In Rare Reversal, Japan Clears Man Convicted of Murder

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

In Rare Reversal, Japan Clears Man Convicted of Murder
By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: March 26, 2010

TOKYO — For more than 17 years, Toshikazu Sugaya, a soft-spoken kindergarten bus driver, lived behind bars, serving a life sentence for the murder of a 4-year-old girl.

On Friday, the 63-year-old Mr. Sugaya was cleared of all charges after a judge acknowledged that he had been bullied by investigators into making a false confession — a practice that critics say is all too common in Japan’s criminal justice system.

It was only the sixth time since World War II that a defendant with a finalized death penalty or life sentence had been acquitted in a retrial, according to Kyodo News.

“We are truly sorry that your words of truth fell upon deaf ears,” Masanobu Sato, the presiding judge, told Mr. Sugaya at a retrial at Utsunomiya District Court, north of Tokyo, according to news reports. “I strongly hope something like this will never happen again.”

~snip~
On Friday, the three judges at Mr. Sugaya’s trial bowed deeply, saying the court, too, had been at fault for not making sure that a fair investigation had been carried out. Mr. Sugaya bowed back, before leaving the court and collapsing, in tears, in the arms of supporters waiting outside.

“I feel completely different today from yesterday,” Mr. Sugaya said. “I feel refreshed by the verdict of complete innocence.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/world/asia/27japan.html?ref=world

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Toshikazu Sugaya