ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lindy Lou Isonhood - Wife, mother, grandmother, friend
Lindy Lou Isonhood served as Juror No. 2 on a capital murder trial in 1994 -- an experience that changed her life.

Why you should listen

As Lindy Lou Isonhood writes: "I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in December 1951 and was raised by my grandmother, a widow with nine children. She was my salvation. From her nurturing I acquired my integrity, independence and strength. She impacted the lives of all around her. I was employed for over half my life: as a federal police officer in the 1970s, then I went on to be the first female letter carrier with the US Postal Service in Jackson for seven years, followed by 18 years in the MS Army National Guard. I ended my working career as an office manager after 13 years with an architectural firm.

"A strong Christian, I am married to a retired colonel who is a very staunch conservative, like me. I'm the mother of two children, a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren -- all girls! The hearts of my life! There is nothing extraordinary about me. I have never achieved fame or any outstanding records or recognition. Never received a college degree although I have many accumulated hours. But my life reached a turning point when I served as a juror in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial in 1994. This experience changed me from the inside out."

More profile about the speaker
Lindy Lou Isonhood | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2018

Lindy Lou Isonhood: A juror's reflections on the death penalty

琳蒂勞艾森胡德: 一位陪審員對於死刑的反思

Filmed:
1,627,727 views

在琳蒂勞艾森胡德成長的小鎮上,死刑是人生中的事實,地下文化的一部分。但她在一場死刑審判中擔位陪審員——並投下了「是」,判那位男子死刑——她內在產生了些改變。在這場吸引人且個人化的演說中,艾森胡德反思了她自審判後二十五年來一直問自己的問題:我是殺人兇手嗎?
- Wife, mother, grandmother, friend
Lindy Lou Isonhood served as Juror No. 2 on a capital murder trial in 1994 -- an experience that changed her life. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
It was a Thursday星期四,
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那天是星期四,
00:15
June六月 the 23rdRD, 1994.
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1994 年 6 月 23 日。
00:23
(Sighs嘆息)
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(嘆氣)
00:24
"Collect蒐集 your belongings財物.
You are free自由 to go.
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「收拾你的行裝。
你可以離開了。
00:28
When escorted護送 outside,
go directly to your car汽車.
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護送你出去之後,
請直接上你的車。
00:32
Do not talk to reporters記者."
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不許與記者交談。」
00:36
My head is spinning紡織,
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我感到天旋地轉,
00:38
my heart is racing賽跑,
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我的心跳加速,
00:40
I can't get a breath呼吸.
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我無法呼吸。
00:43
I just want out of there.
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我只想離開那裡。
00:47
When I get to my car汽車,
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當我走進我的車,
00:49
I throw everything on the back,
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我把所有的東西都丟到後座,
00:52
and I just collapse坍方
into the driver's司機 seat座位.
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我便癱倒在駕駛座上。
00:55
"I can't do this.
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「我辦不到。
00:57
I can't go home to my family家庭
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我無法回家,
去面對一個星期來都沒見到的家人,
01:02
that I haven't沒有 seen看到 in a week
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01:06
and pretend假裝 to be happy快樂."
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還要裝出快樂的樣子。」
01:10
Not even their love and support支持
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就連他們的愛和支持
01:14
could help me at this particular特定 time.
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也無法在這個時候給我幫助。
01:19
We had just sentenced判刑 a man to death死亡.
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我們剛剛判了一個人死刑。
01:26
Now what?
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然後呢?
01:28
Just go home and wash dishes碗碟?
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就回家去洗碗盤嗎?
01:32
You see, in Mississippi密西西比州,
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要知道,在密西西比,
01:37
the death死亡 penalty罰款 is like a part部分
of our unspoken culture文化.
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死刑就像是我們
地下文化的一部分。
01:43
The basic基本 logic邏輯 is, if you murder謀殺 someone有人,
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基本的邏輯是,
如果你謀殺一個人,
