 assault – attack

 intervene – step in, get involved

 testify – officially say, in a court of law, that something hapened
 confess – accept blame, admit guilt
 try – examine sb in a court to determine if they are innocent or not
 maintain – insist, continue to say sth is true
 sentence – say in a court of law that sb will receive a particular punishment
 execute – kill as punishment
 hearing – an official meeting at which facts about a crime are presented
 verdict – decision made by jury in a court of law
 appeal – a formal request in court for a decision to be changed
 petition – a request for change signed by many people

in light of ~

Example: “In light of the new information about the case, Davis should not have been executed.”

Background: In English, knowledge or information is said to “bring light” to an issue. When

something happens in the light of something (e.g. new information), it means it
happens considering that thing. Other synonyms: taking into account ~, due to ~ , because of ~

“In light of the weather forecast, we have had to cancel our camping trip.”

1. He was working as a security guard nearby. He went to the scene because he saw a man
being assaulted.
2. They believe he was the shooter because 1) people saw him shoot the man, 2) people said
he told them he shot the man, and 3) bullets found at the scene are linked to a gun Davis
earlier used to shoot someone.
3. They claim that they were pressured into testifying against Davis by the police..
4. They hope that the laws will change so that the execution process will stop if new information
about a case becomes known.