38-Year-Old Murder Case Reopens

Oct 23, 2024 | News On Japan

NAGOYA - The Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch has granted a retrial in a case from 38 years ago, where a man convicted of murdering a junior high school student in Fukui City has maintained his innocence.

This is the second request for a retrial by his defense team, who argued that the original guilty verdict was a miscarriage of justice.

The incident took place in March 1986, when a third-year junior high school girl was stabbed to death with a knife in a public housing complex in Fukui City.

Maekawa, who was arrested after the incident, has consistently claimed his innocence. Despite his appeals, the conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court. Maekawa served seven years in prison and, after his release, filed two retrial requests.

The Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch ruled that new evidence presented in the case constitutes "clear evidence that an acquittal should be handed down," leading to the decision to reopen the trial.

Source: FNN

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