The Nagoya District Court gave suspended sentences Friday to four prison guards and cleared another man of two assaults on inmates at Nagoya Prison in 2002 that killed one man and left the other seriously injured.
Presiding Judge Osamu Ito ruled that the guards illegally used a restraining device, comprised of a leather belt and handcuffs, to punish the prisoners, when it was only to be used to restrain violent inmates. Ito rejected defense claims that the guards were only doing their jobs.
Akihiko Maeda, 45, a deputy chief guard, was handed a suspended three-year sentence. Takashi Watanabe, 39, and Hiroki Ozawa, 31, both received suspended two-year terms, and Hajime Ikeda, 34, got a suspended one-year sentence.