Twenty-seven years ago, the Osaka District Court confessed to a lie in a civil trial in which a mother, who was found not guilty in a retrial = redo trial, was seeking compensation from Osaka Prefecture and others over a fire in which an elementary school girl died in Higashisumiyoshi Ward, Osaka. The police investigation that caused the confession was clearly illegal and ordered the prefecture to compensate for more than 12 million yen.
In 1995, a house in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka was completely destroyed, and an 11-year-old girl died. In a fire, her mother, Keiko Aoki (58), was sentenced to life imprisonment for arson and murder. However, the trial was redone in 2016, and the innocence was confirmed.
Aoki was forced to confess her lie by police interrogation, and she filed a civil suit seeking compensation from Osaka Prefecture and the country, alleging that she had been unfairly detained for over 20 years.
In a ruling on the 15th, Judge Nohisa Honda of the Osaka District Court said, "The police officer in charge continued to blame Mr. Aoki for not being able to help him by showing him a picture of his daughter. I issued a scrutiny and investigated it rigorously. It is clearly illegal. "
In addition, when the former police officer appeared in court as a witness, he said in front of Mr. Aoki, "I still think he is the criminal." And ordered the prefecture to compensate for more than 12.24 million yen.
On the other hand, although there are many doubts about the prosecution's response, it cannot be concluded that it is illegal, and the government did not accept liability for damages.
Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters "I want to scrutinize the contents and decide what to do"
Regarding the ruling that the police investigation was judged to be illegal, Shuji Tabata, the director of the Inspector General of the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters, commented, "I would like to carefully examine the contents before deciding what to do in the future."
Deputy Attorney General Yazawa, Osaka District Prosecutor's Office "The national claim was accepted"
Regarding the decision, Kensaburo Yazawa, Deputy Prosecutor of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office, commented, "I think that the national claim was basically accepted."
Trial issues Police interrogation Whether it is illegal or not
In a civil trial in which Mr. Aoki, who was found not guilty, is seeking compensation from the government and Osaka Prefecture, the issue was whether the police investigation that forced Mr. Aoki into a confession of lies was illegal.
At the trial, Mr. Aoki was repeatedly confessed to being confessed by police interrogations, being questioned as to why he did not help his daughter, and being mentally cornered by illegal interrogations. I appealed.
On the other hand, Osaka Prefecture said, "The reason I asked the police in a loud voice was to encourage a statement because Mr. Aoki did not give a rational explanation in the interrogation, and the question about not being able to help my daughter is also illegal. It's not an interrogation. "
In addition, the country charged with the prosecution's indictment said, "There were no reports suggesting that the police had conducted an illegal interrogation, and there was no reason to doubt whether it was a confession of his own will. From the situation, it cannot be said that it is unreasonable to think that Mr. Aoki was involved in the fire even if he did not confess at that time. "
Background of the trial
Ms. Keiko Aoki, who has been detained for more than 20 years for innocent charges, (58) has accused her of being confessed to a lie by an illegal interrogation and is asking her to clarify the responsibility of the government and Osaka Prefecture.
Twenty-seven years ago, her house burned down in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, and her daughter, Megumi (11 at the time), who was in sixth grade at that time, died late.
Approximately two months after the fire, Aoki was arrested for arson and murder for murdering her daughter for her insurance purposes.
According to her police interrogation, she was repeatedly struck by her neck as she looked at a picture of her daughter, and she was "a demon-like mother."
In addition, she said that she was "not helped is the same as killing" from a police officer, she was told that Mr. Aoki was the most regrettable and painful, and she was mentally cornered. She complains that she was forced to "confess" to the lie.
Her indicted Aoki consistently pleaded not guilty in her trial, but in 1999, the Osaka District Court sentenced her to life imprisonment and then her sentence was confirmed, so she was retried. = I asked for the trial to be redone.
In 2016, more than 20 years after her arrest, a retrial was finally held, and the Osaka District Court pointed out that "police officers made false confessions. The fire may be spontaneously ignited." I pleaded not guilty to Mr.
About two months later, Mr. Aoki, who was found not guilty, was forced to confess his lie after being illegally interrogated by police officers, and was unfairly detained for more than 20 years. And filed a civil trial in the Osaka District Court seeking compensation of more than 140 million yen from Osaka Prefecture.
At the trial, the government and the prefecture insisted that "there was no illegal investigation," and there was a scene in which a police officer who had investigated once testified in front of Mr. Aoki that "I still think he was the criminal," and further hurt him.
In November of last year, just before the judgment, the court presented a settlement proposal, saying that Mr. Aoki was completely innocent, and recommended that the government and the prefecture work to prevent the recurrence of the false accusation case and pay the settlement money. I did.
In the settlement, the police officer's testimony, "I still think he is the culprit," was clearly denied, "I can't hire him at all."
However, because the government and the prefecture did not respond, the court was left to decide whether the government and Osaka prefecture were liable for compensation, and the judgment was handed down.