美国伊利诺伊州中部地区联邦法院法官詹姆斯·沙迪德18日宣布，2017年绑架和谋杀中国访问学者章莹颖的布伦特·克里斯滕森被判处终身监禁且不得假释。

沙迪德当天在法庭上宣布，因陪审团12名成员未能就判处克里斯滕森死刑达成一致，他决定判处克里斯滕森终身监禁且不得假释。克里斯滕森同时因向美国联邦调查局撒谎的另两项罪名而被判处一共10年监禁

2017年6月1日，章莹颖在她日记本的最后一页，用英文写了这样一句话：生命太过短暂，不能甘于平凡。　　Life is too short to be ordinary.

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Illinois man jailed for life over murder of Chinese graduate student

A U.S. District Court jury in Peoria, Illinois found Brendt Christensen, 29, guilty last month of all charges in the murder of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

On Thursday, the same jury of five women and seven men told the judge they were unable to unanimously decide between life in prison or the death penalty. Christensen was then sentenced to life imprisonment by default.

jury 陪审团；评判委员会

unanimously 全体一致地

death penalty 死刑

be sentenced to 被判处

life imprisonment 无期徒刑；终身监禁

Christensen, who looked down with his eyes closed, smiled and sighed when U.S. District Judge James Shadid read the decision. He hugged and thanked his lawyers. His mother was hugged by a member of his legal team in the courtroom.

Shadid admonished Christensen for not addressing Zhang’s family when he gave him the opportunity during a brief hearing later when he formally sentenced him.

“The mercy extended to you by this jury is a testament to their humanity, not your character,” Shadid said.

While Illinois has outlawed capital punishment, it is an option in federal cases tried under U.S. kidnapping laws.

capital punishment 死刑

In the sentencing phase of the trial on Wednesday, prosecutors described how Christensen, a one-time masters student at the university, took Zhang to his apartment, where she fought for her life as he bludgeoned her with a baseball bat, raped her and stabbed her in the neck before cutting off her head.

prosecutor 检察官；公诉人

bludgeon 连续重击

stab （用刀等锐器）戳，捅，刺

“He will die in prison as he should for these unthinkable acts,” John Milhiser, the U.S. attorney for the central district of Illinois, told a news conference.

Christensen’s lawyers acknowledged in the trial and closing arguments that their client killed Zhang, but asked the jury to consider that he had struggled with substance abuse and mental illness.

closing arguments (法庭上律师做的)结辩陈词

substance abuse 滥用毒品，滥用药物

“It’s the lesser of two evils,” Christensen’s father Michael said of the sentence.

Zhang’s parents and fiance sat through the five-week trial in Peoria, about 165 miles (266 km) southwest of Chicago. In a statement her family said it disagreed with the sentence.

fiance 未婚夫

“We accept that he will spend the rest of his life in prison, which still reflects our loss in a meaningful way,” the family said.

Zhang was reported missing on June 9, 2017, two months after arriving from southeastern China to study photosynthesis and crop production. Her remains have never been found but prosecutors said her DNA matched blood found in three spots in Christensen’s bedroom.

“If you have any humanity left in your soul, please help us end our torment,” the Zhang family said, pleading for Christensen to disclose where he left her body.

The case has been closely watched in China, where state-run media have covered the court proceedings, and the sentencing set social media alight on Friday.

state-run media 官方媒体

Three of the top 10 topics trending on Twitter-like Weibo related to the case, with many comments disparaging the U.S. legal system and expressing outrage over the jury’s inability to agree to a death sentence.

death sentence 死刑

“So, this is the reason why there are so many serial killers in America, because crime is encouraged by the law at its roots,” ran one comment.

“This is saddest for her parents...no death sentence,” read another. “The U.S. legal system is really crap.”

Investigators were led to Christensen through surveillance video footage in Urbana, 130 miles (210 km) south of Chicago, that showed Zhang getting into a black car later traced to him.

Prosecutors at the trial characterized Christensen as having a fascination with serial killers, including Ted Bundy, executed in 1989 after having murdered dozens of women during the 1970s.

Details of the crime, including Zhang’s decapitation, were revealed by Christensen in conversations with a girlfriend secretly recorded for FBI agents investigating the case before his arrest, according to trial testimony.

死刑的三种表达:

death penalty / capital punishment / death sentence

相关词汇：

案件受理费 court acceptance fee

包揽诉讼 monopolize lawsuits

被告 defendant(用于民事、行政案件); the accused (用于刑事案件)

辩护词 defense; pleadings

辩护律师 defense lawyer

辩护要点 point of defense

辩护意见 submission

裁定书 order; ruling; determination（指终审裁定）

裁决书 award（用于仲裁）

裁决书 verdict（用于陪审团）

出庭 appear in court

传票 summons; subpoena

答辩状 answer; reply

代理词 representation

代理仲裁 agency for arbitration

待决案件 pending case

当事人陈述 statement of the parties

第三人 third party

调解 mediation

调解书 mediation

法律顾问 legal consultants

法律意见书 legal opinions

法律援助 legal aid

法律咨询 legal counseling

抗诉书 protest

控告人 accuser; complainant

跨国诉讼 transnational litigation

民事案件 civil case

民事调解 civil mediation

民事诉讼 civil litigation

判决 judgement(用于民事、行政案件)

旁证 circumstantial evidence

嫌疑人 criminal suspect

相关短语：

Divine‘s punishments， though slow， are always sure.

天网恢恢，疏而不漏。

The law does not concern itself about family trifles.

法律难断家务事。

This document is legally binding.

该文件具有法律约束力。

This law is in abeyance.

此法暂缓执行。

This law will go into effect on the day of its promulgation.

本法自公布之日起施行。

Giving the killer what he deserves.

予杀人者以应得之罪。

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.

每个人都享有言论自由。

Everyone is equal before the law.

法律面前人人平等。

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