crime

Japan court denies retrial for 95-year-old woman over 1979 murder

18 Comments

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How was she convicted of murder if there was no evidence linking her to the crime? The burden of proof should be on the accusers and not on her.

Japan’s criminal justice system very much relies on the premise “no smoke without fire”. If the police arrested you, they’ve got to have a good reason, right?

I remember reading about a law professor at Waseda who was known as the best defense attorney in the entire country, because in his 40-year career, he got a not guilty verdict 6 times.

Not 600. Not 60. Not 16. Six.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No clear evidence and direct proof you gotta let the person go free.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Goodness, sounds like how the Americans found Afghan spies. Someone would say 'the guy living at No:10 is a spy' and in swooped the military to arrest him

If you go back 400 years before that, somebody only had to say that a certain woman was a witch. Anybody visiting or living in Japan need to watch a 1970's British movie "Witchfinder General". (Vincent Price). This is how Japan seems to work in the 20th, 21st century.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

it's pretty rare to win an unguilty verdict once you get prosecuted.

I hope the investigation process has become more cautious now than in the 80s.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How was she convicted of murder if there was no evidence linking her to the crime? The burden of proof should be on the accusers and not on her.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Why can’t they just use a lie detector and then give her a Truth serium drug and look her in the eyes and ask, “Did you do it?”

Because life isn’t a cartoon.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It also covered analysis by experts in psychology and information science of residents' statements that corroborated the time of the murder.

What is "information science"?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Forced confessions from relatives...rings me a bell.

Medieval Japan justice.

And no will to change aka Goshn vs Nippon.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

She needs closure and that means to clear her name as she probably already feels that her end is near.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Why can’t they just use a lie detector and then give her a Truth serium drug and look her in the eyes and ask, “Did you do it?”

Mostly because neither of those things work and are not ethical either, "truth serum" can make a person more cooperative, but not necessarily more honest and instead can make the subject have altered recollection and have implanted memories. Polygraphs are also horribly unreliable and very subjective, so it is not more than a coin toss.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Haraguchi has consistently denied any wrongdoing, with no evidence presented by the prosecution that directly linked her to the murder.

So she was found guilty because of hearsay!!!!

In the 1980 ruling, the district court found Haraguchi guilty of killing Nakamura on the grounds that her sister-in-law said Haraguchi proposed the murder, suggesting she had been unhappy about Nakamura's conduct. 

So, in Japan a rumor can land one in jail!!!

This is worse than kangaroo justice!!!!

-3 ( +11 / -14 )

Haraguchi has consistently denied any wrongdoing, with no evidence presented by the prosecution that directly linked her to the murder.

This is worth highlighting.

Generally 95 year olds who have already served their prison sentence anyway don't go to the trouble of launching expensive and difficult legal fights to clear their names unless they actually are innocent. Sounds like the case against her was largely based on conjecture from discredited testimony, which from past experience is often the case with wrongful convictions in Japan.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Why can’t they just use a lie detector and then give her a Truth serium drug and look her in the eyes and ask, “Did you do it?”

-12 ( +3 / -15 )

Haraguchi has consistently denied any wrongdoing, with no evidence presented by the prosecution that directly linked her to the murder.

Presumption of innocence is an alien concept to the j-justice.

-5 ( +12 / -17 )

At age 97 ? and has served more than 40 years!!! she should be freed. Sha has paid more than enough for her crime assuming she did it!?

Other are being sentenced 8 to 15 years for much worse crime, so why is she getting treated differently?

She spent 10 years in jail, not 40.

18 ( +19 / -1 )

At age 97 ? and has served more than 40 years!!! she should be freed. Sha has paid more than enough for her crime assuming she did it!?

Other are being sentenced 8 to 15 years for much worse crime, so why is she getting treated differently?

-12 ( +6 / -18 )

Very hard to prove a negative. But if there is no direct evidence linking her to the murder, it certainly all could have been a big mistake.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

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