UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. (Kyodo) A top Tochigi Prefecture prosecutor apologized Monday to Toshikazu Sugaya, who had been jailed for about 17 years over the 1990 murder of a 4-year-old girl before a fresh DNA test effectively proved his innocence.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart as a representative of the prosecutors," chief prosecutor Hideo Makuta told Sugaya, 62, according to the Utsunomiya District Public Prosecutor's Office.
"I deeply regret the pain that has been caused for the innocent Mr. Sugaya by wrongfully indicting him and making him serve in prison for such a long time," Makuta said.