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Sister of man on 1966 murder retrial raps "ridiculously long" process

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Japan hostage justice system, just won't let innocent people slipped away. Need to maintain 99% conviction rate, no matter that person innocent or not. Recently someone from Tokyo Olympics bribe case brought that to court. https://japantoday.com/category/crime/indicted-mogul-takes-on-japan's-'hostage-justice'-system

-11 ( +14 / -25 )

The criminal procedure law stipulates that a retrial will be opened if there is "clear evidence to find the accused not guilty." But it lacks provisions on the disclosure of information that is in possession of prosecutors and investigators for retrials, preventing easy access to evidence that could favor the convicted, experts say.

So there is the prosecutors' get-out-of-jail-free card. And, of course, they will exploit it rather than have the truth known, for conviction is worth more than truth or justice to these prosecutors, and obviously to the people in general, and the media, since they rarely make a fuss, keeping their heads down hoping and believing the justice system is in working order.

1 ( +10 / -9 )

The prosecutors will probably still press for the death penalty as anything else would be a stain on their almost perfect record.

Their pride gets in the way of their brains!

8 ( +9 / -1 )

"We have been fighting for 58 years, and finally we are in a retrial. This is ridiculously long,"

Most people would have given up by now. I respect her ability to stay focused on what's right.

The courts are apparently just waiting for nature to take its course and wash this stain away.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Naaah sis, you underestimate how determined government employees in Japan are to ensure they and their successors have a job. So what if a rather simple trial takes five decades and many hundreds of million of taxpayer yen? Who cares, as long as the 公務員 (civil servants) have a steady salary. It's not a private company, where they pay by performance and efficiency!!!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

In Hakamata's case, it was only in 2010 that prosecutors, at the insistence of the court, disclosed evidence that helped fuel doubt on the death sentence finalized by the Supreme Court in 1980.

Any charges brought against the prosecutors who deliberately withheld evidence for 30 years that could have ensured a more just outcome to the possibly unjust incarceration of an innocent man and shed light on the identity of the actual criminal?

Thought not.

These injustices will continue until prosecutors lose their impunity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/us/robert-duboise-tampa-florida-murder-settlement.html

"I don't think Iwao should be the only one who should be saved," she said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

Good for her for grasping the larger scope of the issue.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Japan needs to revise its retrial system .....

Japan needs to revise it's whole legal system.

-4 ( +9 / -13 )

Japan's over 99% conviction rate and the "hostage justice system" are the scariest things by far about living here. The Govt. is all about saving money when it comes to people's rights but not when it comes to stimulus packages directed towards corporate Japan.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

But it lacks provisions on the disclosure of information that is in possession of prosecutors and investigators for retrials, preventing easy access to evidence that could favor the convicted, experts say.

This is the biggest problem. ALL evidence should be easily accessible - favorable or damning to the convicted.

I like the straightshooting talk of Hideko. She's saying it how it is.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Dagon

"Any charges brought against the prosecutors who deliberately withheld evidence for 30 years"

No charges will be brought against the prosecutors because under Japanese law they are not obliged to reveal any evidence that would prove detrimental to their case.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan needs to revise its retrial system .....

Japan needs to revise it's whole legal system.

Beat me to it Alan.

-10 ( +1 / -11 )

This is absolutely bonkers:

The criminal procedure law stipulates that a retrial will be opened if there is "clear evidence to find the accused not guilty." But it lacks provisions on the disclosure of information that is in possession of prosecutors and investigators for retrials, preventing easy access to evidence that could favor the convicted, experts say.

OK. So, one, the burden of proof is on the accused. You have to prove your innocence instead of them having to prove that you are guilty. Two, there is no rule of discovery for the prosecution. Three, because there is no discovery, the prosecution can hide exculpatory evidence, thus preventing you from "providing clear evidence" that you are not guilty. Talk about home court advantage for the prosecution.

And as I have always stated, if they are absolutely sure this guy is guilty, why has no Justice Minister signed his execution papers in 40+ years? 134 executions in Japan since 1993, yet this man has yet to be executed. They obviously don't think he is guilty and do not want blood on their hands. They were probably hoping he would die in prison of natural causes. I imagine now they are hoping he dies before the trial and verdict so that even if he is found innocent, they can way "well, we did not execute an innocent man."

4 ( +5 / -1 )

What they want is for him to die and then say “shoganai”.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Japan needs to revise nearly all legal procedures.... still in edo jidai

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

If he can prove his innocence, wow that's a lot of embarrassment for the prosecution, and what about the compansassion claim how much could that be, the whole system needs to be overhauled, but we all know it won't be in our life time, poor bloke, it should have been sorted years ago, not years after his death,

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It’s called the waiting game. No moral compass or empathy necessary. No one held accountable for any miscarriage of justice or wrongdoing, and the system takes care of its enablers. 50 years or longer, try us!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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