01:47
then you're going to receive接收
the death死亡 penalty罰款.
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那你就會被判死刑。
01:51
So when the jury陪審團 selection選擇
process處理 took place地點,
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所以,當開始挑選陪審團成員時,
01:57
they asked me,
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他們問我:
02:01
"Could you,
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「你能嗎?
如果呈堂證供足以判他死刑,
02:03
if the evidence證據 presented呈現
justified有理 the death死亡 penalty罰款,
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02:09
could you deliver交付,
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你能否,
02:11
rationally合理 and without reservations預訂,
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理性地,且沒有保留地,
02:13
a penalty罰款 of death死亡?"
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判處死刑?」
02:17
My answer回答 was an astounding驚人 "yes,"
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我當時的回答
是讓人震驚的「我能」,
02:21
and I was selected as Juror陪審員 Number 2.
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而我就被選為二號陪審員。
02:26
The trial審訊 started開始.
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審判開始了。
02:28
From the evidence證據 being存在 presented呈現
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根據呈堂的證據
02:32
and from the pictures圖片 of the victim受害者,
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以及受害者的照片,
02:34
my first response響應 was,
"Yes, this man is a monster怪物,
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我最初的反應是:
「是的,這個人是禽獸,
02:39
and he deserves值得 the death死亡 penalty罰款."
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他被判死刑是罪有應得。」
02:44
For days, I satSAT and looked看著 at his hands,
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數日來,我坐著,看著他的手,
02:48
the ones那些 that yielded產生 the knife,
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那雙揮下刀的手,
02:53
and against反對 his pasty膏狀 white白色 skin皮膚,
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以及與他蒼白的皮膚對比,
02:58
his eyes眼睛 ...
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他那黝黑的雙眼……
03:00
Well, he spent花費 endless無窮 days in his cell細胞,
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他在他的牢房中待了無數日,
03:04
no sunlight陽光,
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沒有陽光,
03:05
so his eyes眼睛 were as black黑色
as his hair頭髮 and his mustache鬍子.
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所以他的雙眼和他的
頭髮鬍鬚一樣黑。
03:10
He was very intimidating嚇人,
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他看來十分嚇人,
03:14
and there was absolutely絕對
no doubt懷疑 in his guilt有罪.
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他有罪,這是無庸置疑的。
03:21
But regardless而不管 of his guilt有罪,
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但,就算他有罪,
03:23
as the days passed通過,
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隨著日子過去,
03:26
I began開始 to see this monster怪物
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我開始把這禽獸
03:30
as a human人的 being存在.
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當人來看待。
03:34
Something inside of me was changing改變
that I just didn't understand理解.
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我的內在發生了某種
我不理解的改變。
03:39
I was beginning開始 to question myself
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我開始質疑我自己,
03:41
as to whether是否 or not I wanted
to give this man the death死亡 penalty罰款.
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不再確定我是否真的
想要判這個人死刑。
03:47
Jury陪審團 deliberations審議 began開始,
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陪審團商議開始了,
03:50
and the judge法官 gave us jury陪審團 instructions說明
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法官給了我們陪審團審理指導,
03:56
and it was to be used as a tool工具
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它是一種工具,
03:59
in how to reach達到 a verdict判決書.
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用來協助達成裁決。
04:02
Well, using運用 this tool工具
only led to one decision決定,
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用這項工具只會產生一種決定,
04:07
and that was the death死亡 penalty罰款.
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那就是死刑。
04:10
I felt backed已備份 into a corner.
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我感覺退到了角落。
04:13
My head and my heart
were in conflict衝突 with each other,
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我的頭腦和內心互相矛盾,
04:16
and the thought of the death死亡 penalty罰款
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我一想到死刑,
04:18
made製作 me sick生病.
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就感到噁心。
04:23
However然而, following以下
the judge's法官 instructions說明,
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然而,遵循法官的指示,
