Another Dead Man Referred to Prosecutors for Murder
No matter how many times I read about these cases of dead people being prosecuted in Japan, I still feel there is something very strange.
Police in Toyokawa City in Aichi Prefecture decided to send a recommendation to prosecutors to prosecute a dead man suspected of killing his girlfriend six months ago when he was alive.
On January 5th, police responded to an emergency call from Kurumi Baba, a 26 year old woman, crying for help. When police arrived, they found her collapsed and bleeding from stab wounds. She was transported to the hospital, but pronounced dead two hours later. Yu Nakayama, a man in his 30’s who was in a relationship with Kurumi Baba, was found with a neck wound. He was also transported to the hospital where he later died. Police believe Nakayama stabbed Baba, then attempted suicide by stabbing himself. A blood stained knife was found near him.
I understand people wanting closure, but with both people dead, it seems pretty closed. Prosecution and trials are expensive. Is this the best use of public funds? What do you think?
4 comments:
Hello Pamela: This is a strange idea to me, a waste of money to prosecute someone who is already gone from this earth.
Catherine
That's just weird.
I guess there are two reasons for solving and settling these odd cases:
1. Japanese legal red tape - I bet there is some rule that demands a final verdict and closure.
2. The victim's and the perpetrator's families - a) it could have to do with insurance claims or b) with stopping gossip and scandals.
a) A Japanese saying is: Insurance companies have wide entrances and narrow exits - it is easy to buy insurance, but a struggle to claim compensation.
b) There is a lot of stigma in Japan when someone in the family has been involved in a crime.
It might make it difficult to get a job, get married, be accepted by neighbours etc.
So if you can put your finger on some kind of evidence that your daughter did not cause her own death by 'playing around' with the wrong type of guy, or that a DV victim actually died, not out of 'lack of patience' with her gambling addict of a husband, but to protect her child from physical abuse.
Evidence that comes to light in a court hearing is highly valued in Japan, also by people who are not personally involved.
Have you seen the long queues for seats in the gallery? Many are naturally drawn to scandals and drama and thrive on gossip and branding.
Could the answer to your question be that the court and the victims', or why not the perpetrator's families (it can't be easy to be a close relative to a murderer!) need to have some kind of weapon to fight future disputes against insurance companies, neighbours or the press?
I think cases like this need thorough investigation, just like every other murder. After all, just because they died at the same time and it looks like he did it, it's not to say no one else was involved. But actually taking it to trial feels like a bit of a farce to me.
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