北卡罗来纳州博利维亚县——一名检察官周三宣布，他将要求对一名前海军陆战队员判处死刑。该男子因去年发生的一起大规模枪击案被起诉，事件造成三人死亡，多人受伤。
BOLIVIA, N.C. — A prosecutor announced Wednesday that he would seek the death penalty against a former Marine charged in a mass shooting last year that left three people dead and several others wounded.
“我们清楚地了解这名被告的身份，”布伦瑞克县地区检察官乔恩·戴维在谈及被告奈杰尔·马克斯·埃奇时表示。“他曾作为海军陆战队员在伊拉克服役，遭受过创伤性脑损伤，并一直与严重的精神疾病作斗争。这些事实都很重要，我们已将其纳入考量，但也必须与犯罪情节相权衡。”当局指控，埃奇于2025年9月27日驾驶一艘小型摩托艇靠近索斯波特码头旁的一家鸡尾酒吧，并用一支短管半自动步枪开火。他面临三项一级谋杀指控，以及多项谋杀未遂和持枪罪指控。
“We are not blind to who this defendant is,” Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said of defendant Nigel Max Edge. “He served this country in Iraq as a Marine , suffered a traumatic brain injury, and has struggled with serious mental illness. Those facts are important and they were weighed, but must be balanced against the circumstances of the crime.”Authorities allege Edge piloted a small motorboat up to a dockside cocktail bar in Southport on Sept. 27, 2025, and opened fire with a short-barreled semiautomatic rifle. He faces three counts of first-degree murder, as well as multiple attempted murder and weapons charges.
今年4月，高等法院法官杰森·迪斯布罗下令埃奇接受精神科治疗，此前认定他无法充分理解法律程序，因而无法有效协助律师。
In April, Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow ordered Edge to undergo psychiatric treatment after it was determined he was unable to understand his legal proceedings enough to help his lawyers.
辩护律师马修·杰弗里翁周三提出延期审理动议，称埃奇的脑损伤程度很可能使其无法接受审判。埃奇曾在伊拉克的一场交火中多次中枪，其中一发子弹击中头部。
Defense attorney Matthew Geoffrion filed a motion to continue Wednesday’s hearing, arguing that the extent of Edge’s brain injury will likely make it impossible for him to stand trial. Edge was shot multiple times during a firefight in Iraq, including once in the head.
“本案恢复其刑事责任能力的可能性似乎很低，”杰弗里翁在动议中写道。
“The chances of capacity restoration in this case appear low,” Geoffrion said in his motion.
戴维则反驳称，埃奇正在接受治疗的那家州立医院的专家“已得出结论，认为他很可能恢复能力”。但他同时补充说，是否继续推进死刑案件的最终决定尚未作出。
David countered that experts at the state hospital where Edge is being treated “have concluded he is likely to be restored.”But he added that the decision to proceed with a capital punishment case was not final.
“指定死刑审判将确保被告获得我国司法体系所能提供的最高级别保护，包括指派第二名合格律师，以及接受法院最严格的审查，”戴维说。“如果出现能够证明埃奇先生犯罪时精神状况的证据，我们将重新评估。如果他永远无法恢复行为能力，那么死刑将不再是合法的判决，也不会再被考虑。”埃奇的下一次听证会定于12月7日。
“A capital designation guarantees the defendant the highest level of protection our system offers, including the appointment of a second qualified attorney and the most rigorous scrutiny our courts provide,” David said. “If evidence emerges bearing on Mr. Edge’s sanity at the time of the offense, we will reassess. If he is never restored to capacity, the death penalty would not be a lawful sentence and would be removed from consideration.”Edge’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.