法律无法杀死的死囚 —— 真实故事：英语精读讲义

Imagine sitting in a prison cell and contemplating life 語法

想象一下，你坐在牢房里，思索着自己的一生

and how it will be all over quite soon.

以及这一切很快就要结束。

You're going to be executed by way of hanging 短語搭配

你将被处以绞刑

and no doubt you're wondering how that will go. 短語搭配

你无疑会想，它究竟会如何进行。

You hope it'll be quick.

你希望一切能迅速结束。

It's not so much oblivion that scares you, 語法

真正令你害怕的，倒不是归于虚无，

but the fact that hanging might not go exactly as it should

而是绞刑可能不会完全按预想进行

and you'll spend some seconds or even minutes in agonizing pain.

让你在剧痛中煎熬几秒，甚至几分钟。

It wouldn't be the first time a man has been left dangling with life still in him. 語法

活人被吊在半空中挣扎，这可不是头一回。

One thing you're not considering at all

但有一件事，你根本没想过，

is the possibility of surviving your execution.

那就是自己可能在行刑后活下来。

Never mind surviving three attempts to execute you. 表達脈絡

更别说连续三次行刑都能幸存了。

Welcome to the life of John Lee,

欢迎走进约翰·李的人生，

the criminal they just couldn't kill.

一个怎么也杀不死的罪犯。

Before we get to the momentous moment in history

在我们讲到那个震动历史的重大时刻之前，

that tainted the image of the British authorities

那一刻令英国当局颜面扫地，

and before we investigate the theories as to why the job at hand failed,

也在探究这次行刑为何失败的种种说法之前，

you need to know a bit about hanging in the first place. 短語搭配

你得先了解一点绞刑的基本知识。

That way you might better understand how John Lee escaped with his life intact. 短語搭配

这样，你也许就更能理解约翰·李是如何死里逃生的。

Prior to the British getting a bit more humane about this method of execution,

在英国人让这种处决方式变得稍微人道一些之前，

it was quite brutal,

它相当残酷，

albeit likely a better way to go than past forms of execution 講解

不过，与过去的一些处决方式相比，这或许还算好一点，

such as being burned or boiled or torn apart at the limbs.

比如被烧死、煮死，或是四肢被生生扯断。

Hanging in the old days might have involved climbing onto something

旧时的绞刑，可能是让犯人爬到某个物体上

and then having your neck put inside a noose.

再把脖子套进绳圈。

Then the object is taken from under the person

然后抽走犯人脚下的物体，

and they die from strangulation.

让其窒息而死。

In the 19th century, scientists aired their views 短語搭配

到了19世纪，科学家们发表了看法，

and said dislocating the neck was a more humane way to kill someone than strangulation on a rope.

称让颈椎脱臼比用绳索慢慢勒死更为人道。

In 1866,

1866年，

the idea was proposed to drop the person from a certain height

有人提出，应让犯人从一定高度坠下，

to ensure this quick snap and ensuing death.

确保颈部迅速折断，随即死亡。

This method was called the standard drop.

这种方法被称为“标准落距法”。

At the time,

当时，

a scientist named Samuel Haughton said the height of the drop to secure a fast death

一位名叫塞缪尔·霍顿的科学家表示，要想让犯人迅速死亡，坠落高度

should be between 4 and 6 ft.

应在4至6英尺之间。

That way there would be no dangling and terrible discomfort.

这样就不会让人在半空挣扎，承受可怕的痛苦。

The standard drop was soon seen as backwards

但“标准落距法”很快就被视为落后做法，

due to the fact that it didn't take into account a person's height and weight. 短語搭配

因为它没有把犯人的身高和体重考虑在内。

In 1872,

1872年，

a new method was introduced that was called the long drop.

一种名为“长落距法”的新方法问世。

The person was connected to a noose and stood on a scaffold,

犯人被套上绳圈，站在绞刑台上，

which had a trap door.

台上设有活板门。

When the door was opened,

活板门一开，

down fell the body. 語法

身体便向下坠落。

The authorities had to calculate the proportions of the person's body

当局必须根据犯人的身材比例进行计算，

so that the neck would snap and kill the person quickly,

既要让颈部折断，使其迅速死亡，

but not drop the person so much that he or she would be decapitated.

又不能让坠落距离过长，以免犯人身首异处。

This can and has happened, 語法

这种事确实可能发生，也真的发生过，

and while death is death,

死固然都是死，

losing the head was not something anyone wanted to see.

但没人愿意看到一颗头掉下来。

So that's where we were

所以，当时的情况就是如此，

around the time of Mr. John Lee is going to go to the scaffold.

