In the retrial of Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to death for the murder of four members of his family in Shizuoka Prefecture 58 years ago, the defense expert was questioned as a witness, and the biggest issue was ``5''. He disputed the prosecution's findings regarding the color of the bloodstains on his clothing.
The 11th retrial of Iwao Hakamada (88), who was sentenced to death for the murder of a family of four at a miso manufacturing company in what is now Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City in 1966, 58 years ago, has begun at the Shizuoka District Court. He was then questioned by expert witnesses on the 25th.
In the retrial, the biggest issue will be whether it is unnatural that the blood stains on "5 items of clothing" found in a miso tank near the crime scene 1 year and 2 months after the incident were stained with red. It has become.
On the 25th, witnesses were questioned by experts in forensic medicine and physical chemistry, including Professor Keiko Shimizu of Asahikawa Medical University, who conducted the expert testimony at the request of the defense.
In this discussion, Professor Shimizu stated, ``It is a universal scientific phenomenon that blood that leaves the body turns dark, and it is not normal for blood to remain reddish.''
Regarding the ``joint expert opinion report'' compiled by seven forensic scientists commissioned by the prosecution, which concluded that ``the possibility that redness remained cannot be denied,'' Professor Shimizu said, ``This is just an abstract theory. "This is nothing more than a hypothesis. In our experiments, bloodstains soaked in miso for more than a year do not remain red," he argued.
On the 27th, a cross-examination called ``cross-examination'' will be held, in which five experts from the prosecution and defense will gather together to take questions.