It is 60 years since the murder of a female high school student in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture. Mr. Ishikawa Kazuo, 84 years old, being a suspect of the offense who was ordered to serve lifetime imprisonment, has maintained his innocence. The struggle to seek for another lawcourt trial faces now the most important stage.
RETRIAL SHOULD BE INITIATED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
A female high school student, who was a first-year student and 16 years old then, went missing on her way home from school in May, 1963. A blackmail note was delivered to her home demanding a ransom. The police, however, failed to capture the person who had come to the designated site. Later the girl was found dead.
The police authority arrested Mr. Ishikawa later in May, who comes from a local segregated, discriminated village, for suspicion of unrelated charge. During the police custody Mr. Ishikawa once had admitted his involvement and was convicted in the first court which issued a death sentence. But Mr. Ishikawa has expressed his innocence since 1964, when he appealed to the higher court.
Third-round of retrial demand
Concerning the Sayama case, criticisms have been raised from many people that the police authority had begun investigation on the ground of prejudice against Mr. Ishikawa who is from the village of Buraku, an officially discriminated community, in addition to the initial fiasco of the police. Others have pointed out that the accusation is false. It is an extraordinary case which has been dealt with in the parliament of Japan and in the meetings at the United Nations.
The team of lawyers have submitted retrial twice, in 1977 and in 1986, but both of them were rejected. In 1994 Mr. Ishikawa was released on probation and he appealed in 2006 to the Tokyo High Court on the third round for retrial.
For retrial, elaboration of new evidence is necessary to prove legitimacy of the final decision, or to certify that all the facts are not mistaken. It is essential to probe facts, including new results of expert opinions.
In the third claim for retrial of the case the defense team demands further investigation, including testimonies of the eleven scientists and experts who had compiled the documents on the 255 pieces of new evidence presented to today and written opinion letters.
Especially, the counsel team has presented an investigation report that the ingredients of ink differ from that of the fountain pen which had allegedly been robbed of the girl by Mr. Ishikawa. It is a critical contention to endorse credibility of the confessions.
For the past 60 years in total 54 meetings have been held of the three parties among the Tokyo High Court, the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors’ Office and the counsel team. Many of the evidence disclosed verify innocence of Mr. Ishikawa.
Disclose all evidences!
It has past approximately half a century since the final judgement. The lawcourt, however, is unwilling to explore new facts and many of them remain undisclosed even after the current submission of retrial. If the prosecutors’ office insists by all means on Mr. Ishikawa as the guilty party, it will have opportunities to claim that during the hearing, even after it will have disclosed all the evidence.
More than 510 thousand of signatures have been collected to ask for an earlier retrial. It is necessary to continue the signatures campaign across the country.
Mr. Ishikawa is 84 years old. He was 24 when he was arrested. Time is up. We have to gain a decision for retrial as soon as possible. The lawcourt has a mission to investigate facts so that it can judge appropriately on retrial of the case.
埼玉県狭山市で女子高校生が殺害された「狭山事件」から今年で60年。犯人とされた無期懲役囚の石川一雄さんは84歳、無実を訴え続けている。再審を求める闘いは、正念場を迎えている.
１９６３年５月に高校１年生の女子生徒（当時16歳）が行方不明になり、自宅に身代金を求める脅迫状が届いた。受け渡し場所に現れた犯人を警察が取り逃がし、女子生徒は遺体で発見された
警察は同月、現場近くの被差別部落出身の石川さんを別件逮捕。.
