ID :
48257
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 20:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/48257
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Kin of murder victims launch group to abolish statute of limitations
TOKYO, Feb. 28 Kyodo -
Relatives of unresolved murder case victims launched a group Saturday to seek
the abolition of the statute of limitations for homicides, stressing that they
cannot accept that perpetrators are able to run away from punishment no matter
how much time passes.
Among the 20 regular members of the group is the father of British woman
Lindsay Hawker who was killed in Japan in 2007. The group's chairman is
Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, 80, whose son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were
killed in 2000.
''As the group makes its first step, I am expecting a lot... These activities
are not only for ourselves, but for the future -- so that this kind of
situation will not continue,'' Miyazawa told a press conference in Tokyo after
the group held its first meeting earlier in the day.
In an effort to pressure the state, the group hopes to submit petitions to the
Justice Ministry and collect signatures from people who support its idea. It
also plans to cooperate with other crime victim organizations, a member said.
The group named itself ''Sora no Kai'' (A group of eternal time), in
consideration of victims and their bereaved family members who are under
continuing sorrow.
The limitations period for capital crimes such as murder was extended to 25
years from 15 years in 2005 under the revised Code of Criminal Procedure, but
the group is questioning the existence of such a system itself.
The Justice Ministry has also started considering since January extending or
possibly abolishing the limitations for serious crimes amid growing calls for a
review of the system.
The bereaved families' group has been promoted by five members, including
Miyazawa, Kenji Kobayashi, 62, who has less than three years left until the
15-year limitation expires on the 1996 case of his daughter's murder, and those
who lost loved ones in cases for which the statute of limitations has already
expired.
Sumiko Namai, one of the promoters, noted the agony she experienced when the
statute of limitations ran out in the case of her daughter's murder in 1990.
''At that moment, I felt that I could not do anything more and I was so
mortified. I told my daughter that I was sorry, sorry that I was not able to
catch the murderer,'' the 72-year-old mother said.
''Thinking that the perpetrator has become free and is walking around... I
cannot tolerate it as a bereaved family member...My feelings toward the
murderer have not changed,'' she said.
Hawker, 55, was absent from Saturday's group meeting but sent a message in
which he also questioned the limitations system, according to the group.
''I would like to pledge the support of myself and my family for your
organization, and confirm that we all oppose the 25-year statute law,'' Hawker
was quoted as saying in the message.
Noting that Tatsuya Ichihashi, who is the fleeing suspect in the case, is only
30 years old, Hawker also said that Ichihashi ''should remain a wanted man for
the rest of his life.''
Yoji Funaki, 45, whose elder brother was killed in Philadelphia in 1992 but has
no limitations on the case, said that abolishing the limitations gives the
bereaved families ''hope'' that the case may be solved some day, even though
the possibility may be low.
Limitations periods, an idea Japan adopted from France in its law which became
effective in 1882, are commonly believed to have been introduced because
evidence can be scattered or lost over time, making it difficult to prove who
committed a crime. Another reason is that demands for harsh penalties can wane
with the passage of time.
But proving crimes in court, even after many years have elapsed, has become
less of a challenge recently due to advances in criminal investigations
technology, such as DNA analysis, which have made it possible to preserve
evidence over a long period of time.
Meanwhile, experts say the dominant view in recent times is that limitations
periods should be considered from the viewpoint of respecting the social
relationships that the suspect has formed during the period he or she was not
indicted.
In 2007, the statute of limitations ran out in a total of 58 murder cases,
according to the Justice Ministry's latest available annual data.
Britain and many U.S. states have no limitations period for murder, according
to the Japanese Justice Ministry.
==Kyodo
Relatives of unresolved murder case victims launched a group Saturday to seek
the abolition of the statute of limitations for homicides, stressing that they
cannot accept that perpetrators are able to run away from punishment no matter
how much time passes.
Among the 20 regular members of the group is the father of British woman
Lindsay Hawker who was killed in Japan in 2007. The group's chairman is
Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, 80, whose son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were
killed in 2000.
''As the group makes its first step, I am expecting a lot... These activities
are not only for ourselves, but for the future -- so that this kind of
situation will not continue,'' Miyazawa told a press conference in Tokyo after
the group held its first meeting earlier in the day.
In an effort to pressure the state, the group hopes to submit petitions to the
Justice Ministry and collect signatures from people who support its idea. It
also plans to cooperate with other crime victim organizations, a member said.
The group named itself ''Sora no Kai'' (A group of eternal time), in
consideration of victims and their bereaved family members who are under
continuing sorrow.
The limitations period for capital crimes such as murder was extended to 25
years from 15 years in 2005 under the revised Code of Criminal Procedure, but
the group is questioning the existence of such a system itself.
The Justice Ministry has also started considering since January extending or
possibly abolishing the limitations for serious crimes amid growing calls for a
review of the system.
The bereaved families' group has been promoted by five members, including
Miyazawa, Kenji Kobayashi, 62, who has less than three years left until the
15-year limitation expires on the 1996 case of his daughter's murder, and those
who lost loved ones in cases for which the statute of limitations has already
expired.
Sumiko Namai, one of the promoters, noted the agony she experienced when the
statute of limitations ran out in the case of her daughter's murder in 1990.
''At that moment, I felt that I could not do anything more and I was so
mortified. I told my daughter that I was sorry, sorry that I was not able to
catch the murderer,'' the 72-year-old mother said.
''Thinking that the perpetrator has become free and is walking around... I
cannot tolerate it as a bereaved family member...My feelings toward the
murderer have not changed,'' she said.
Hawker, 55, was absent from Saturday's group meeting but sent a message in
which he also questioned the limitations system, according to the group.
''I would like to pledge the support of myself and my family for your
organization, and confirm that we all oppose the 25-year statute law,'' Hawker
was quoted as saying in the message.
Noting that Tatsuya Ichihashi, who is the fleeing suspect in the case, is only
30 years old, Hawker also said that Ichihashi ''should remain a wanted man for
the rest of his life.''
Yoji Funaki, 45, whose elder brother was killed in Philadelphia in 1992 but has
no limitations on the case, said that abolishing the limitations gives the
bereaved families ''hope'' that the case may be solved some day, even though
the possibility may be low.
Limitations periods, an idea Japan adopted from France in its law which became
effective in 1882, are commonly believed to have been introduced because
evidence can be scattered or lost over time, making it difficult to prove who
committed a crime. Another reason is that demands for harsh penalties can wane
with the passage of time.
But proving crimes in court, even after many years have elapsed, has become
less of a challenge recently due to advances in criminal investigations
technology, such as DNA analysis, which have made it possible to preserve
evidence over a long period of time.
Meanwhile, experts say the dominant view in recent times is that limitations
periods should be considered from the viewpoint of respecting the social
relationships that the suspect has formed during the period he or she was not
indicted.
In 2007, the statute of limitations ran out in a total of 58 murder cases,
according to the Justice Ministry's latest available annual data.
Britain and many U.S. states have no limitations period for murder, according
to the Japanese Justice Ministry.
==Kyodo
