Sadamichi Hirasawa
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Sadamichi Hirasawa (平沢貞通 Hirasawa Sadamichi?, February 18, 1892 – May 10, 1987) was a Japanese painter who was sentenced to death, convicted of mass cyanide poisoning, though he is suspected to have been falsely charged.
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[edit] Teigin case
On January 26, 1948 a man calling himself Jiro Yamaguchi arrived in a branch of the Teigin Bank at Shiina, suburb of Tokyo, before closing time. He explained that he was a public health official sent by US occupation authorities who had orders to inoculate the staff against a sudden outbreak of dysentery. He gave all sixteen people present a pill and a few drops of liquid. Those present drank the liquid he gave, which was a cyanide solution. When all were incapacitated, the robber took all the money he could find, which amounted to 160,000 yen ($1392/£754). Ten of the victims died at the scene (one was a child of an employee) and two others died while hospitalized.
[edit] Arrest and trial
Hirosawa was caught by the police due to the Japanese habit of exchanging business cards with personal details. The poisoner also created two other incidents. The poisoner used a card which was marked "Jiro Yamaguchi" in one of the two incidents. Yamaguchi didn't exist. The poisoner also used a card which was marked "Shigeru Matsui" in another of the two incidents. Matsui said the police that he had exchanged cards with 593 people, including Hirasawa. The police were led to Hirasawa through finding the money of unknown origin. He was identified as the poisoner by several witnesses.
He was arrested on August 21, 1948. Hirasawa confessed, but he recanted soon after. His later defense was based on partial insanity. He had been troubled with Korsakoff's syndrome, so he could say a made-up story. However, the court disagreed and Hirasawa was given the death penalty in 1950. Until 1949, a confession had been a solid evidence under the law, even if the police tortured a person to extract a confession. The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the death sentence in 1955.
His attorneys successfully had the sentence revoked because of a Japanese law that forbade people from suicide. The death penalty in Japan at the time called for hanging, and the lawyers argued that hanging was a form of self-strangulation. His lawyers argued that the sentence was against the new Japanese constitution. Over the following years they submitted 18 pleas for retrial.
[edit] Aftermath and controversy
He was sentenced to death, but there was originally no physical evidence and few witnesses identified him as the criminal though 50 people saw the poisoner. Several people such as Seicho Matsumoto presumed that the true culprit was the Unit 731 (partly because Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers had pressured Yomiuri Shimbun not to investigate the Unit 731 during the incident). Matsumoto also suspected that "the money of unknown origin" came from selling pornography.
The Ministers of Justice in Japan suspected that he had been falsely charged, so the death sentence was never carried out. Even Isaji Tanaka, who agreed on 13 October 1967 to hang 23 prisoners, didn't admit his execution. Hirasawa remained in prison as a condemned criminal for the 32 years. He spent his time painting and writing his autobiography My Will: the Teikoku Bank Case (遺書 帝銀事件?).
In 1981, Makoto Endo became his lawyer, who was a lawyer of controversial trials such as Norio Nagayama. The statute of limitations for his death penalty ran out in 1985 (Death penalty has 30-year statute of limitations under the Criminal Code of Japan). Endo appealed for his release but Japanese court didn't release him, saying a suspension of statute of limitations. His health deteriorated in 1987. On April 30, 1987, Amnesty International advised Japanese government to release him. He died naturally in a prison hospital on May 10 1987.
Even after Hirasawa's death, his stepson Takehiko Hirasawa has tried to clear his name. As of 2003, his lawyers have submitted new evidence to prove Hirasawa's innocence.
[edit] Further reading
- Seicho Matsumoto, A story of the Teikoku Bank Incident, 1959
- Seicho Matsumoto, The Black Fog of Japan, 1960
- J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, 1996, Harrap Books, London
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Sadamichi Hirasawa Is Dead; Was on Death Row 32 Years New York Times May 11, 1987
- 19th bid to clear late murderer's name Sydney Morning Herald, July 12 2003
- Psychiatrist, 100, fights to clear late convict's name Japan Times May 10, 2006
- Art of 'Teigin Incident' convict to be exhibited Japan Times November 23, 2006
- Experts doubt Teigin Incident verdict Japan Times November 26, 2006
- Art exhibition launched to clear Hirasawa's name Japan Times April 4, 2007
- Teigin Incident artist exhibition tour starts Japan Times May 19, 2007
- (Japanese) Teigin Case - Homepage created by supporters of him
- (Japanese) Teigin Case Timelinenl:Sadamichi Hirasawa
ja:平沢貞通 fi:Sadamichi Hirasawa
