Abandon Hope All Ye Tried in Japan
The 99 percent conviction rate in Japan’s criminal courts is no credit to the efficiency of the system or efforts to reform it.
Jake Adelstein
Jake Adelstein
05.29.14 1:00 PM ET
It is not efficient. It is just that
Note that people in the U.S. are much more likely to be prosecuted and end up in jail than people in Japan
List of countries by incarceration rate
From Wikipedia
Does Jake think that a society where 655 people in jail per 100k is better than the society where just 41 people are in jail per 100k?
In U.S. 2 out of 10 cases, you might not be found guilty, but perhaps you are much more likely to be arrested, prosecuted and end up in jail in the U.S.
Misleading and wrong.
Japanese constitution.
Article 39. No person shall be held criminally liable for an act which was lawful at the time it was committed, or of which he has been acquitted, nor shall he be placed in double jeopardy.
Just 10 % goes to the higher court. In most of the cases, not the prosecutor but the accused appeals
Am I the only one who feels like innocent until proven guilty no longer exists in America?
It's regrettable the prosecutors in Japan and in the U.S. leave an impression that innocent until proven guilty no longer exists
You don't have to consult Johson. If you are reading the newspaper, you know it.
Prosecutors withheld evidence that would have exonerated a man: advocates
By Priscilla DeGregory June 27, 2017
She Was Convicted of Killing Her Mother. Prosecutors Withheld the Evidence That Would Have Freed Her.
By the time Noura Jackson’s conviction was overturned, she had spent nine years in prison. This type of prosecutorial error is almost never punished.
BY EMILY BAZELONAUG. 1, 2017
Prosecutors improperly withheld crucial evidence from trial of protesters
Police and prosecutors are facing claims that they have systematically - and unfairly - concealed the operations of undercover officers from the trials of protesters
Probably this is a blatant lie. Ask any Japanese lawyer they will deny it.
Jake might respond, "of course, they will deny it but they say it secretly. The lawyers don't want to be named " Then ask him who they are on the understanding that you won't let it out.
I guess Jake can't name any. Because there are no lawyers like that.
In any case, perhaps we all can agree that we should improve the judicial system to avoid wrongful convictions
The Innocence Project
Wrongly imprisoned （youtube)
冤罪（youtube)
The 99 percent conviction rate in Japan’s criminal courts is no credit to the efficiency of the system or efforts to reform it.
Jake Adelstein
Jake Adelstein
05.29.14 1:00 PM ET
Japan’s criminal justice system has a stunning 99 percent conviction rate (which gives ironic new meaning to the sobriquet “the one percent”), and that could be because it’s just so wonderfully efficient.
It is not efficient. It is just that
Japanese prosecutors rarely risk a not-guilty verdict. “They only prosecute the cases where they’re really, really confident in obtaining a conviction,” Kinukawa said.
Note that people in the U.S. are much more likely to be prosecuted and end up in jail than people in Japan
List of countries by incarceration rate
From Wikipedia
Japan 41
France 104
UK 140
US 655
Does Jake think that a society where 655 people in jail per 100k is better than the society where just 41 people are in jail per 100k?
In U.S. 2 out of 10 cases, you might not be found guilty, but perhaps you are much more likely to be arrested, prosecuted and end up in jail in the U.S.
Double jeopardy? No problem in Japan, where the prosecution not only can appeal a not-guilty verdict, it almost always does.
Misleading and wrong.
Japanese constitution.
Article 39. No person shall be held criminally liable for an act which was lawful at the time it was committed, or of which he has been acquitted, nor shall he be placed in double jeopardy.
As the Japanese courts construe it, the double-jeopardy clause (Const. art. 39) protects a defendant from being independently prosecuted twice for the same crime but does not prevent the state from appealing an acquittal. （p175 Japanese Law J.Mark Ramseyer
刑事第一審全体での控訴率は１割であり（【表２】），ほとんどが被告人側控訴による。＜高等裁判所における刑事訴訟事件（控訴審）の審理の状況＞
Just 10 % goes to the higher court. In most of the cases, not the prosecutor but the accused appeals
“The system is ‘presumed innocent until proven guilty’ in theory,” says Kawai, “but the accused is routinely denied bail and held in confinement—unless they confess. If they don’t confess, they’re assumed to be in danger of destroying evidence that would convict them, which presumes that they’re guilty in the first place. If they do confess, then later plead innocent, the judge doesn’t believe the confession was coerced—thus they are almost sure to be found guilty.”
Am I the only one who feels like innocent until proven guilty no longer exists in America?
It's regrettable the prosecutors in Japan and in the U.S. leave an impression that innocent until proven guilty no longer exists
According to Johnson, there have been several cases in which prosecutors concealed critical evidence that would have exonerated the accused, but such prosecutorial conduct is not considered a crime.
You don't have to consult Johson. If you are reading the newspaper, you know it.
Prosecutors withheld evidence that would have exonerated a man: advocates
By Priscilla DeGregory June 27, 2017
Manhattan prosecutors withheld evidence that would have exonerated a man convicted of killing a retired cop in 1998, according to advocates who are now demanding a retrial.
She Was Convicted of Killing Her Mother. Prosecutors Withheld the Evidence That Would Have Freed Her.
By the time Noura Jackson’s conviction was overturned, she had spent nine years in prison. This type of prosecutorial error is almost never punished.
BY EMILY BAZELONAUG. 1, 2017
Noura Jackson called 911 at 5 a.m. on Sunday, June 5, 2005. ‘‘Please, I need, I need an ambulance, I need an ambulance right now!’’ she cried.
...
Prosecutors improperly withheld crucial evidence from trial of protesters
Police and prosecutors are facing claims that they have systematically - and unfairly - concealed the operations of undercover officers from the trials of protesters
....
In recent years, police and prosecutors have been accused of systematically concealing evidence collected by undercover officers from trials of campaigners.
The lord chief justice, Lord Thomas, said there had been “a complete and total failure” to disclose evidence that would have been fundamental to the activists’ defence. He said that “although it was beyond argument that the involvement of Mark Kennedy should have been disclosed, it was not.”
Some criminal defense attorneys have confessed to advising their clients to plead guilty even when they were sure their client was innocent. With only a one percent chance of victory—the odds are not in favor of the accused. To many, Japan’s criminal justice system seems to remain criminally unjust.
Probably this is a blatant lie. Ask any Japanese lawyer they will deny it.
Jake might respond, "of course, they will deny it but they say it secretly. The lawyers don't want to be named " Then ask him who they are on the understanding that you won't let it out.
I guess Jake can't name any. Because there are no lawyers like that.
In any case, perhaps we all can agree that we should improve the judicial system to avoid wrongful convictions
The Innocence Project
Wrongly imprisoned （youtube)
冤罪（youtube)
