Hideo Makuta apologizes to Toshikazu Sugaya, left, as his lawyer looks on.
POOL PHOTO

Chief prosecutor apologizes to man wrongfully jailed for 17 years for murder

Monday 05th October, 02:17 PM JST

UTSUNOMIYA —

A chief public prosecutor in Tochigi Prefecture on Monday apologized to a man who had been jailed for about 17 years until recently over the 1990 murder of a 4-year-old girl before a fresh DNA test effectively proved his innocence.

During the first face-to-face apology offered by a representative of the prosecution at the Utsunomiya District Public Prosecutors Office, Hideo Makuta, the top prosecutor at the office, told Toshikazu Sugaya, 62, ‘‘I apologize from the bottom of my heart as a representative of the prosecutors,’’ according to the prosecutors office.

‘‘I deeply regret the pain that has been caused for innocent Mr. Sugaya by wrongfully indicting him and making him serve in prison for such a long time,’’ Makuta was also quoted as saying.

Sugaya’s lawyers, who accompanied him on the visit to the prosecutors office, said he replied, ‘‘No one else should go through the same agony that I faced.’‘

After the meeting, Sugaya told reporters, ‘‘I felt like I should forgive him after seeing him in person.’‘

Also Monday, the Utsunomiya prosecutors office decided to disclose audiotapes and written records of interrogations of Sugaya over the unsolved murders of two other young girls in the area to his lawyers at their request.

Sugaya’s defense counsel had requested the disclosure as part of efforts to clarify the process that led to Sugaya making false confessions in the 1990 murder known as the Ashikaga case.

But the lawyers said they decided not to publicize the tapes and documents on agreement with the prosecutors.

Sugaya, who was arrested in December 1991, claimed his innocence at his trial, but was sentenced to life imprisonment mainly based on DNA analysis.

He was released in June this year after a fresh DNA test employing a more accurate method was conducted to show that his DNA type did not match that of bodily fluid found on the girl’s underwear.

Shoichiro Ishikawa, a top investigator of the Tochigi prefectural police, apologized directly to Sugaya shortly after his release from prison in June.

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Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

sakurasuki at 04:14 PM JST - 5th October

this is oooooold news ... how come it appears again???

The prosecutor said that they already say apologize before but they did that quitely, during Aso-era. This morning during on behalf Utsunomiya District Public Prosecutors Office they made apoligize in front Sugaya-san publicly. So I hope they do the same thing with other cases.
helloklitty at 04:19 PM JST - 5th October

kick him in the face
barristerwolf at 04:33 PM JST - 5th October

17 years behind bars and letting the real muderer get away! I think it would take a heart felt check for the tune of about a million before I even considered accepting any appoligies!
fritatten at 04:33 PM JST - 5th October

I seriously think that bow could be deeper, but it's a great gesture after all. Nobody can undo what's been done, but they could just do nothing (it's not like there's a law that he has to apoligze). Also, judging from the apparant age, I don't think the chief prosecuter was actually responsible for the wrongdoings of 20 years ago. He apoligized on behald of the prosecutors in front of the press and that's surely not something he was looking forward to. Sugaya himself says he feels like forgiving so keep the hate down. Stuff like this can be so valuable in changing systems (cause he sure as hell doesn't want to go apologize again).
dontpanic at 04:36 PM JST - 5th October

"the Utsunomiya prosecutors office decided to disclose audiotapes and written records of interrogations of Sugaya over the unsolved murders of two other young girls in the area to his lawyers at their request"

So does this mean that tapes and written interrogation records are not available to the defense at trial? If thats true how can Sugaya have had a fair trial?
sakurasuki at 04:51 PM JST - 5th October

So does this mean that tapes and written interrogation records are not available to the defense at trial? If thats true how can Sugaya have had a fair trial?

It is fair as he got his freedom after they found him innocent but is not fair in the sense that the Prosecutors still can cover their unpleasant activity they did.
rei307 at 04:57 PM JST - 5th October

17 years in jail for false imprisonment in the USA would PROBABLY get him a lot of dollars (but not worth it). But this is Japan. He'll probably won't get as much as he deserves. He should petition for the prosecutors and the judges that put him in jail for 17 years to suffer what he had suffered
bokudayo at 06:01 PM JST - 5th October

"After the meeting, Sugaya told reporters, ‘‘I felt like I should forgive him after seeing him in person.’’..... and after seeing the large bag of cash they gave me."
norinrad21 at 09:27 PM JST - 5th October

17 years behind bars for something you didn't do. man they took away this man's life
dolphingirl at 10:53 PM JST - 5th October

Everyone seems to be in agreement that this man needs compensation in addition to this apology. Nothing will make up for the years he has lost, but at least he can live out the rest of his days with plenty of money.

I also was wondering why these interrogation tapes weren't made available to the defense lawyers years ago. I really hope this case will pave the way for change so that no one else has to suffer as this man has.
scoobydoo at 12:14 AM JST - 6th October

So DNA was not so accurate back in those days when they were sure it was, especially in this case when it fitted their opinion, so what about now? can we really be sure all these wonderful scientific devices are also as accurate? I bet the main evidence was the forced confession of torture etc, no wonder they don't want to release the tapes.
JmannGod at 05:37 AM JST - 6th October

ah well....I guess that's alright then....
yabits at 06:21 AM JST - 6th October

Sugaya told reporters, ‘‘I felt like I should forgive him after seeing him in person.’’

This shows the genuine divinity of individual people like Mr. Sugaya.

The feeling must be akin to terror for a person to know with complete certainty that he is innocent in the face of a deeply flawed system which seeks to punish him as a criminal.
ebisen at 08:28 AM JST - 6th October

I would sooo sue their sorry a$$es... Idiotic policemen, should pay with their salaries for ruining this man's life. 17 years?! And how come nobody goes to jail after such a mess?

All they know to do is bow like idiotic monkeys, but instead they should find everyone responsible for this and make them pay through their ears...
mindovermatter at 09:04 PM JST - 6th October

What-ever you do, you don't want to get picked up for some crime in Japan, especially if solving it requires more than a couple ounces of brain-power, because the Clown J-Cops will just grab who-ever they see and make the evidence fit who-ever they happen to have in custody... It's not about getting the right person, it's about saving face and saying you have the right person...