Japan upholds death penalty in curry poisoning

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's highest court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of a woman convicted of murdering four neighbors and sickening dozens more with arsenic-laced curry more than a decade ago.

The Supreme Court rejected Masumi Hayashi's appeal and backed an earlier criminal court's decision to administer the death penalty, said court spokeswoman Hiromi Takano.

Most likely, though, the court ruling will be the last in a nearly decade-long legal battle in one of Japan's highest-profile cases.

Hayashi's lawyers have said they plan to file a petition for a retrial, the Kyodo news agency reported.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imjlUYz9zzjQaUOv1dQp1SeIIeVAD97MRLN02

[pnorman]

1. The death penalty is extremely rare in Japan.

n/t

pnorman

[progdonkey]

2. Amnesty International disagrees...

Japan: British MP to raise issue of country's 'macabre' death penalty record

New figures published by Amnesty International this week show that Japan's current rate of executions is at its highest since 1975. In 2008 the country put to death 15 prisoners and sentenced to death another 27. This, said Amnesty, was the tenth highest number of any country in the world last year - behind only China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, USA, Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan and North Korea.

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18123">http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18123

Also, in that article, it explains Japan's form of the death penalty can be very "unusual," to the point that I'd think increased executions is almost an improvement of sorts. They list one case where a person was on death row for 41 years, and death row is apparently basically solitary confinement (you're going to be executed, so why get settled in prison like a lifer?).

On a side-note, it's so wonderful to see the US between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in that list, isn't it?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. It depends on the justice minister

If the justice minister supports the death penalty, there are many executions. If the present justice minister opposes the death penalty there are few to none. Its pretty much at the whim of the current minister, the present one is apparently quite the ghoul.

[KamaAina]

6. Not to mention Iraq

it's so wonderful to see the US between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in that list, isn't it?

Ah, the sound of freedom on the march! :sarcasm:

[pnorman]

7. I had ceased living in Japan in the early 90s, and had pretty well lost close contact.

I may have unwisely extrapolated to the present, but I'm not sure yet. My belief then was that first degree murder didn't merit a death penalty per se. It had to be something that GRAVELY offended Confucian sensibilities (eg: parricide, treason, or murder against the "general public").

And unlike in the US, an uncorroborated confession is "inadmissible". A book that I had read at the time, that gave me much insight in to the post-war legal system in Japan was "Conspiracy at Matsukawa" ("Matsukawa Jiken"), by Chalmers Johnson. I believe he was then still considered a "Cold War Scholar". It was about a notorious frame-up of left-wing unionists, most of whom were facing the death penalty. Johnson had pointed out that it was very conservative judges who got to the bottom of the matter, and got them all off. (It's been a loooong time, and I no longer have that book handy, so I my be a bit off in the details)

pnorman

[Coventina]

8. Well, she poisoned her whole community, so I think that qualifies

as gravely offending Confucian sensibilities. (on edit: removed smiley, doesn't seem appropriate for the subject of murder!)

I'm still against the DP, but I can see why this case would qualify by their standards.

Thanks for the insightful, informative post!

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. Obviously, they take their curry very seriously

[tritsofme]

4. I had thought the United States was alone in our peculiar institution of death.

at least in the developed world.

I didn't know or had since forgotten that Japan still engages in capital punishment.