法律無法殺死的死囚 —— 真實故事：英語精讀講義

Imagine sitting in a prison cell and contemplating life 文法

想像一下，你坐在牢房裡，思索著自己的一生

and how it will be all over quite soon.

以及這一切很快就要結束。

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

你將被處以絞刑

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

你無疑會想，它究竟會如何進行。

You hope it'll be quick.

你希望一切能迅速結束。

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

真正令你害怕的，倒不是歸於虛無，

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

而是絞刑可能不會完全按預想進行

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

讓你在劇痛中煎熬幾秒，甚至幾分鐘。

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

活人被吊在半空中掙扎，這可不是頭一回。

One thing you're not considering at all

但有一件事，你根本沒想過，

is the possibility of surviving your execution.

那就是自己可能在行刑後活下來。

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

更別說連續三次行刑都能倖存了。

Welcome to the life of John Lee,

歡迎走進約翰·李的人生，

the criminal they just couldn't kill.

一個怎麼樣也殺不死的罪犯。

Before we get to the momentous moment in history

在我們講到那個震撼歷史的重大時刻之前，

that tainted the image of the British authorities

那一刻令英國當局顏面盡失，

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

也在探究這次行刑為何失敗的種種說法之前，

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

你得先了解一點絞刑的基本知識。

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

這樣，你也許就更能理解約翰·李是如何死裡逃生的。

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

在英國人讓這種處決方式變得稍微人道一些之前，

it was quite brutal,

它相當殘酷，

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

不過，與過去的一些處決方式相比，這或許還算好一點，

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

例如被燒死、煮死，或是四肢被硬生生扯斷。

Hanging in the old days might have involved climbing onto something

早期的絞刑，可能是讓犯人爬到某個物體上

and then having your neck put inside a noose.

再把脖子套進繩圈。

Then the object is taken from under the person

接著抽走犯人腳下的物體，

and they die from strangulation.

讓其窒息而死。

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

到了19世紀，科學家們發表了看法，

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

認為讓頸椎脫臼，比用繩索慢慢勒死更為人道。

In 1866,

1866年，

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

有人提出，應讓犯人從一定高度墜下，

to ensure this quick snap and ensuing death.

確保頸部迅速折斷，隨即死亡。

This method was called the standard drop.

這種方法稱為「標準落距法」。

At the time,

當時，

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

一位名叫塞繆爾·霍頓的科學家表示，要讓犯人迅速死亡，墜落高度

should be between 4 and 6 ft.

應在4到6英尺之間。

That way there would be no dangling and terrible discomfort.

這樣就不會讓人在半空掙扎，承受可怕的痛苦。

The standard drop was soon seen as backwards

但「標準落距法」很快就被視為落伍的做法，

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

因為它沒有把犯人的身高與體重考慮在內。

In 1872,

1872年，

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

一種名為「長落距法」的新方法問世。

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

犯人被套上繩圈，站在絞刑台上，

which had a trap door.

台上設有活板門。

When the door was opened,

活板門一開，

down fell the body. 文法

身體便向下墜落。

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

當局必須根據犯人的身材比例進行計算，

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

既要讓頸部折斷，使其迅速死亡，

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

又不能讓墜落距離過長，以免犯人身首異處。

This can and has happened, 文法

這種事確實可能發生，也真的發生過，

and while death is death,

死固然都是死，

losing the head was not something anyone wanted to see.

但沒人想看到一顆頭掉下來。

So that's where we were

所以，當時的情況就是如此，

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

時間來到約翰·李先生即將走上絞刑台之際。

On November 15th, 1884,

1884年11月15日，

he murdered a woman named Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse.

他謀殺了一名叫艾瑪·安·懷特黑德·基斯的女子。

This happened in a small village called Babbacombe,

案發地點是一個名叫巴巴科姆的小村莊，

which is in Devon in the south of England.

位於英格蘭南部的德文郡。

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

李被捕了，但始終堅稱自己沒有犯下這起罪行。

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

不過，也有一些證據對他不利，

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

包括他在謀殺發生時留下的一處刀傷。

The woman had been killed with a knife.

那名女子正是被刀殺害的。

Prior to her downfall,

在遇害之前，

Keyse had lived alone with her servants and cooks,

基斯與她的僕人和廚師住在一起，此外並無他人，

and Lee had once worked there too.

而李以前也曾在那裡工作。

He left that job, joined the Navy,

他辭去那份工作，加入海軍，

returned to Devon, and was arrested for stealing.

後來返回德文郡，又因竊盜被捕。

After his release from prison,

出獄後，

he returned to the manor and worked for Keyse again.

他回到莊園，再次為基斯工作。

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

現在看來，讓他回來或許是她走錯的一步棋。

When she was found dead,

當人們發現她死亡時，

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

當時屋裡只有一個人，

and that was Lee.

那就是李。

Then there was the cut on his arm,

此外，他手臂上還有一道傷口，

which pointed at his guilt.

這也暗示他有罪。

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

除此之外，警方其實沒有掌握其他對他不利的證據，

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

而且在1884年，可沒有什麼「CSI：德文郡」。

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

兇手也許根本不是他，

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

而他自己當然也認定是遭到了誤判。

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

他曾說：「我之所以如此平靜，

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

是因為我信賴上帝，而祂知道我是無辜的。」

He was sentenced to be hanged at Exeter Prison 用詞

他被判於埃克塞特監獄接受絞刑，

on the 23rd of February, 1884.