04:28
being存在 a law-abiding安分 person,
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作為一個守法的人,
04:31
I gave up.
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我放棄了。
04:34
I gave up and voted along沿
with the other 11 jurors陪審員.
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我放棄了,跟著其他
十一名陪審員投票。
04:40
And there it was:
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這就是了:
04:42
our broken破碎 judicial司法 system系統 at work.
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我們不完善的司法體制
就是這麼運作的。
04:50
So here I am in my car汽車,
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所以,我在我的車裡,
04:52
and I'm wondering想知道:
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我很納悶:
04:54
How is my life ever going to be the same相同?
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我的人生怎麼能回得到原樣?
04:59
My life was kids孩子, work,
church教會, ball games遊戲 --
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我的人生本來是孩子、
工作、教堂、球賽——
05:04
just your average平均, normal正常, everyday每天 life.
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就是你平常看到的普通日常生活。
05:08
Now everything felt trivial不重要的.
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現在一切都變得不再重要。
05:11
I was going down this rabbit兔子 hole.
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我陷入了困惑當中。
05:14
The anger憤怒, the anxiety焦慮,
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那憤怒、焦慮、
05:18
the guilt有罪, the depression蕭條 ...
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罪惡感、沮喪感……
05:21
it just clung抱定 to me.
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都揮之不去。
05:23
I knew知道 that my life had to resume恢復,
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我知道我的人生還是得走下去,
05:29
so I sought追捧 counseling輔導服務.
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所以我去尋求諮詢。
05:31
The counselor顧問 diagnosed確診 me with PTSDPTSD
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諮詢師診斷我得了
創傷後壓力症候群,
05:35
and told me that the best最好 way
to overcome克服 the PTSDPTSD
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告訴我,克服此症候群最好的方式,
05:40
was to talk about the trauma外傷.
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就是去談論創傷。
05:43
However然而, if I talked or tried試著
to talk about the trauma外傷
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然而,如果我在她辦公室
以外的地方談論
或試著談論那件事,
05:48
outside her office辦公室,
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05:50
I was shut關閉 down.
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我會被拒絕。
05:52
No one wanted to hear about it.
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沒有人想要聽我說這件事。
05:55
He was just a murderer兇手. Get over it.
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他不過是個殺人犯。把他忘了吧。
05:59
It was then that I decided決定
to become成為 a silent無聲 survivor倖存者.
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所以那時,我決定保持沉默地活著。
06:06
Twelve十二 years年份 later後來, 2006,
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十二年後,2006 年,
06:09
I learned學到了 that Bobby鮑比 Wilcher威爾徹
had dropped下降 all of his appeals上訴,
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我聽說巴比威爾奇
放棄了所有的上訴,
06:15
and his execution執行 date日期 was approaching接近.
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他的行刑日越來越近。
06:19
That was like a punch沖床 in the stomach.
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就好像往胃裡打了一拳。
06:22
All of those buried隱藏 feelings情懷
just started開始 coming未來 back.
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所有被埋藏的感覺又開始回來了。
06:27
To try and find peace和平,
I called Bobby's鮑比的 attorney律師, and I said,
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為了試著找到平靜,
我打電話給巴比的律師,我說:
「我能在巴比被處死之前
見他一面嗎?」
06:32
"Can I see Bobby鮑比 before he's executed執行?"
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06:36
Driving駕駛 to the penitentiary教養所
on the day of his execution執行,
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在他的行刑日,我開車到監獄,
06:41
in my mind心神,
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我心裡猜想,
06:42
Bobby鮑比 was going to be manic躁狂.
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巴比應該會很躁狂。
06:45
But, surprisingly出奇, he was very calm冷靜.
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但,出乎意料,他相當冷靜。
06:50
And for two hours小時, he and I satSAT there
and talked about life,
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足足兩個小時,
他和我坐下來談人生,
06:56
and I got to ask him to forgive原諒 me
for my hand in his death死亡.
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我向他請求原諒,
因為我參與他的死刑審判。
07:04
His words to me were:
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他對我說的話是:
07:06
"You don't have to apologize道歉.
