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UPDATE: Saturday, June 12, 2010      The Japan Times Weekly    2009年8月15日号 (バックナンバー)
 
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Videotaping as evidence
(From The Japan Times Aug. 8 issue)

 


要約
取り調べ全過程録画の必要性

In preparation for the lay judge system, which recently started, public prosecutors and police began partially videotaping the interrogation of suspects on a trial basis in August 2006 and September 2008. The videotaped scenes are of investigators reading the record of a suspect's oral statement to the suspect, who then signs it. The videotaping serves as evidence.

But the experience of Mr. Toshikazu Sugaya, who was released in June on the strength of a new DNA test indicating his innocence — after he had served 17 years of a life sentence for the 1990 murder of a 4-year-old girl in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture — appears to reinforce the case for videotaping all of the interrogation process.

Mr. Sugaya said he got scared during his interrogation after police officers shouted in his face, pulled his hair and kicked him. The interrogation lasted 13 hours. Confronted with the result of an original DNA test in the crime, he confessed to it.

Although they officially apologized to Mr. Sugaya, police and public prosecutors remain reluctant to videotape the whole interrogation process. The reason for this opposition, investigators say, is that they must first build a relationship of trust with a suspect by asking about his family situation and background, and by showing understanding and sympathy toward him or her, before delving into the crime in question.

Investigators say that if a suspect knows that his or her private life will be made public in court through videotaping, he or she will not open his heart to investigators, thus hampering the investigation. They also worry about acts of revenge being taken against a suspect who is considered a "gangster" once other gangsters learn that the suspect's disclosure of information on accomplices or the ring leader in a crime has been videotaped and fear being implicated themselves.

Obviously, some arrangements may become necessary to protect privacy and prevent acts of retaliation. But Mr. Sugaya's case clearly undermines the reason for opposing complete videotaping. The scope of the discussion on the matter could widen to touch on such issues as the introduction of plea bargaining and wider use of a sting operation.

The Japan Times Weekly: August 15, 2009
(C) All rights reserved
 

5月に導入された裁判員制度に先立ち、2006年と2008年に取り調べの部分録画が試行された。録画は、取調官が調書を読み聞かせ被告が署名する場面が証拠として提出されるものだ。

足利事件のDNA再鑑定で釈放された菅家利和さんの例は、取り調べの全過程録画への支持を強く裏付ける。氏は取り調べ13時間での刑事の罵声と暴行に怯え、DNA鑑定結果を突きつけられて自白した。

警察と検察側は謝罪したが、全録画には消極的だ。取調官は被疑者に家族状況や生い立ちを聞きながら信頼関係を築くが、法廷での私生活公開を被疑者が知れば、取り調べは難航するという。被疑者が暴力団組員の場合、情報提供の録画により他の組員からの報復の恐れもある。

プライバシー保護と報復防止は必要だが、菅家さんの例は全録画反対の立場を弱める。司法取引やおとり捜査導入の議論も広がるだろう。

The Japan Times

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