PUBLISHER'S NOTE: On March 10, 2011, Guinness World Records certified Iowa Hakamada as the world’s longest-held death row inmate. Now 85, the death sentence still hovers over him - even though he has been permitted to leave prison pending extraordinary appeal-related proceedings - in spite of the scientific evidence showing he is an innocent man, and the enormous pressure that led him to confess. I do hope that this dark cloud will be lifted as soon as possible in 2022.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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BACKGROUND: ( From Wikipedia): "
On June 30, 1966, there was a fire at the home of one of Hakamada's bosses. According to Hakamada, he helped extinguish the fire only to find the bodies of the executive, his wife, and two children, all stabbed to death. About ¥200,000 in cash was stolen from the victims' residence. Hakamada was interrogated and, in August 1966, he was arrested based on his confession and a tiny amount of blood and gasoline found on a pair of pajamas he owned. According to his lawyers, Hakamada was interrogated a total of 264 hours, for as many as 16 hours a session, over 23 days to obtain the confession. They added that he was denied water or toilet breaks during the interrogation. At his trial, Hakamada retracted the confession, saying police had kicked and clubbed him to obtain it, and pleaded not guilty. .....Prosecutors put aside the pajamas and instead presented five pieces of bloody clothing that were found in a tank at the miso factory in August 1967, 14 months after the crime. They argued that the clothing came from the killer and said police had found the blood types of the victims on the clothing. They argued that Hakamada must have murdered the family in these clothes and then changed into pajamas to commit the arson. Hakamada supporters said the case was full of holes, arguing that the alleged murder weapon – a fruit knife with a 12.19-centimetre (4.80 in) blade – could not have withstood the forty stabbings of the victims without sustaining significant damage, and that the pajamas used to justify the arrest had disappeared and been replaced with the bloody clothing. The clothes were too small for Hakamada but the prosecution argued they had shrunk in the miso tank and the label had a "B" or medium size label on it which would have fitted Hakamada. However the B indicated the colour Black not the size. The blood stains on the clothes were too dark and the colour of the clothes too light to have been lying in the miso tank.......After his appeal was denied in 1980, Hakamada obtained a new team of lawyers. In 1981, they filed a request for a retrial, asking for the physical evidence to be re-examined. In the investigation, it was determined the alleged murder weapon was the wrong size to produce the stab wounds, that a door supposedly used to enter the home was actually locked, and that the bloody pants were too small to have been worn by Hakamada. Backed by the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations(JFBA), Hakamada's lawyers concluded the first trial had failed to establish that any of the clothing belonged to him. After 13 years of gathering evidence, the request was heard and denied by the Shizuoka District Court on August 9, 1994.[3] In 2000, an attempt was made to extract DNA from the bloody clothing, but available techniques did not allow for any to be detected. The Tokyo High Court upheld the retrial denial on August 27, 2004....….A 2008 DNA test suggested the blood on the clothing used as evidence did not match Hakamada's, prompting a second retrial request from his lawyers. Further tests in 2011 supported the conclusion. On March 14, 2012, a blood sample was taken from Hakamada for a more accurate DNA test to compare with the blood sample on the shoulder of the T-shirt found among the murderer's clothes. The blood was thought to be that of the attacker, and had been previously determined unlikely to be from any of the victims.The testing revealed that the blood did not match Hakamada's DNA. The prosecution disputed the validity of the DNA tests.…...On March 27, 2014, Hakamada was released from prison and granted a retrial by the Shizuoka District Court. A statement from the court said there was reason to believe evidence had been fabricated in the original trial and that keeping the 78-year-old jailed while waiting on the retrial would have been "unbearably unjust". Amnesty International remarked, "Time is running out for Hakamada to receive the fair trial he was denied more than four decades ago. If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it." A prosecution appeal of the decision to release Hakamada was denied. Hakamada is the sixth Japanese death row inmate to be granted a retrial. Four of the previous five were eventually acquitted. .....In June 2018, the Tokyo High Court overturned the ruling that had Hakamada released. He was allowed to retain his freedom due to his age until the case returns to the Supreme Court. That August the nation's highest prosecutors' office exhorted the Supreme Court to reject Hakamada's appeal to "stop the situation in which the sentence is suspended unnecessarily" Wikipedia); "
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "According to the defense team, the court has officially decided to cross-examine five witnesses, including forensic and physical chemistry experts applied by the defense and the prosecution. The schedule will be held privately on the 22nd of next month, the 1st of August, and the 5th of August, but it is said that Mr. Hakata's older sister Hideko was allowed to listen.
In the high court's discussions, the change in the color of blood stains on clothing allegedly belonging to the criminal was the biggest issue, and in the witness cross-examination, it is expected that experts will be asked to explain the testimony submitted by the defense and the prosecution respectively. is. The discussions at the high court, which started in March last year, will reach the end of the mountain. Hideko said, "We are looking for the truth. I want to come straight."
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STORY:"Hakamada Incident" retrial consultation; Expert cross-examination of witnesses Tokyo High Court officially decided," published by The Teller Report, June 27, 2002.
GIST: "Retrial of the so-called "Hakamada Incident" = In discussions on redoing the trial, the Tokyo High Court has an opinion on the testimony submitted by the defense and the prosecution ...
In the discussion about the so-called "Hakamada Incident" retrial - redoing the trial, the Tokyo High Court decided to cross-examine five forensic and physics experts to hear opinions on the testimony submitted by the defense and the prosecution. It was officially decided on the 27th.
The discussions at the high court, which started in March last year, will reach the end of the mountain.
Iwao Hakamada (86) was sentenced to death in 1966 when four people in his family were killed in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, but he has been accused of innocence and is seeking a retrial.
On the 27th, a private discussion between the court, a lawyer, and the prosecution was held at the Tokyo High Court.
According to the defense team, the court has officially decided to cross-examine five witnesses, including forensic and physical chemistry experts applied by the defense and the prosecution.
The schedule will be held privately on the 22nd of next month, the 1st of August, and the 5th of August, but it is said that Mr. Hakata's older sister Hideko was allowed to listen.
In the high court's discussions, the change in the color of blood stains on clothing allegedly belonging to the criminal was the biggest issue, and in the witness cross-examination, it is expected that experts will be asked to explain the testimony submitted by the defense and the prosecution respectively. is.
The discussions at the high court, which started in March last year, will reach the end of the mountain.
Hideko said, "We are looking for the truth. I want to come straight."
Katsuhiko Nishijima also said, "I think the court will be convinced that the content of the testimony is true by cross-examinating witnesses."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.tellerreport.com/life/2022-06-27-%22hakamada-incident%22-retrial-consultation-expert-cross-examination-of-witnesses-tokyo-high-court-officially-decided.S1evgUlw5c.html
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. 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;
