創造出一個很棒很棒的地方。

I want to show you something.

我想讓各位看一樣東西。

Now, above me is a picture

我上面這裡有一張照片，

of David McCallum.

那是大衛·麥卡倫。

This is the day he was released from prison.

這是他被從監獄釋放的那一天。

After 30 years, he got to hug a niece

30 年後，他得以擁抱他的姪女，

he had never been able to touch before.

他以前連碰觸到她的機會都沒有。

And I asked him then,

我那時問他:

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

「你想做的第一件事是什麼？」

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

他說：「我只想在人行道上走走，

without anybody telling me where to go."

而沒有人告訴我應該去哪裡。」

Wasn't bitter,

他沒懷恨，

just wanted to walk on the sidewalk.

只是想在人行道上走走。

I spoke to Mr. McCallum about two weeks ago.

大約兩週前我和麥卡倫先生談過話。

I went to New York.

我去了紐約。

It was on the two-year anniversary

那是他被釋放的

of his release.

兩週年紀念。

And we talked,

我們聊了，

we laughed, we hugged, we cried.

我們笑了，我們擁抱了，我們哭了。

And he's doing quite well.

他的狀況很好。

And one of the things he said when we met with him

見面時他說的其中一句話是：

is that he now has dedicated his life

現在他已投入他的人生、

and his career

及他的職涯，

to ensuring that nobody else is locked up unjustly.

來確保沒有其他人 會被不正義地關起來。

Justice, my friends,

各位朋友，正義

is a decision.

是一個決定。

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）