Thursday February 16, 2012

thundercat's past comments

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    thundercat

    Niseko... man, I love that place! Was there five years ago and had a fantastic experience off piste... been back every year since. It's growing fast but I can never imagine the mountain as crowded as places in Nagano, especially Hakuba. Those giant hotels are becoming quite an eye-sore, however.

    Posted in: Hilton Niseko Village to open July 1

  • 0

    thundercat

    DXXJP

    so tell me in what country you would be found inocent with a suitcase full of drugs

    Look no further than Japan my friend. In the past month a Swedish woman and a British man were both found innocent after being caught with suitcases full of amphetamines and marijuana.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

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    thundercat

    Japan sends a serious message to major drug smugglers, and their accomplices.

    Right, by railroading Mr. Baker, Japan has stopped the flow of drugs coming into the country... ;p

    Whatever...

    If anything, I think that Japanese officials really dropped the ball on this one. There have been three recent cases of foreign nationals being caught smuggling drugs into Japan who have been released with no charges. Why? Might have something to do with the negative press the Japanese legal system got for having completely screwed Baker.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

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    thundercat

    Hence your Yanagihara example was left with circumstantial evidence which the higher court found to be not enough for conviction.

    Sorry, wrong again. Yanagihara was convicted and sent to prison for three years. He had served 2 of 3 years when the actual rapist confessed to the crime and he was subsequently released.

    I understand that you never said confession obtained under duress was OK. I was simply pointing out that the gap between the constitution and reality is huge. You want to randomly quote the constitution and pay no attention to the reality of what transpires in criminal courts, no problem, feel free to make bogus claims. When you make arrogant statements like "Boy do I love the JT crowd who base their information on lame English based articles and blogs from a certain activist in Hokkaido who caters to J-illiterate expats." I want to call you out on it. Article 319 has long been ignored in Japanese courts but with the introduction of lay jurors I think we will see an end to that.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

  • 0

    thundercat

    Did a different Nigelboy write this?

    Confession under compulsion, torture, threat, after unduly prolonged detention or when there is doubt about it being voluntary may not be admitted as evidence.

    I pointed you towards a very clear case where a confession was obtained under complusion and you still think you are correct? There is quite a gap between constitutional provisions for suspected criminals and the reality of their treatment.

    Take Article 34 for example: No person shall be arrested or detained without being at once informed of the charges against him or without the immediate privilege of counsel; nor shall he be detained without adequate cause; and upon demand of any person such cause must be immediately shown in open court in his presence and in the presence of counsel.

    23 days of endless interrogation with no lawyer present...

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

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    thundercat

    Nigelboy,

    It's ok to admit when you are wrong. Just look up Yanagihara Hiroshi and tell me what other evidence was presented at his trail. Circumstantial evidence plus a confession = guilt, it doesn't matter how the confession was obtained. Fortunately, that is changing in Japan.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

  • 0

    thundercat

    Nigelboy

    Under article 319 section 2 of the criminal procedure, a person cannot be convicted of a crime based solely on confession alone. (forced or unforced)

    Are you honestly saying that there has never been a conviction in Japan based solely on confession? I've read countless stories that profess quite the opposite. Obviously there was other evidence in this case (ie. 1.4 million pounds worth of drugs) but more than a few innocents have been sent up the creek based solely on confessions, regardless of what the law seems to say.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

  • 0

    thundercat

    @youdontknow,

    because the UK system already proved his innocence.

    I thought innocence was assumed until guilt was proven... I don't think it's possible for a British court to prove someone's innocence, only their guilt.

    Anyway, Baker is still in prison. What is the difference if he serves his time in Britain or Japan? More countries need agreements for exchanging prisoners. Imagine 6 years of solitary confinement, no chance to communicate with family or friends... seems a little cruel and unusual to me. Has such a harsh punishment stopped the flow of drugs into Japan? Certainly not!

    Of course guilty parties should be held accountable for their crimes but making examples of people, which is what I believe happened in this case, shouldn't take precedence over fair and equally applied justice.

    Posted in: Nick Baker sent back to Britain to finish jail sentence

  • 0

    thundercat

    Whoever is U.S. president affects the rest of the world, more than the leader of any other country

    That's nothing to be proud of...

    Posted in: If it were possible, do you wish non-Americans could vote in the U.S. presidential election?

  • 0

    thundercat

    What? Why waste my time? I would actually prefer that non-Americans weren't constantly bombarded with American political squabbling.

    Posted in: If it were possible, do you wish non-Americans could vote in the U.S. presidential election?

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