Sakae Menda
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese man who was convicted of a double homicide
, but was exonerated by retrial in 1983. This was the first time anyone was ever released from death row by retrial in Japan. He is now a leading figure in Japan for the movement to abolish the death penalty.
in Kyushu
and murdered them using an axe and a knife. The killer also wounded their two young daughters. During the same period, Sakae Menda was arrested on the charge of stealing rice.
, he was starved of food, water and sleep, and beaten with bamboo
sticks while being suspended upside down from a ceiling. The police eventually coerced Menda into signing a written statement. He was tried and was convicted of double homicide despite pleading innocent. On March 23, 1950, Judge Haruo Kinoshita sentenced him to death. The Supreme Court of Japan
upheld his sentence on December 25, 1951. A lawyer
only came to see Menda once before the trial. The lawyer, a Buddhist monk, came to pray for him, but offered no professional expertise to help him fight the charges. His trial did not include any physical evidence or the witness accounts that proved Menda had an alibi
. He was wrongly convicted of murder and robbery based on the false confession.
Detention Center in solitary confinement
. He was held in an unheated cell that was lit day and night and monitored constantly.
Under the Japanese 1907 penal code, death row inmates, unless they are involved in legal appeals, could be taken away for execution at prison gallows
at any time, with little notice. Executions in Japan are typically held in secret, and prisoners are either not warned of their impending execution or are notified only on the morning of the day of the execution. Their families are informed later so they can collect the corpse for cremation.
In prison, Menda converted to Christianity
and began reading the Bible
and transcribing books into Braille
.
The retrial began on September 27, 1979. The retrial allowed records that proved his alibi to be submitted, as well as a statement from a witness saying that she had lied under duress.
On July 15, 1983, after 80 judges had been involved, the court delivered the verdict of an acquittal based on determination that he had falsely confessed and that the prosecution had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence
to Menda's lawyers prior to his trial. The court acknowledged that the police had concealed his alibi showing he was not at the scene of the crime. Menda was released after 34 years on death row at the age of 54. He was the first person in Japan’s history to be released from death row.
The government gave Menda 7000 yen for every day he was in prison: 90 million yen in total (approximately 2009 USD $990,540). He donated half of that to a group campaigning to abolish the death penalty. Menda has since become one of the world’s leading death-penalty abolitionists. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven industrialised nations other than the United States to retain capital punishment.
Menda spoke at the 2007 World Congress against the Death Penalty and has lobbied delegates of the UN
to globally abolish capital punishment, describing the psychological and dehumanising effects that he encountered while on death row.
The scandal in the aftermath of Menda's release prompted reform and aided a reintroduction of jury
trials
in Japan, as well as showing the Japanese legal system's over-reliance on conviction by means of confession.
Menda had difficulty claiming his state pension as he had been unable to sign up during his time in prison. He has continually criticised Japanese execution policy since his release.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese man who was convicted of a double homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, but was exonerated by retrial in 1983. This was the first time anyone was ever released from death row by retrial in Japan. He is now a leading figure in Japan for the movement to abolish the death penalty.
Background
On December 30, 1948, an unknown killer broke into the house of a 76-year-old Buddhist priest and his wife in Kumamoto PrefectureKumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...
in Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
and murdered them using an axe and a knife. The killer also wounded their two young daughters. During the same period, Sakae Menda was arrested on the charge of stealing rice.
Arrest and trial
Police held Menda for three weeks, without allowing him access to a lawyer, until they extracted a confession. During interrogationInterrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
, he was starved of food, water and sleep, and beaten with bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
sticks while being suspended upside down from a ceiling. The police eventually coerced Menda into signing a written statement. He was tried and was convicted of double homicide despite pleading innocent. On March 23, 1950, Judge Haruo Kinoshita sentenced him to death. The Supreme Court of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
upheld his sentence on December 25, 1951. A lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
only came to see Menda once before the trial. The lawyer, a Buddhist monk, came to pray for him, but offered no professional expertise to help him fight the charges. His trial did not include any physical evidence or the witness accounts that proved Menda had an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
. He was wrongly convicted of murder and robbery based on the false confession.
Incarceration
Menda was incarcerated at the FukuokaFukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
Detention Center in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
. He was held in an unheated cell that was lit day and night and monitored constantly.
Under the Japanese 1907 penal code, death row inmates, unless they are involved in legal appeals, could be taken away for execution at prison gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
at any time, with little notice. Executions in Japan are typically held in secret, and prisoners are either not warned of their impending execution or are notified only on the morning of the day of the execution. Their families are informed later so they can collect the corpse for cremation.
In prison, Menda converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and began reading the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and transcribing books into Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
Retrial
Menda submitted six petitions for retrial although initially he did not have access to a lawyer. The Fukuoka District High Court ruled on the reopening of the case in 1979.The retrial began on September 27, 1979. The retrial allowed records that proved his alibi to be submitted, as well as a statement from a witness saying that she had lied under duress.
On July 15, 1983, after 80 judges had been involved, the court delivered the verdict of an acquittal based on determination that he had falsely confessed and that the prosecution had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to prove guilt....
to Menda's lawyers prior to his trial. The court acknowledged that the police had concealed his alibi showing he was not at the scene of the crime. Menda was released after 34 years on death row at the age of 54. He was the first person in Japan’s history to be released from death row.
Life after release
Menda spoke at the 2007 World Congress against the Death Penalty and has lobbied delegates of the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to globally abolish capital punishment, describing the psychological and dehumanising effects that he encountered while on death row.
The scandal in the aftermath of Menda's release prompted reform and aided a reintroduction of jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
trials
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
in Japan, as well as showing the Japanese legal system's over-reliance on conviction by means of confession.
Menda had difficulty claiming his state pension as he had been unable to sign up during his time in prison. He has continually criticised Japanese execution policy since his release.
Documentary movie and book
A documentary movie, Menda Sakae: Gokuchu no Sei (Sakae Menda: A Life in Prison), detailing Sakae's life on death row, was released in 1998. In 2004, Menda released a book, Gokuchu noto (Prison Notes).See also
- List of exonerated death row inmates
- Sadamichi HirasawaSadamichi Hirasawawas a Japanese tempera painter. He was convicted of mass poisoning and sentenced to death, though he is suspected to have been falsely charged and no justice minister signed his death warrant.-Teigin case:...
- Iwao HakamadaIwao Hakamadais a former Japanese professional boxer, who was sentenced to death for a June 10, 1966 mass murder. However, he is also suspected to be falsely charged and has not been executed....
- Sayama IncidentSayama IncidentThe is a murder case named after Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, where it took place. The incident, in which a man was imprisoned for 31 years, highlighted official discrimination against Japan's burakumin.-The murder:...