Japan's 1st person freed from death row dies at 95

Not only was he coerced into a confession by a team of investigators who interrogated him for hours on end, but in court key evidence supporting his alibi was ignored and false witness testimony was used to put him away.

And people blame Ghosn for fleeing this barbaric system?

Pretty sure many have died.

Not only was he coerced into a confession by a team of investigators who interrogated him for hours on end, but in court key evidence supporting his alibi was ignored and false witness testified.

its so sad that today it's happening again right now

the justice system in Japan is broken, historical evidence tells us prosecutors have a toxic culture and innocence is not a concern.

he coerced into a confession by a team of investigators who interrogated him for hours on end

This confession almost cause him death and others put in jail for crime they didn't commit.

In 1950, Menda was convicted in a robbery-murder case in his native Kumamoto Prefecture near Fukuoka and was given the death penalty by a district court branch.

70 years later coerced confesion still in use in Japan.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/22/national/crime-legal/false-conviction-japan-justice-system/

Not only was he coerced into a confession by a team of investigators who interrogated him for hours on end

Japan hadn't changed a bit.

Wonder how many innocents are in jail today.

Mr Menda was only a pawn in their game which is still played today by the same methods because "justice" for others does not matter to the majority of people who are daily struggling desperately to get through life as best they can and so give little time or thought to helping society's innocent victims caught up in the state's Kafkaesque bureaucratic grinder.

May his spirit rest in peace.

One wonders how many have been wrongly executed not just in Japan but all over the world. Menda must have been a tough man. 34 years in prison but then managed to live for another 37 years. Good for him.

Ghosn was almost 100% guilty

He is wanted by Interpol. He is wanted in Holland. He is wanted in France. He is wanted in Japan.

And your second statement proves your first, does it? Give us a break.

Pretty sure guilty or not it's best to avoid any contact with Japan's weird version of justice.

Japan's incarcerated typically live a long time, as compared to in the U.S. and those on the outside also, I wonder what is their longevity secret.

I wonder what is their longevity secret.

Its actually no secret. No overeating, no alcohol, no smoking, and no junk food. Eating only traditional Japanese food 3 times a day and mandatory regular checkups all extend their life expectancy.

A legal system like Japans, makes Japan a very dangerous place to live, or even visit.

I saw this on the news last night. I am still shocked by his spending 34 years on death row. At some point the hangman comes for you, long before 34 years. Maybe all of his petitions kept the rope away long enough to finally get justice, as the various Justice Ministers (as spineless politicians) did not want to sign his execution order while a petition was pending.

I saw this on the news last night. I am still shocked by his spending 34 years on death row. At some point the hangman comes for you, long before 34 years. Maybe all of his petitions kept the rope away long enough to finally get justice, as the various Justice Ministers (as spineless politicians) did not want to sign his execution order while a petition was pending.

Did it never occur to anybody, Justice Ministers, judges, prosecutors, police, that in all those 34 years, and beyond, the real perpetrator of the crime was getting away with it. They obviously had doubts by not wanting to sign the execution order. But now we will never know.

Well, as any professional interrogator will know, the use of torture (which seems to be very subtle in Japan), forced confessions is counter-productive.

It seems that a huge mistake has been made somewhere down the line, allowing this indefinite detention in Japan.

Looks like the guy was forced to confess after a really long time on solitary confinement.

Before the trial, the police received various evidence that exonerated the guy. But that evidence was not revealed for years to come.

Then the guy asked his lawyer to claim his innocence and fight on the trial. But the lawyer betrayed him and disappeared.

Had many re-trials and loosed them all, even with outstanding evidence of his innocence.

Not only was he coerced into a confession by a team of investigators who interrogated him for hours on end, but in court key evidence supporting his alibi was ignored and false witness testimony was used to put him away.

Such prosecutors should be charged

Assassins with a proved evidence must be punished, I support death penalty..

Of course, if they are found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt under correct rule of law.

 A legal system like Japans, makes Japan a very dangerous place to live, or even visit.

What a childish comment.. facepalm

Of course you think it childish. It has never happened to you.

This is the reason I don’t support the death penalty. Not because I don’t think there are people out there who deserve a good neck stretching, but because it’s the only punishment you can’t overturn once it’s been carried out. Better to let a hundred guilty men walk free than to have one innocent person die by mistake or malpractice.