时间来到了约翰·李先生即将走上绞刑台之际。

On November 15th, 1884,

1884年11月15日，

he murdered a woman named Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse.

他谋杀了一名叫艾玛·安·怀特黑德·基斯的女子。

This happened in a small village called Babbacombe,

案发地点是一个名叫巴巴科姆的小村庄，

which is in Devon in the south of England.

位于英格兰南部的德文郡。

Lee was arrested, but always protested that he was innocent. of the crime.

李被捕了，但始终坚称自己没有犯下这起罪行。

But there was some evidence to the contrary, 短語搭配

不过，也有一些证据对他不利，

including a knife wound that he had incurred during the murder.

包括他在谋杀发生时留下的一处刀伤。

The woman had been killed with a knife.

那名女子正是被刀杀害的。

Prior to her downfall,

在遇害之前，

Keyse had lived alone with her servants and cooks,

基斯与她的仆人和厨师住在一起，此外并无他人，

and Lee had once worked there too.

而李以前也曾在那里工作。

He left that job, joined the Navy,

他辞去那份工作，加入海军，

returned to Devon, and was arrested for stealing.

后来返回德文郡，又因盗窃被捕。

After his release from prison,

出狱后，

he returned to the manor and worked for Keyse again.

他回到庄园，再次为基斯工作。

It was perhaps a bad move on her part to take him back in. 短語動詞

现在看来，让他回来或许是她走错的一步棋。

When she was found dead,

当人们发现她死亡时，

there had only been one person in the house at the time,

当时屋里只有一个人，

and that was Lee.

那就是李。

Then there was the cut on his arm,

此外，他手臂上还有一道伤口，

which pointed at his guilt.

这也暗示他有罪。

Besides that, there wasn't really anything else the police had on him, 習語

除此之外，警方其实没有掌握其他不利于他的证据，

and in 1884, there was no CSI Devon. 文化背景

而且在1884年，可没有什么“CSI：德文郡”。

Maybe it wasn't him who had committed the murder, 語法

凶手也许根本不是他，

and he certainly thought he'd been falsely convicted. 用詞

而他自己当然也认定是遭到了误判。

He once said, "The reason I'm so calm is 語法

他曾说：“我之所以如此平静，

that I trust in the Lord, and he knows I'm innocent."

是因为我信赖上帝，而他知道我是无辜的。”

He was sentenced to be hanged at Exeter Prison 用詞

他被判于埃克塞特监狱接受绞刑，

on the 23rd of February, 1884.

行刑日期为1884年2月23日。

On the day of the event,

行刑当天，

the executioner named James Berry went through the checks. 短語動詞

名叫詹姆斯·贝里的刽子手逐项做了检查。

Scaffold, all good. 表達脈絡

绞刑台，一切正常。

Noose, correctly tied.

绳圈，系法正确。

Trap door, working fine.

活板门，运转正常。

What could possibly go wrong? 表達脈絡

还能出什么岔子呢？

All we know is that Lee was taken to the scaffold

我们只知道，李被带上绞刑台，

and his head was fastened to the noose.

绳圈被固定在他的颈部。

A white hood was put over his head,

他头上被罩上一个白色头套，

and when the signal was given,

信号发出后，

the trap door didn't open.

活板门却没有打开。

They tried again, and then again,

他们又试了一次，接着再试一次，

and you can only imagine what was going through Lee's mind 習語

你只能想象，李当时脑中究竟在想些什么，

after each time he gritted his teeth and prepared for the great unknown. 習語

每一次，他都咬紧牙关，准备迎接那未知的彼岸。

This was a total embarrassment for anyone involved,

这让所有参与者都颜面尽失，

and the medical officer said enough is enough. 語氣意圖

医务官终于说，够了，不能再继续。

He said he can't hang around any longer after those failures. 習語

他说，失败这么多次，不能再让李这样“吊”下去了。

Lee was unfastened from the noose the last time

最后一次，李身上的绳圈被解开，

and was taken back to prison.

他被带回了监狱。

But what actually went wrong,

可究竟是哪里出了问题，

since the entire apparatus had been tested?

毕竟整套装置都测试过了？

Well, the executioner wrote about the experience

后来，刽子手写下了这次经历，

as well as some other 130 plus executions in a book called My Experiences as an Executioner.

并连同另外130多次行刑，收录在《我作为刽子手的经历》一书中。

He admitted in that book that the science didn't always work,

他在书中承认，背后的科学原理并非总能奏效，

and some men died too slowly or lost their heads.

