Junya Hattori and Kyozo Matsumara were hanged because “there was no uncertainty surrounding their convictions
,” according to Justice Minister Makoto Taki. The two hangings are the first to be ordered by Taki.
A Jamaican laborer, Christopher Murray, was exonerated by DNA evidence last week.
Murray had been convicted in October 2010, of sexually molesting a young boy. At trial, government experts ruled that DNA tests had been inconclusive; further testing exonerated him.
Tokyo High Prosecutor’s Office announced that it will not appeal the High Court’s decision
to grant a retrial for Govinda Prasad Mainali, convicted of a 1997 murder.
announced seven criminal justice reform recommendations
, including a suggestion for a new statutory right to appeal a wrongful conviction.
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