PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Vivid color photographs that became available of the five pieces of clothing, which were found in a miso tank at the crime site during the initial trial of the first instance and were supposedly worn by Hakamada during the killing, provided a decisive factor that allowed for a retrial to be called. The photos had long remained withdrawn by the prosecutors, who disclosed them only at the urging of the Shizuoka District Court during the hearing on the second retrial request. The photos show bloodstains that remained reddish. Whether that fact is consistent with the assumption that the clothes allegedly remained immersed in miso for more than a year is expected to be the biggest point of contention during the retrial. There are other questionable points about the clothing, including the trousers that were too small to fit Hakamada. The defense counsel is calling on the clothes to be excluded as evidence. The Shizuoka District Court and the Tokyo High Court said, during the retrial request hearing, that those pieces of clothing could have been fabricated by the investigating authorities. The prosecutors will inevitably be called on, in open court, to provide explanations on that grave allegation. The prosecutors should take a fair and truthful stance on the matter as representatives of the public good."
-------------------------------------------------------
EDITORIAL: "Hakamada's long-sought retrial, should be concluded swiftly," published by Asahi Shimbum, on October 30, 2023.
GIST: "A retrial recently started at the Shizuoka District Court for Iwao Hakamada, who was found guilty in the killing of a family of four, which occurred in Shizuoka Prefecture 57 years ago, and was sentenced to death.
The capital punishment verdict should be rectified as soon as possible if it was derived from a miscarriage of justice.
Court officials, the prosecutors and members of the defense team should focus on the main points of contention during the hearing.
A retrial is never held to convict a person who has been acquitted.
The institutional arrangement is there for preserving the rights of a person who has been erroneously convicted.
A decision was made for a retrial in Hakamada’s case after the presence of new “clear evidence that would lead to an acquittal,” which is required for a new trial, was recognized by the Shizuoka District Court in 2014.
In March this year, the Tokyo High Court ordered the retrial during the hearing for deciding whether a new trial should be granted.
The hearing on the retrial request, Hakamada’s second, took as many as 15 years to be concluded, as the Supreme Court remanded the process to a lower court along the way.
The procedure involved a detailed review of evidence related to major points at issue.
In the first hearing of the retrial held on Oct. 27, the prosecutors said they will still seek to prove Hakamada's guilt, even though they have the option of calling for his acquittal, considering Hakamada's age of 87 and the more than 47 years he has spent behind bars.
Given that they opted to do so, the prosecutors should present its arguments exhaustively at the district court so a final settlement can be reached in that instance.
Hakamada, who has developed mental disorders from his constant fear of being executed, should not be kept legally on death row without cause.
Vivid color photographs that became available of the five pieces of clothing, which were found in a miso tank at the crime site during the initial trial of the first instance and were supposedly worn by Hakamada during the killing, provided a decisive factor that allowed for a retrial to be called.
The photos had long remained withdrawn by the prosecutors, who disclosed them only at the urging of the Shizuoka District Court during the hearing on the second retrial request.
The photos show bloodstains that remained reddish.
Whether that fact is consistent with the assumption that the clothes allegedly remained immersed in miso for more than a year is expected to be the biggest point of contention during the retrial.
There are other questionable points about the clothing, including the trousers that were too small to fit Hakamada.
The defense counsel is calling on the clothes to be excluded as evidence.
The Shizuoka District Court and the Tokyo High Court said, during the retrial request hearing, that those pieces of clothing could have been fabricated by the investigating authorities.
The prosecutors will inevitably be called on, in open court, to provide explanations on that grave allegation.
The prosecutors should take a fair and truthful stance on the matter as representatives of the public good.
While the defendant in the retrial is Hakamada, the central question to be asked in the new trial should be what problems emerged during the investigations and the initial trial and why they could not be prevented.
The issue should come under the scrutiny, and reflection, of many eyes.
Hakamada did not attend the start of his retrial, which he continued so earnestly to seek in the nadir of despair.
His older sister Hideko argued his innocence in his place in the capacity of her brother’s assistant in court.
Hakamada’s defense team had requested not having him appear in court, which they feared could take a mental and physical toll on him.
Court officials approved the rare arrangement after they interviewed him in person.
The court officials should continue to do their best to take into account Hakamada’s condition in continuing with the proceedings."
The entire story can be read at:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/iwao/FMfcgzGwHVKqkzLhxfbZvVttgvHNjlbf
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.
Lawyer Radha Natarajan;
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
------------------------------------------------------------------
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
———————————————