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「你不用道歉。
07:08
You didn't put me here.
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不是你讓我走到這一步的。
07:10
I did this myself.
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是我自己造成的。
07:14
But if it'll它會 make you feel better,
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但如果能讓你感覺好一點,
07:15
I forgive原諒 you."
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我原諒你。」
07:19
On my way home,
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在回家的路上,
07:20
I stopped停止 by a restaurant餐廳
and bought a margarita瑪格麗塔.
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我在一家餐廳停下來,
買了一杯雞尾酒。
07:24
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:29
I don't think I could
get one big enough足夠 --
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我覺得一杯酒不夠——
07:31
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:32
to try and calm冷靜 down.
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我試著冷靜下來。
07:35
My phone電話 rang.
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我的手機響了。
07:38
It was Bobby's鮑比的 attorney律師.
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是巴比的律師打來的。
07:41
Within two minutes分鐘 of his execution執行,
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離行刑不到兩分鐘的時間,
07:44
they had given特定 him a stay.
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他們決定暫緩執行。
07:48
This stay gave me time
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這個決定讓我有時間
07:52
to reach達到 out to Bobby鮑比.
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去接近巴比。
07:55
And as crazy as it may可能 sound聲音,
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聽起來可能很瘋狂,
07:57
we became成為 friends朋友.
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但我們成了朋友。
08:00
Three months個月 later後來,
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三個月後,
08:02
he was executed執行
by the State of Mississippi密西西比州.
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他的死刑由密西西比州執行。
08:07
I'm here to tell you my story故事,
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我在這裡告訴各位我的故事,
08:13
because it was precisely恰恰 22 years年份 later後來
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因為,正是二十二年後,
08:18
that I even wanted to open打開 up
enough足夠 to talk about it,
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我甚至想要公開談論這件事時,
08:23
when a friend朋友 encouraged鼓勵 me.
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一位朋友鼓勵我:
08:26
"Hey, perhaps也許 you need to talk
to the other jurors陪審員.
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「嘿,也許你需要
和其他陪審員談談。
08:30
You've been through通過 the same相同 experience經驗."
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你們有過同樣的經歷。」
08:33
Uncertain不確定性 of what I was after,
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我不太確定我的目的是什麼,
08:36
I did need to talk to them.
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但我的確需要和他們談談。
08:39
So I set out on my quest尋求,
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所以,我展開了這趟追尋之旅,
08:42
and I actually其實 found發現 most of them.
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事實上我找到了大部分的陪審員。
08:45
The first juror陪審員 I met會見
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我去見的第一位陪審員
08:47
thought that Bobby鮑比 got what he deserved應得.
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認為巴比是罪有應得。
08:50
Another另一個 juror陪審員 --
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另一位陪審員——
08:53
well, they just kind of regretted後悔
that it took so long
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他們感到遺憾,
因為花了這麼長的時間
08:57
to carry攜帶 the sentence句子 out.
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才執行死刑。
08:59
Then one juror陪審員, and I don't know
what was wrong錯誤 with him,
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接著,有一位陪審員,
我不知道他怎麼回事,
09:02
but he didn't remember記得
anything about the trial審訊.
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但他完全不記得那場審判。
09:04
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:06
Well,
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嗯,
09:08
I'm thinking思維 in my mind心神,
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我心裡想著:
09:10
"Jeez哎呀, is this the response響應
I'm gonna get from everybody每個人 else其他?"
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「天啊,我從其他人那邊
也會得到這樣的回應嗎?」
09:15
Well, thank God for Allen艾倫.
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謝天謝地,還好有艾倫。
09:19
Allen艾倫 was a gentle溫和 soul靈魂.
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艾倫心地善良。
09:22
And when I talked to him,
he was genuinely真正的 upset煩亂
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我和他談的時候,他是真的
