ID :
52305
Thu, 03/26/2009 - 04:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/52305
The shortlink copeid
Kin of slain Briton hopes to eliminate Japan's statute of limitations+
TOKYO, March 25 Kyodo - The visiting family of slain British woman Lindsay Ann Hawker promised Wednesday to try to raise awareness in Britain about Japan's controversial statute of limitations system for homicides, as they met in Tokyo with a group of Japanese families of unresolved murder case victims who are seeking to abolish the system.
While Britain has no such system, Japan sets a 25-year limitations period for
capital crimes such as murder, which was extended from 15 years in 2005 when
the revised Code of Criminal Procedure came into force.
Referring to the differences between the two countries, Julia, Lindsay's
52-year-old mother, said, ''The cultures are very different. And our
understanding was that if a life is taken, the person who has taken it remains
responsible for the rest of their lives.''
With Tatsuya Ichihashi, the 30-year-old suspect in the 2007 Hawker murder case,
fleeing, Lindsay's father William, 56, has become a member of the Japanese
families' group which was launched in late February to pressure the Japanese
government to put an end to the century-old limitations system.
''We will never accept 25 years (of limitations) because Ichihashi would be
free at my age,'' Julia said.
Lindsay's parents as well as their two daughters visited the office of the
group ''Sora no Kai'' (a group of eternal time) in Tokyo.
During the gathering, Lindsay's family members offered help to the group's
activities and shared their sorrow with other Japanese members who lost their
loved ones and are in agony due to the statute of limitations system.
''I think that if we raise this (issue) in England, especially in relation to
help (resolve) Lindsay's murder, although it is no more important than any
other here, I think people will be outraged,'' Julia said.
One of Julia's daughters also emphasized that most people in Britain would not
know about the statute of limitations for murder because it is ''so old and
different'' compared with Britain's system.
The British family arrived in Japan on Sunday ahead of the second anniversary
of the death of Lindsay, 22, and was briefed by police about how investigations
are proceeding.
On March 26, 2007, Lindsay's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub on the
balcony of Ichihashi's apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.
Ichihashi managed to escape from police officers, who had called at his
apartment after the language school Lindsay worked for reported to the police
that she was missing.
Ichihashi has not been found and is on a nationwide wanted list on suspicion of
abandoning her body. The police are offering a cash reward for information
leading to the arrest of the suspect or resolution of the incident.
Statute of limitations periods, an idea which 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.
The group of relatives of murder victims has insisted that the bereaved
families' desire to impose harsh penalties on the perpetrators would not fade
away no matter how much time passes.
The group is chaired by Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, 80, whose son, daughter-in-law and
two grandchildren were killed in 2000.
When the extension of the limitations period was discussed in Japan, some
pundits expressed concern that doing so may increase the burden of
investigative organizations or make it difficult for defendants to defend
themselves when they try to prove their alibis.
==Kyodo
2009-03-25 23:34:24
While Britain has no such system, Japan sets a 25-year limitations period for
capital crimes such as murder, which was extended from 15 years in 2005 when
the revised Code of Criminal Procedure came into force.
Referring to the differences between the two countries, Julia, Lindsay's
52-year-old mother, said, ''The cultures are very different. And our
understanding was that if a life is taken, the person who has taken it remains
responsible for the rest of their lives.''
With Tatsuya Ichihashi, the 30-year-old suspect in the 2007 Hawker murder case,
fleeing, Lindsay's father William, 56, has become a member of the Japanese
families' group which was launched in late February to pressure the Japanese
government to put an end to the century-old limitations system.
''We will never accept 25 years (of limitations) because Ichihashi would be
free at my age,'' Julia said.
Lindsay's parents as well as their two daughters visited the office of the
group ''Sora no Kai'' (a group of eternal time) in Tokyo.
During the gathering, Lindsay's family members offered help to the group's
activities and shared their sorrow with other Japanese members who lost their
loved ones and are in agony due to the statute of limitations system.
''I think that if we raise this (issue) in England, especially in relation to
help (resolve) Lindsay's murder, although it is no more important than any
other here, I think people will be outraged,'' Julia said.
One of Julia's daughters also emphasized that most people in Britain would not
know about the statute of limitations for murder because it is ''so old and
different'' compared with Britain's system.
The British family arrived in Japan on Sunday ahead of the second anniversary
of the death of Lindsay, 22, and was briefed by police about how investigations
are proceeding.
On March 26, 2007, Lindsay's body was found in a sand-filled bathtub on the
balcony of Ichihashi's apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.
Ichihashi managed to escape from police officers, who had called at his
apartment after the language school Lindsay worked for reported to the police
that she was missing.
Ichihashi has not been found and is on a nationwide wanted list on suspicion of
abandoning her body. The police are offering a cash reward for information
leading to the arrest of the suspect or resolution of the incident.
Statute of limitations periods, an idea which 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.
The group of relatives of murder victims has insisted that the bereaved
families' desire to impose harsh penalties on the perpetrators would not fade
away no matter how much time passes.
The group is chaired by Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, 80, whose son, daughter-in-law and
two grandchildren were killed in 2000.
When the extension of the limitations period was discussed in Japan, some
pundits expressed concern that doing so may increase the burden of
investigative organizations or make it difficult for defendants to defend
themselves when they try to prove their alibis.
==Kyodo
2009-03-25 23:34:24
