EXCLUSIVE: Retrial Requests Filed by Relatives Face Difficulties

Tokyo, Jan. 12 (Jiji Press)–Many retrial requests filed by relatives of former defendants in serious crimes whose convictions had become final face difficulties as petitioners have died or grown very old amid protracted procedures, Jiji Press has learned. Since the end of World War II, there have been at least 17 cases for which relatives filed for retrials on behalf of former defendants convicted in serious cases such as murder who had died or fallen into mental incapacity. Of them, request procedures in six cases have been terminated or cut short with no prospects of reapplication because of the aging and death of petitioners, according to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and defense lawyers. Protracted proceedings for retrials, often caused by procedural problems, have drawn criticism. To improve the situation, a nonpartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. Meanwhile, a subcommittee of the Justice Ministry’s Legislative Council is discussing a review of the retrial request system. “It’s necessary to expand the range of evidence disclosure while prohibiting prosecutors from filing appeals against retrial decisions, in order to resolve retrial cases as soon as possible,” an expert says. According to the federation and defense lawyers, there are three cases for which it has become impossible to maintain retrial requests due to the death or dementia of petitioners, including the 1947 Fukuoka incident in which two people were killed in the southwestern city of Fukuoka and capital punishment was imposed for robbery and murder. Also among the three was the Yamamoto incident in which one person died in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, in 1928 and a life sentence for the murder of an ascendant became final. Over the incident, court documents were lost during wartime. The request procedures were terminated after his wife, who sought a retrial after the former defendant’s death, developed dementia. Request procedures were cut short for three other cases. Lawyers in the cases are trying to make fresh requests for retrials, but they are uncertain whether they would be able to find new petitioners. One of the three is the 1948 Teigin incident in Tokyo in which 12 people, including bank employees, were poisoned to death. The 19th request for a retrial was aborted for former death row inmate Sadamichi Hirasawa, who died in prison, because the petitioner, who was Hirasawa’s adopted child, died in 2013. Another bereaved family took over and filed the 20th request, but it was terminated after the person died in January last year. Also among the three was the 1949 Mitaka incident in Tokyo that left six people dead. Former death row inmate Keisuke Takeuchi, who had received a death sentence for causing death by overturning a train, died of illness. His first son, who requested a retrial, died in May last year. The request procedures were terminated before a scheduled examination of witnesses was conducted. “The reasons for the prolonged procedures are insufficient disclosure of evidence, appeals by prosecutors and inadequate procedural rules,” said Hiroyuki Kuzuno, Aoyama Gakuin University professor with expertise on retrial systems. “A lot of time is spent on closed procedures, and petitioners die in the meantime. We should take that seriously.” The Legislative Council subcommittee is reviewing the retrial request system from spring last year. The ministry expects to receive a proposal from the council no later than February this year. But drastic reform measures are unlikely to be included because most subcommittee members support for the idea of maintaining prosecutors’ right to challenge retrial decisions. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]