Sugaya retrial gets under way

UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. (Kyodo) A man who spent 17 years in prison after apparently being wrongfully convicted of murdering a 4-year-old girl in 1990 in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, pleaded not guilty as his retrial began Wednesday and called for clarifying the truth behind the accusation that led to his conviction.

Murder retrial: Toshikazu Sugaya enters the Utsunomiya District Court Wednesday. KYODO PHOTO

"I didn't kill Mami Matsuda. The true culprit is someone else," Toshikazu Sugaya, 63, said at the Utsunomiya District Court. "I've been suffering for 17 1/2 years. I call for a verdict of acquittal in which the whole truth is clarified."

Sugaya, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1993, was released in June after the results of a DNA test that served as evidence for his conviction were thrown out earlier this year by an updated analysis that found his DNA type did not match that of bodily fluid found on the victim.

The Tokyo High Court, which conducted the fresh DNA test, subsequently decided to hold a retrial of the murder, known as the Ashikaga case.

"A trial by professional judges committed the mistake. We want this to be taken seriously," chief defense lawyer Hiroshi Sato said at Wednesday's first session.

"Otherwise the lost trust cannot be recovered. The future of criminal justice hinges on it," he said.

Presiding Judge Masanobu Sato said that as the defense is demanding an apology from the court, "We will consider it at the time of the final judgment after sitting on the case from an impartial and neutral standpoint."

Sato called Sugaya by his name rather than "the suspect" as in usual trials, honoring a request from the defense.

During the session, the court examined the evidence admitted in the initial trial, including Sugaya's deposition, in which he said: "I strangled Mami for about 20 seconds."

Sugaya confessed to the slaying during interrogation by prosecutors but later withdrew his admission and pleaded not guilty at his initial trial at the district court.

The sentence of life imprisonment was finalized in 2000 when the Supreme Court ruled the initial DNA test result was trustworthy.

The authorities have admitted Sugaya's arrest and indictment were flawed, and prosecutors are seeking to swiftly conclude the retrial and declare him innocent.

On Oct. 5, the chief prosecutor at the Utsunomiya District Public Prosecutor's Office, Hideo Makuta, gave Sugaya a face-to-face apology.