對我們的決定感到心煩。
09:26
about our decision決定.
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09:29
And he told me about the day
that the devastation毀壞
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他告訴我那天的狀況,
他真的感到傷痛欲絕。
09:33
really set in on him and hit擊中 him.
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09:37
He was listening to the radio無線電,
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他聽到廣播
09:40
and the radio無線電 had a list名單 of names
of men男人 to be executed執行
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唸出了密西西比州立監獄
將要被處死的死囚名單。
09:45
at Parchman帕奇曼 Penitentiary教養所.
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09:49
He heard聽說 Bobby's鮑比的 name名稱,
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他聽到巴比的名字,
09:51
and he then truly realized實現
what he had doneDONE.
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接著,他才真正意識到
他做了什麼事。
09:55
And he said, "You know, I had
a responsibility責任 in that man's男人的 death死亡."
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他說:「你知道嗎,
那個人的死,我也有責任。」
10:01
Now here it is, 20-something-something years年份 later後來,
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現在,二十多年後,
10:03
and Allen艾倫 is still dealing交易
with that issue問題.
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艾倫仍然為那件事情而煩惱。
10:08
And he's never told anyone任何人 about it,
not even his wife妻子.
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他從來沒有跟任何人說過,
連他的妻子都沒有。
10:14
He also told me
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他也告訴我,
10:15
that if the State of Mississippi密西西比州
wanted to keep the death死亡 penalty罰款,
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如果密西西比州想要保有死刑,
10:18
then hey, they needed需要 to provide提供
counseling輔導服務 for the jurors陪審員.
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那麼,他們需要給陪審員
提供心理諮詢服務。
10:24
Then the next下一個 juror陪審員 I met會見 was Jane.
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我接下來見的陪審員是珍。
10:27
Jane is now totally完全
against反對 the death死亡 penalty罰款,
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珍現在完全是個反對死刑的人,
10:31
And there was Bill法案.
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還有比爾,
10:33
Bill法案 said he had this
crushing破碎 depression蕭條 for weeks,
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比爾說他有好幾週的時間
都快被憂鬱感給壓垮了,
10:38
and when he went back to work,
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當他回去工作時,
10:40
his colleagues同事 would say
things to him like,
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他的同事會對他說類似這樣的話:
10:44
"Hey, did you fry him?"
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「嘿,你是不是把他炸了啊?
10:45
To them, it was just a joke玩笑.
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對他們來說,那只是個笑話。
10:48
Then there was Jon喬恩.
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然後,還有強。
10:50
Jon喬恩 said his decision決定 weighed稱重 on him,
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強說他的決定讓他感到很沉重,
10:55
and it burdened背負 him daily日常.
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每天都是他的負擔。
10:58
The final最後 juror陪審員 that I spoke to was Ken.
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我交談的最後一位陪審員是肯。
11:01
Ken was the foreman領班 of the jury陪審團.
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肯是當時陪審團的主席。
11:05
When we satSAT down to talk,
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我們坐下來談時,
11:08
it was apparent明顯的 that he was deeply
saddened悲痛 by what we were required需要 to do.
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很顯然他對於我們當時
被要求做的事,感到悲傷沉重。
11:15
He relived重溫 the day
that he left the courthouse法院
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他回想那天的經歷,
他離開了法院,
11:19
and he drove開車 home
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開車回到家,
11:21
and he went to put his key
in his door and unlock開鎖 it,
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把他的鑰匙插入
他家的大門,把鎖打開,
11:24
and he said he literally按照字面 broke打破 down.
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他說他真的是崩潰了。
11:30
He said he knew知道 that Bobby鮑比 was guilty有罪,
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他說他知道巴比有罪,
11:33
but the decision決定 he made製作,
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但他所做的決定,
11:35
he did not know
if it was the right decision決定.
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他不知道那是否是正確的決定。
11:40
And he said that he played發揮 it
over and over in his head.
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他說他在的腦海不斷回想一個問題。
11:43
Did we do the right thing?
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我們當初做的是對的事嗎?
11:46
Did we do the right thing?
