A symposium was held in Tokyo to consider the lay choose system and false convictions according to the twenty first anniversary of the lay choose system’s 14th anniversary.
At a symposium held by a company made up of former lay judges and attorneys, it was determined {that a} retrial of Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to demise for the homicide of a household of 4 in Shizuoka Prefecture 57 years in the past, could be repeated. Opinions have been exchanged on how one can forestall false accusations.
Lawyer Satoshi Oshiro of a citizen’s group that makes proposals concerning the lay choose system mentioned, “Citizens are expected to look at cases more carefully from a variety of perspectives. I want you to take care of it,” he mentioned.
In addition, a person who served as a supplementary lay choose in an arson-murder trial through which the judgment of innocence or the demise penalty was contested mentioned, “If you don’t completely focus on the proof and if even the slightest doubt stays, you’ll be acquitted. I feel there’s a danger of being concerned in a false cost,” he said.
Iwao Hakamada’s older sister, Hideko, also sent a video message, saying, “I feel that misconduct will naturally happen when the general public agrees with the investigative company’s view. I need the reality to be correctly investigated.”
Since the system began in May 2009, the number of people who have served as lay judges and supplementary lay judges has reached 110,000 by the end of February this year, and from this year onwards, 18 and 19 years old. has also expanded its scope.
A university student who participated said, “I assumed that false prices have been distant, however I felt that it was essential to take it personally.”