Top court upholds death penalty over 1998 curry poisoning case+

TOKYO, April 21 Kyodo -
The Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday lower court death sentences given to a
woman over a 1998 fatal curry poisoning case in Wakayama City, dismissing her
not-guilty plea and bringing to an end a nearly decade-long trial process.
Masumi Hayashi, 47, was convicted of killing four people and poisoning 63
others by lacing a curry stew with arsenic during a community summer festival,
without direct evidence to prove her involvement, such as a confession, and
without her motive determined by the courts.
Presiding Justice Kohei Nasu of the top court's Third Petty Bench said in
handing down its ruling that circumstantial evidence proves to ''a degree that
leaves no room for reasonable doubt'' that she is the culprit in the case and
that the fact the lower courts have failed to clarify her motive ''does not
affect the judgment'' that she committed the crime.
Referring to the large impact the incident had on society as well as to her
attitude that does not seem to reflect on what she did, the ruling, which all
five justices unanimously agreed on, also said, ''The defendant's criminal
responsibility is extremely serious.''
The top court ''has no choice but to approve the death sentence'' by the
Wakayama District Court, which was upheld by the Osaka High Court, the ruling
said, accepting most of what prosecutors argued.
Hayashi's lawyers said in a statement that Hayashi is hoping to prove her
innocence by filing a petition for a retrial, and criticized the apex court for
giving the ruling despite the ''many doubts in determining'' Hayashi as the
culprit, such as the lack of motive.
Hayashi, who is in the Osaka Detention House, said in her own statement, ''I am
not involved in the curry-poisoning case at all... Why do I have to be
sentenced to death when all of the evidence is so weak and there is no proof of
the crime?''
Bereaved family members in the case expressed mixed feelings, with Chizuko
Taninaka, who lost her 64-year-old husband Takatoshi, saying, ''As long as I
live, this sorrow, this chagrin, will continue.''
Yurie Torii, who lost her 16-year-old daughter Miyuki, expressed disappointment
for not being able to hear why Hayashi committed the crime.
''I want to ask even now. Why did my daughter die without a motive?'' the
58-year-old mother told a press conference in Tokyo.
As for the motive, prosecutors insisted Hayashi was ''infuriated by feeling
alienated from housewives in the neighborhood'' when she went to the place
where the curry was being cooked on the day of the incident. But the district
and high court rulings said it is unclear.
At the top court, Hayashi's defense counsel denied the credibility of expert
scientific analysis that showed the arsenic in the stew as identical to samples
found in Hayashi's home and other places related to her, insisting that the
investigating authorities dealt with the arsenic samples in a lax manner.
It also questioned testimony by a neighbor that there was a period when Hayashi
was watching the stew pots alone and argued that the neighbor may have
mistakenly thought a different person as Hayashi.
But the top court said that Hayashi can be proven as the culprit by
''comprehensively'' judging from factors related to the arsenic and testimonies
which show that Hayashi alone had the opportunity to secretly poison the curry.
Citing other attempted murder cases Hayashi committed to obtain insurance
money, the ruling added that her ''criminal tendency is deep-rooted.''
A defendant can seek correction of a top court ruling within 10 days, but such
a motion has only been accepted in cases where there is a clear mistake. If the
request is dismissed, the death sentence will be finalized.
After pleading not guilty during the first hearing of her trial at the Wakayama
District Court in May 1999, Hayashi exercised her constitutional right to
remain silent, and received the death penalty in 2002.
During the hearings at the Osaka High Court, she broke her silence, but the
high court in 2005 also upheld the district court ruling, prompting Hayashi to
appeal to the Supreme Court.
As seen in the district and high court rulings, Hayashi was also found guilty
of attempted murder cases of her husband and a male acquaintance by using
arsenic with the aim of obtaining insurance money, and other fraud cases.
Meanwhile, victims of the incident say they are still suffering from the
aftereffects of arsenic, with one woman saying, ''I feel pain because of my
deformed fingernails and toenails.''
The incident took place on July 25, 1998, in the city of Wakayama. Takatoshi
Taninaka, who was chairman of a local community body that organized the
festival, a 53-year-old man who was its deputy chairman, 16-year-old
high-school girl Miyuki Torii, and a 10-year-old boy died after eating the
poisoned curry.
Handling such a prolonged case under Japan's upcoming lay judge system will be
a challenge, as the new system seeks to speed up deliberations by narrowing
down the point of arguments and evidence to be presented at the court, pundits
say.
In the new system to start from May, ordinary citizens will examine serious
criminal cases such as murder with professional judges at district courts.
A 35-year-old woman from Tokyo, who lined up for a seat to attend Tuesday's
court decision, said she does not think clarifying the motive is crucial in
making a decision if she is chosen as a lay judge, but noted, ''It is tough to
decide whether a person should live or die.''
==Kyodo