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我們當初做的是對的事嗎?
11:49
Did we do the right thing?
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我們當初做的是對的事嗎?
11:55
(Sighs嘆息)
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(嘆氣)
11:58
All those years年份,
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這些年來,
12:00
and I finally最後 realized實現 that I was not
the only disillusioned幻滅 juror陪審員.
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我終於知道我不是唯一
幻想破滅的陪審員。
12:06
And we talked about sharing分享 our experience經驗
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我們談到,我們可以把我們的經驗
12:11
with potential潛在 jurors陪審員
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和可能當陪審員的人分享,
12:15
to give them some insight眼光
into what to expect期望,
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讓他們知道要預期什麼,
12:20
and to tell them do not be complacent自滿;
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並告訴他們不要自滿;
12:23
to know what you believe;
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要知道自己的信念;
12:26
to know where you stand and be prepared準備,
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要知道你的立場,且要準備好,
12:31
because you don't want
to walk步行 in one morning早上 as a juror陪審員
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因為你並不希望有一天
以陪審員的身分走進去,
12:37
and leave離開 at the end結束 of the trial審訊
feeling感覺 like a murderer兇手.
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在審判結束時卻感覺
自己像是個殺人兇手。
12:42
Now, through通過 this storm風暴 in my life,
I did find some inspiration靈感,
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我確實在我人生中的
這場風暴裡找到了一些靈感,
12:46
and it came來了 in the form形成
of my granddaughters孫女.
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它化身成我的孫女們,
出現在我生命中。
12:50
My 14-year-old-歲 granddaughter孫女, Maddie麥迪,
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我十四歲的孫女,瑪迪,
12:53
was writing寫作 an essay文章
on the death死亡 penalty罰款 for school學校,
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在寫一篇關於死刑的學校論文,
12:57
and she was asking me questions問題.
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她問了我一些問題。
12:59
Well, it dawned破曉 on me
that this child兒童 was being存在 raised上調
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我漸漸明白,這個孩子成長的環境
13:03
in the same相同 eye-for-an-eye眼睛為眼睛 culture文化
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是同樣以牙還牙的文化,
13:08
as I was,
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和我過去——
或曾經成長——的環境一樣。
13:09
or had been.
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1478
13:12
And so I explained解釋 my experience經驗
to her this way:
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我用這樣的方式
向她解釋我的經歷:
13:16
that I had sentenced判刑 someone有人 to death死亡
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我在當陪審員時,判了某人死刑。
13:21
as I served提供服務 on a jury陪審團.
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13:24
And I asked her,
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我問她:
13:26
"Did that make me a murderer兇手?"
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「那是否表示我是殺人兇手?」
13:29
She couldn't不能 answer回答.
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她無法回答。
13:31
I knew知道 then that this topic話題
needed需要 to be open打開 for discussion討論.
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我知道這個話題需要被公開討論。
13:36
And guess猜測 what happened發生?
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猜猜發生了什麼事?
13:38
I got invited邀請 to speak說話, just recently最近,
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最近,我受到邀請,
13:42
in an abolitionist廢奴主義者 community社區.
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去一個廢奴主義團體演講。
13:45
While I was there, I got a T-shirtT恤衫.
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我到那裡時,拿到一件 T 恤。
13:48
It says, "Stop Executions執行."
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上面寫著「停止死刑」。
13:52
Well, when I get home, my 16-year-old-歲
granddaughter孫女 was there, Anna安娜,
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當我回家時,我的十六歲
孫女安娜在家裡,
13:56
and she says, "Can I have that shirt襯衫?"
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她說:「這件上衣可以給我嗎?」
14:00
Well, I looked看著 at her dad --
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我看著她爸爸——
14:02
her dad is my son兒子 --
228
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她爸爸就是我兒子——
14:04
and I knew知道 that he is still dealing交易
with this death死亡 penalty罰款 issue問題.
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我知道他還在處理這個死刑議題。
14:09
So I turned轉身 around
and I looked看著 at her, and I said,
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所以我轉過身,我看著她,說:
14:12
"Are you gonna wear穿 this?"
