VOA慢速英语:Racial Protests, Possible Civil Rights Charges in Zimmerman Case

Americans continue to react to the decision in the murder trial of George Zimmerman. Last week, a jury in the southern state of Florida found that he was not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
美国人继续对George Zimmerman谋杀案的审判做出反应。上周，南部佛罗里达州的一个陪审团认定他枪杀17岁的Trayvon Martin无罪。

The unarmed teenager was killed last year in a struggle with the defendant. At the time, George Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer in his community in Florida. Trayvon Martin, an African American, was walking to the home of his father's girlfriend at the time of the killing.
这名手无寸铁的少年去年在和被告的打斗中被打死。当时，George Zimmerman是他所在的佛罗里达州社区中的邻里守望志愿者。Trayvon Martin是非裔美国人，被杀时正前往他父亲的女友家。

George Zimmerman is a white Hispanic man. He called police to report Trayvon Martin as a suspicious person in the neighborhood. He followed the teenager, although police told him not to. The two fought. Mr. Zimmerman says he acted in self-defense after he was attacked by the young man.
George Zimmerman是一名西班牙裔白人。他打电话给警方报告Trayvon Martin为附近的可疑人物。他跟着这名少年，尽管警察告诉他不要这样做。随后两人打了起来，Zimmerman先生说，他是在遭到该年轻人的袭击后进行自卫。

Under Florida law, people can use deadly force to fight back if they feel their lives are in danger.
根据佛罗里达州的法律，如果人们觉得自己的生命处于危险之中时，他们可以使用致命武力来反击。

Soon after the six woman jury reached its decision on Saturday, people used social media and public protests to express their opinion about the verdict.
在6名女陪审员于周六达成一致决定后不久，人们使用社交媒体和公开抗议表达他们对法院判决的意见。

"No justice. No peace. Trayvon! Justice for Trayvon!"
“没有正义。没有和平。为Trayvon讨回公道！”

Many protests have been held across the United States since the trial. Hundreds of people demonstrated in Chicago, Illinois. They expressed opposition to what activist Dickey Gaines says was a predetermined verdict -- one reached before the trial.
自从审判以来，美国各地已经举行了多次抗议。在伊利诺伊州芝加哥市，数百人举行游行示威。他们对活动人士Dickey Gaines所说的这是一次审判前就达成的预定判决表示反对。

"Because there was a lot of people across this country that was in favor of George Zimmerman being acquitted by virtue of them donating money to his defense, so that was a clear indication early on people was in support of him being acquitted in this case."
“因为这个国家有很多人支持George Zimmerman无罪，捐钱为他进行辩护。所以这是一个明确的早期迹象，人们认为他在该案中无罪。”

Casey David Cole Senior was one such supporter. He spoke to reporters near the Sanford, Florida courthouse, where the trial took place.
Casey David Cole Senior是其中一名这样的支持者。他在审判地佛罗里达州桑德兰法院附近接受记者采访。

"I'm here to express my opinion. I believe that George Zimmerman is an innocent man."
“我在这里表达我的意见，我相信George Zimmerman是一个无辜的人。”

For Chicago protester Bryan Burroughs, the case is clear in his mind.
对芝加哥的示威者Bryan Burroughs来说，这案子在他脑海中很清晰。

"Trayvon Martin was guilty of nothing but being black in a mostly white neighborhood."
“Trayvon Martin是无罪的，只不过是一个黑人出现在多数是白人的街区。”

Activist Dickey Gaines says the ruling has not changed his belief that George Zimmerman targeted the teenager because he was black.
活动人士Dickey Gaines说，判决并未改变他的信念，那就是George Zimmerman因为该少年是黑人而针对他。

"He focused on Trayvon because of Trayvon's skin color."
“他关注Trayvon只是因为Trayvon是黑人。”

Hans von Spakovsky works for the Heritage Foundation research group here in Washington. He says the legal action against Mr. Zimmerman should end now.
Hans von Spakovsky在华盛顿传统基金会的研究组工作。他说，针对Zimmerman先生的法律行动现在应该结束了。

"If the Justice Department continues to pursue this case when, one, he's been found innocent and, two, we know there's no racial animus which is necessary for a civil rights violation, that once again makes it look like politics is driving the prosecution, not justice."
“第一，他被认定是无辜的。第二，我们知道这起案件没有侵犯公民权利所必需的种族故意，如果司法部继续追究这起案子，就会再次使得它看上去是政治驱动诉讼，而非正义。”

Racial inequality in the United States goes back centuries. The issue of slavery was a major reason for the nation's civil war in the 1860s. But discrimination continued after black slaves were freed. And racial tensions still exist.
种族不平等在美国可以追溯到几个世纪前。奴隶制问题是19世纪60年代美国内战的一个重要原因。但在黑人奴隶被释放后歧视仍然存在。种族紧张局势仍存在。

Greg Carr is chairman of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, a historically black college here in Washington.
Greg Carr是位于华盛顿的一家传统黑人大学，霍华德大学美国黑人研究机构的主席。

"One thing that's tangible that can come out of this verdict is a renewed commitment to addressing people, and not looking to the courts -- not looking to the law to somehow regulate or change people's hearts and minds."
“很明显通过这起裁决提醒人们，不要期望法院和法律在某种程度上调节和改变人们的心灵和思想。”

Mr. Carr warns that if a civil rights case were brought against George Zimmerman and lost, it would increase the distrust of many people. But if such a case were won, he says, Americans would look to the courts, not within themselves, for racial healing.
Carr先生警告说，如果发起针对George Zimmerman的人权案件并且输了，它会增加许多人的不信任。但是，如果这案件赢了，他说，美国人就会期望法庭而不是他们自己来治愈种族分裂。