石川さんは再逮捕後に「関与」を自白し、一審で死刑判決を受けた。だが、石川さんは１９６４年の控訴審以降無実を訴えている。
３度目の再審請求
狭山事件は警察の初動の失態もあり、被差別部落への見込み捜査という批判や数々の冤罪の指摘があり、国会や国連でも取り上げられた特異な事件である。
弁護団は１９７７年と１９８６年に再審請求したが、いずれも棄却された。１９９４年の石川さんの仮出所後、２００６年に３度目の再審請求を東京高裁に提出した。
再審の開始には確定判決の事実認定が誤っていないかなど、新証拠の精査が必要だ。新たな鑑定結果などの事実調べが不可欠になる。
弁護団は第３次再審請求で、それまで提出した２５５に及ぶ新証拠について鑑定書、意見書を作成した科学者、専門家11人の証人尋問など事実調べを要求している。
とくに、石川さんが被害者から奪ったとされる万年筆のインク成分が異なるという鑑定結果を提出している。自白の信用性にかかわる重大な争点だ。
この間、東京高裁、東京高検、狭山弁護団による三者協議は54回を数え、その中で開示された多くの証拠は石川さんの無実を立証するものとなっている。
全証拠開示の上で
だが、確定判決から約半世紀、裁判所は新たな事実調べに背を向けており、今回の再審請求後も多くの証拠が未開示のままだ。検察側があくまでも石川さんを犯人とするのなら、全ての証拠を開示した上で再審公判の中でも主張できる。
早期の再審開始を求める緊急署名は51万筆を超えた。引き続き全国津々浦々の署名運動を強化しなくてはならない。
逮捕時に24歳だった石川さんは84歳となり、時間の余裕はあまりない。それだけに１日も早く再審決定を勝ち取らなければならない。裁判所は再審可否の判断に向け、事実調べを行うべきだ。
英訳版↓
No. 1311 60 Years of the Murder Case in Sayama
It is 60 years since the murder of a female high school student in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture. Mr. Ishikawa Kazuo, 84 years old, being a suspect of the offense who was ordered to serve lifetime imprisonment, has maintained his innocence. The struggle to seek for another lawcourt trial faces now the most important stage.
RETRIAL SHOULD BE INITIATED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
A female high school student, who was a first-year student and 16 years old then, went missing on her way home from school in May, 1963. A blackmail note was delivered to her home demanding a ransom. The police, however, failed to capture the person who had come to the designated site. Later the girl was found dead.
The police authority arrested Mr. Ishikawa later in May, who comes from a local segregated, discriminated village, for suspicion of unrelated charge. During the police custody Mr. Ishikawa once had admitted his involvement and was convicted in the first court which issued a death sentence. But Mr. Ishikawa has expressed his innocence since 1964, when he appealed to the higher court.
Third-round of retrial demand
Concerning the Sayama case, criticisms have been raised from many people that the police authority had begun investigation on the ground of prejudice against Mr. Ishikawa who is from the village of Buraku, an officially discriminated community, in addition to the initial fiasco of the police. Others have pointed out that the accusation is false. It is an extraordinary case which has been dealt with in the parliament of Japan and in the meetings at the United Nations.
The team of lawyers have submitted retrial twice, in 1977 and in 1986, but both of them were rejected. In 1994 Mr. Ishikawa was released on probation and he appealed in 2006 to the Tokyo High Court on the third round for retrial.
For retrial, elaboration of new evidence is necessary to prove legitimacy of the final decision, or to certify that all the facts are not mistaken. It is essential to probe facts, including new results of expert opinions.
In the third claim for retrial of the case the defense team demands further investigation, including testimonies of the eleven scientists and experts who had compiled the documents on the 255 pieces of new evidence presented to today and written opinion letters.
Especially, the counsel team has presented an investigation report that the ingredients of ink differ from that of the fountain pen which had allegedly been robbed of the girl by Mr. Ishikawa. It is a critical contention to endorse credibility of the confessions.
For the past 60 years in total 54 meetings have been held of the three parties among the Tokyo High Court, the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors’ Office and the counsel team. Many of the evidence disclosed verify innocence of Mr. Ishikawa.
Disclose all evidences!
It has past approximately half a century since the final judgement. The lawcourt, however, is unwilling to explore new facts and many of them remain undisclosed even after the current submission of retrial. If the prosecutors’ office insists by all means on Mr. Ishikawa as the guilty party, it will have opportunities to claim that during the hearing, even after it will have disclosed all the evidence.
More than 510 thousand of signatures have been collected to ask for an earlier retrial. It is necessary to continue the signatures campaign across the country.
Mr. Ishikawa is 84 years old. He was 24 when he was arrested. Time is up. We have to gain a decision for retrial as soon as possible. The lawcourt has a mission to investigate facts so that it can judge appropriately on retrial of the case.
June 21, 2023