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「你打算要穿它嗎?」
14:14
So she turned轉身 and she looked看著
at her dad, and she said,
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於是,她轉身,看著她爸爸,說:
14:18
"Dad, I know how you feel,
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「爸,我懂你的感受,
14:19
but I don't believe in the death死亡 penalty罰款."
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但我不相信應該要有死刑。」
14:24
My son兒子 looked看著 at me,
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我兒子看著我,
14:27
shook震撼 his head, and said,
236
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搖搖頭,說:
14:31
"Thanks謝謝, Mom媽媽."
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「謝了,媽。」
14:34
And I knew知道 it wasn't a nice不錯 "Thanks謝謝, Mom媽媽."
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我知道那句「謝了,媽。」是個反話。
14:37
(Laughter笑聲)
239
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(笑聲)
14:39
So I learned學到了 that life
had taught me some lessons教訓.
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所以,我了解到,
人生給了我一些教訓,
14:46
It taught me, if I had
not served提供服務 on that jury陪審團,
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它教會我,如果我沒擔任過陪審員,
14:51
that I would still be of the same相同 mindset心態.
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我可能還會保有同樣的心態。
14:57
It also gave me confidence置信度
243
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它也給了我信心,
14:59
to be able能夠 to see through通過
the eyes眼睛 of my granddaughters孫女,
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能夠透過我孫女們的
眼睛來看世界,
15:03
that this younger更年輕 generation,
they're capable and they're willing願意
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這個年輕的世代,
他們有能力也願意
15:09
to tackle滑車 these difficult social社會 issues問題.
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去解決這些社會難題。
15:14
And because of my experience經驗,
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因為我的經歷,
15:16
my granddaughters孫女,
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我的孫女們,
15:18
they're now more equipped裝備
to stand on their own擁有
249
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她們現在更有能力,
15:23
and to think for themselves他們自己
250
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去為自己獨立思考,
15:26
than to rely依靠 on cultural文化 beliefs信仰.
251
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而不只是仰賴文化的信念。
15:32
So:
252
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所以:
15:34
being存在 from a conservative保守,
Christian基督教 family家庭
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我來自一個保守的基督教家庭,
15:38
from a very conservative保守 state
in the United聯合的 States狀態,
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來自美國一個非常保守的州,
15:44
I am here to tell you
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我在此告訴各位,
15:45
that the death死亡 penalty罰款 has new opponents對手.
256
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死刑有了新的敵手了。
15:51
Thank you.
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謝謝。
15:52
(Applause掌聲)
258
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by JIAWEN ZHANG

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lindy Lou Isonhood - Wife, mother, grandmother, friend
Lindy Lou Isonhood served as Juror No. 2 on a capital murder trial in 1994 -- an experience that changed her life.

Why you should listen

As Lindy Lou Isonhood writes: "I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in December 1951 and was raised by my grandmother, a widow with nine children. She was my salvation. From her nurturing I acquired my integrity, independence and strength. She impacted the lives of all around her. I was employed for over half my life: as a federal police officer in the 1970s, then I went on to be the first female letter carrier with the US Postal Service in Jackson for seven years, followed by 18 years in the MS Army National Guard. I ended my working career as an office manager after 13 years with an architectural firm.

"A strong Christian, I am married to a retired colonel who is a very staunch conservative, like me. I'm the mother of two children, a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren -- all girls! The hearts of my life! There is nothing extraordinary about me. I have never achieved fame or any outstanding records or recognition. Never received a college degree although I have many accumulated hours. But my life reached a turning point when I served as a juror in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial in 1994. This experience changed me from the inside out."

More profile about the speaker
Lindy Lou Isonhood | Speaker | TED.com