The trial of a man accused of being a co-conspirator in the murder of a 32-year-old man in a Tokyo apartment in 1999 was finally concluded this week. The trial, which was taking place at Sendai District Court, was interrupted in March due to the Tohoku earthquake, but resumed earlier this month with a new jury.
The defendant was found not guilty of involvement in the murder due to lack of evidence. The defendant cannot be named because although he is now 32 years old, he was 19 when the murders took place, making him a minor under Japanese law.
According to a report on NHK, the defendant was accused of being involved in the murder of a gang member by another man currently serving time for the crime. The defendant and most of the other witnesses were questioned before the trial was suspended. In an unprecedented move, the new jury was shown a DVD recording of the first half of the trial to help them reach their verdict.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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Mirai Hayashi
12 years...sounds like he's already served his sentence
jonobugs
Wow....so much for the right to a speedy trial. I guess that doesn't apply to Japan.
TopHatAndCane
Has no one here heard "innocent until proven guilty"?
Ramzel
Maybe the evidence was washed away in the tsunami?
Juan Rodriguez
Does anybody know if he will be compensated for all those lost years, monetarily speaking? 12 years is a long time, the system makes mistakes too, I am not too sure if this was a good or bad mistake if you know what I mean, was he involved or not?
Nicky Washida
Has he been in jail for 12 years waiting for his trial???!
ExportExpert
Shouldn't the trial have been abandoned and a retrial ordered, interrupt a trial and resume it with a different jury showing them a DVD of the first half?
Sounds very second rate to me, the jury were shown a DVD c'mon how about they actually judicate over the whole thing in one go. Retrial is the way to handle this.
I bet the suspect feels lucky .
Oracle
I wonder how long he has been in the dock if the murder was 12 years ago?
nath
The pause that refreshes...
ADK99
What's strange about it? The trial was interrupted. The trail resumed. The trial was concluded with a not guilty verdict.
Elbuda Mexicano
This news sounds very, very strange, so there was an earthquake ok, and now this guy is found not guilty?? Lack of evidence??
mitoguitarman
Acquited? What! There goes your perfect record.