In the face of recent revelations of wrongful accusations, lawyers involved in capital cases are calling for abolition of the death penalty, arguing at a Tokyo gathering that innocent people could be hanged.
Lawyer Yasuyuki Tokuda, who is working to reopen the case of an executed man, told the 80 members of the audience Saturday that even though reopening the case will not help his client, such a move would "undermine the system of capital punishment."
His client, Michitoshi Kuma, was convicted of kidnapping and killing two 7-year-old girls in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in 1992 in what is known as the "Iizuka Case." He was hanged in October 2008 at the age of 70 despite consistently claiming he was innocent.