STORY: "Did Japan execute an innocent man?" by Kana Sasakura, published by the Wrongful Convictions Blog, on June 25, 2012.
GIST: "Then, in 2009, the country was stirred by a finding in another high profile case, the Ashikaga Case (read about this case here). In Ashikaga case, a man was exonerated by the result of a new DNA test. It revealed that he was not the actual perpetrator. There was a faulty DNA testing in the Ashikaga case which was conducted in 1992 (only a few years after the DNA testing became available for investigative purposes in Japan), the same time period that the DNA testing was done in Kuma’s case. The method of the testing used by the police crime lab in the Ashikaga case and Kuma‘s case was MCT 118 type testing. With this method of testing, the probability of a match in the population was only 1.2 persons in 1,000. Kuma’s family and attorneys are now trying to exonerate Kuma. They filed for a retrial to the Fukuoka District Court in 2009, one year after his execution. There have been developments in the case. In March 2012, the District Court ordered the crime lab to send the DNA testing results to the Court. There might be a possibility that further investigation will be made in the case. Did we execute an innocent man? It may become clear in the near future."
The entire post can be found at:http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/06/25/did-japan-execute-the-wrong-man-iizuka-case/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