行刑日期為1884年2月23日。

On the day of the event,

行刑當天，

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

名叫詹姆斯·貝里的劊子手逐項做了檢查。

Scaffold, all good. 表達脈絡

絞刑台，一切正常。

Noose, correctly tied.

繩圈，綁法正確。

Trap door, working fine.

活板門，運作正常。

What could possibly go wrong? 表達脈絡

還能出什麼岔子呢？

All we know is that Lee was taken to the scaffold

我們只知道，李被帶上絞刑台，

and his head was fastened to the noose.

繩圈被固定在他的頸部。

A white hood was put over his head,

他頭上被罩上一個白色頭套，

and when the signal was given,

訊號發出後，

the trap door didn't open.

活板門卻沒有打開。

They tried again, and then again,

他們又試了一次，接著再試一次，

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

你只能想像，李當時腦中究竟在想些什麼，

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

每一次，他都咬緊牙關，準備迎接那未知的彼岸。

This was a total embarrassment for anyone involved,

這讓所有參與者都顏面盡失，

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

醫務官終於說，夠了，不能再繼續。

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

他說，失敗這麼多次，不能再讓李這樣「吊」下去了。

Lee was unfastened from the noose the last time

最後一次，李身上的繩圈被解開，

and was taken back to prison.

他被帶回了監獄。

But what actually went wrong,

可究竟是哪裡出了問題，

since the entire apparatus had been tested?

畢竟整套裝置都測試過了？

Well, the executioner wrote about the experience

後來，劊子手寫下了這次經歷，

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

並連同另外130多次行刑，收錄在《我擔任劊子手的經歷》一書中。

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

他在書中承認，背後的科學原理並非總能奏效，

and some men died too slowly or lost their heads.

有些人死得太慢，還有些人甚至身首異處。

But Lee's case was extraordinary.

但李的案件非同尋常。

These are two excerpts from that book.

以下是書中的兩段摘錄。

One: On the Saturday, I examined the drop 用詞

第一段：星期六，我檢查了活板台，

and reported it was much too frail for its purpose,

並報告說它太不牢固，根本不適合執行任務，

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

但我扳動操縱桿後，發現活板門落下得很正常。

Two:

第二段：

The noise of the bolt sliding could be plainly heard,

可以清楚聽見門閂滑動的聲音，

but the doors did not fall.

活板門卻沒有落下。

I stamped on the drop to shake it loose, 文法

我用力跺踩活板台，想把它震鬆，

and so did some of the warders, 文法

幾名獄警也這麼做了，

but none of our efforts could stir it.

但無論如何都無法讓它動彈。

Lee stood like a statue,

李像雕像一樣站在那裡，

making no sound or sign.

沒有發出任何聲音，也沒有任何反應。

Between each attempt,

每次嘗試之間，

they actually took Lee away.

他們竟然真的會把李帶走。

He had the hood removed from his head 文法

工作人員摘掉他頭上的頭套，

and was taken to a room.

把他帶進一個房間。

The authorities then tried the trap door mechanism again,

隨後，當局再次測試活板門機關，

and it worked fine.

它運作得毫無問題。

Lee was brought back out, fastened in the noose,

李又被帶出來，套進繩圈，

hood put over his head,

頭上罩好頭套，

and they tried it again.

他們再次嘗試行刑。

It didn't work three times in all.

前後三次，全都沒有成功。

By God, Lee thought the authorities.

「老天啊，李！」當局的人心想。

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

整段經歷令人驚恐萬分，另外還有那麼一點不安。

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

劊子手貝里寫道，有人認為活板門可能被雨水泡得膨脹了，

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

但他補充說，他們甚至用斧頭和刨子修整過門板，

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

可到了該打開的時候，它還是紋絲不動。

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

最後，他斷定問題出在鐵製門扣上，

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

李的重量壓在活板門上時，門扣不知為何卡住了。

It was one of the low points of his career. 慣用語

這是他職業生涯最低潮的時刻之一。

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

英國內政大臣威廉·哈考特爵士為李減刑，

saying it would shock the feeling of anyone

他說，任何人聽到這種事都會感到震驚，

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

因為一個人不該兩次承受死亡迫在眉睫的痛苦。

Lee ended up serving 22 years behind bars. 講解

李最終在獄中服刑22年。

The thing is, 表達脈絡

問題是，

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

多年後的調查顯示，那晚屋裡可能不只有李一個人，

and he might have been wrongly convicted.

他或許真的遭到誤判。

Maybe there really was some divine intervention on his part.

也許，真有神力出手干預，救了他。

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

另一個謎團是，李獲釋後究竟去了哪裡。

No one really knows,

沒人真正知道，

since he just kind of disappeared. 語氣意圖

因為他就這麼消失了。

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

有傳言稱，他保持低調，搬去了倫敦，

while others say he moved abroad.

也有人說他去了國外。

More recent research suggests that he went over the pond 慣用語

較新的研究顯示，他橫渡了大西洋，

and that his grave is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

墳墓就在威斯康辛州密爾瓦基。

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

這項研究斷言，他拋下了在英格蘭的妻子和兩個孩子，

and started a new life in the States.

到美國展開新生活。

It's possible he was buried there in 1945.

他可能於1945年葬在那裡。

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

現在，讓我們來看看人類曾經施加過的

that humans have dished out. 片語動詞

一些最殘酷刑罰中的兩種。

Choose from the videos

請從以下影片中選擇：

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

《凱瑟琳輪刑：人類史上最殘酷的刑罰》，

and Drawn and Quartered,

以及《拖行四分屍刑：

Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind.

人類史上最殘酷的刑罰》。