有些人死得太慢，还有些人甚至身首异处。

But Lee's case was extraordinary.

但李的案件非同寻常。

These are two excerpts from that book.

以下是书中的两段摘录。

One: On the Saturday, I examined the drop 用詞

第一段：星期六，我检查了活板台，

and reported it was much too frail for its purpose,

并报告说它太不牢固，根本不适合执行任务，

but I worked the lever and found that the doors dropped all right.

但我扳动操纵杆后，发现活板门落下得很正常。

Two:

第二段：

The noise of the bolt sliding could be plainly heard,

可以清楚地听到门闩滑动的声音，

but the doors did not fall.

活板门却没有落下。

I stamped on the drop to shake it loose, 語法

我用力跺踩活板台，想把它震松，

and so did some of the warders, 語法

几名狱警也这么做了，

but none of our efforts could stir it.

但无论如何都无法让它动弹。

Lee stood like a statue,

李像雕像一样站在那里，

making no sound or sign.

没有发出任何声音，也没有任何反应。

Between each attempt,

每次尝试之间，

they actually took Lee away.

他们竟然真的会把李带走。

He had the hood removed from his head 語法

工作人员摘掉他头上的头套，

and was taken to a room.

把他带进一个房间。

The authorities then tried the trap door mechanism again,

随后，当局再次测试活板门机关，

and it worked fine.

它运转得毫无问题。

Lee was brought back out, fastened in the noose,

李又被带出来，套进绳圈，

hood put over his head,

头上罩好头套，

and they tried it again.

他们再次尝试行刑。

It didn't work three times in all.

前后三次，全都没有成功。

By God, Lee thought the authorities.

“老天啊，李！”当局的人心想。

The entire experience was frighteningly perturbing and just a little bit disturbing. 表達脈絡

整段经历惊人地令人惶恐，而且还有那么一点令人不安。

Executioner Berry wrote that some people believed there was a possibility of the trap door being swollen by the rain,

刽子手贝里写道，有人认为活板门可能被雨水泡得膨胀了，

but he added that they even cut the door with an axe and a plane, 用詞

但他补充说，他们甚至用斧头和刨子修整过门板，

and it still didn't work when it needed to. 語法

可到了该打开的时候，它还是纹丝不动。

In the end, he concluded that it was the iron catches

最后，他断定问题出在铁制门扣上，

that had somehow stuck when Lee's weight was on the trap door.

李的重量压在活板门上时，门扣不知为何卡住了。

It was one of the low points of his career. 習語

这是他职业生涯最低谷的时刻之一。

The British Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, commuted Lee's sentence, 用詞

英国内政大臣威廉·哈考特爵士为李减了刑，

saying it would shock the feeling of anyone

他说，任何人听到这种事都会感到震惊，

if a man had twice to pay the pangs of imminent death. 用詞

因为一个人不该两次承受死亡迫在眉睫的痛苦。

Lee ended up serving 22 years behind bars. 講解

李最终在狱中服刑22年。

The thing is, 表達脈絡

问题是，

investigations years later showed that Lee might not have been the only person in the house that night, 語法

多年后的调查显示，那晚屋里可能不只有李一个人，

and he might have been wrongly convicted.

他或许真的遭到了误判。

Maybe there really was some divine intervention on his part.

也许，真有神力出手干预，救了他。

What's also a mystery is what happened to Lee after he was released.

另一个谜团是，李获释后究竟去了哪里。

No one really knows,

没人真正知道，

since he just kind of disappeared. 語氣意圖

因为他就这么消失了。

Some rumors suggest he kept his head down and he moved to London, 習語

有传言称，他保持低调，搬去了伦敦，

while others say he moved abroad.

也有人说他去了国外。

More recent research suggests that he went over the pond 習語

较新的研究显示，他横渡了大西洋，

and that his grave is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

坟墓就在威斯康星州密尔沃基。

That research asserts that he had abandoned his wife and two kids in England

这项研究断言，他抛下了在英格兰的妻子和两个孩子，

and started a new life in the States.

到美国开始了新生活。

It's possible he was buried there in 1945.

他可能于1945年葬在那里。

Now let's have a look at two of some of the very worst punishments

现在，让我们来看看人类曾经施加过的

that humans have dished out. 短語動詞

一些最残酷刑罚中的两种。

Choose from the videos

请从以下视频中选择：

the Catherine Wheel, Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind,

《凯瑟琳轮刑：人类史上最残酷的刑罚》，

and Drawn and Quartered,

以及《拖行四分尸刑：

Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind.

人类史上最残酷的刑罚》。