OSAKA -- A group of 221 lawyers has formed a coalition to support a former nursery school teacher who was twice acquitted of murdering one of her pupils in 1974 but has not been freed from the case because prosecutors again have appealed to a higher court.
The number of lawyers who support Etsuko Yamada, 46, is expected to grow, some of them said. The group includes Kohei Nakabo, former head of the Japan Bar Association.
Many of the lawyers have joined the group in response to a request from those who originally represented Yamada and who claim that prosecutors have violated Yamada's rights by continuing the case.