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There are about two ways to get a 99% conviction rate: run total kangaroo courts that only fail to convict when the defendant credibly threatens big problems if
by naniwaduni 7y ago
There are about two ways to get a 99% conviction rate: run total kangaroo courts that only fail to convict when the defendant credibly threatens big problems if they get convicted, or just don't take cases that aren't open-and-shut to court in the first place.
And while the kangaroo court thing is maybe a bit too true to be comfortable with, I'd wager Japan errs heavily on the side of not bringing potentially contentious cases to court.
- dralley 7y agoIt's easy to find examples for both: https://www.vox.com/world/2015/12/13/9989250/japan-crime-conviction-rate https://www.vox.com/world/2015/12/13/9989250/japan-crime-con... https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-09-fg-autopsy9-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-09-fg-autop... (although I would like to make clear -- in any large country, you will find examples of both)
- chmod775 7y agoJapan is a bit of both. Prosecutors are extremely reluctant to bring cases to court if a conviction isn't guaranteed (losing a case is extremely embarrassing), and for this reason judges almost always side with them because they assume a prosecutor wouldn't bring a case against someone who is not definitely guilty. Basically in Japan they err on the side of letting criminals roam free if it's not an open-and-shut case in front of a judge, but it sucks for the (very few) who are wrongfully convicted, because nobody will believe them. Especially because you'll never get the government to admit they wrongfully convicted someone.