4 ms·

Arrested not convicted.

amarant 6mo ago
Japan has a conviction rate of 99.8%. arrested and convicted is pretty much the same thing over there https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...
- actionfromafar 6mo ago
  And your point is?
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- applfanboysbgon 6mo ago
  It's actually not. You can be arrested and then released without charges, which is not a conviction but does not factor into the conviction rate statistic.
  - glenstein 6mo ago
    I was going to say the same thing. OP in this case would not count toward either percentage, what you have to wonder is how many people get charges dropped who get put through the ringer. It also makes the act of accusing incredibly powerful, and you have to wonder what threshold there is and whose accusations matter, because this severe punishment for dropped charges feels extremely powerful.
- beejiu 6mo ago
  Of charges, not arrests.
- lokar 6mo ago
  Not surprising if you can detain people for long periods under harsh conditions without charging them. If they confess, it counts as a win. If they don’t, you release them but it’s not a loss (as they were not charged).
- vchuravy 6mo ago
  Arrested is not the same as convicted. I lived in Japan for a few years, and I have heard of similar situations to what the article describes. In Japan you can be arrested while an investigation is in process, only afterwards you will be indicted. Additionally, Japan does not permit defendants to post bail prior to an indictment. Yes Japan has a really high conviction rate, but that is because they indict only cases were a conviction is likely. Arrests don't need to lead to the person being indicted.
- thaumasiotes 6mo ago
  The author doesn't seem to have been charged with anything, so her release doesn't affect the 'conviction rate' - but she was arrested. By comparison, you might consider https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-than-1-of-defendants-in-federal-criminal-cases-were-acquitted-in-2022/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-tha... : > In fiscal year 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted
- ranger_danger 6mo ago
  > Japan has a conviction rate of 99.8% So does the US. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of...
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
wisty 6mo ago
In the US, it's seen as a God-given truth that no innocent person should ever be punished. Partly because it was founded (in part) by oppressed minorities fleeing states where the were constantly harassed by authorities. (Irony - the US's approach hardly fixed the issue). But is it OK to risk punishing a few innocent people if it greatly reduces the amount of suffering caused by crime?
- actionfromafar 6mo ago
  I don’t believe in the premise.
- nephihaha 6mo ago
  Back in the 19th century. De Tocqueville talks about American justice favouring the rich since they could post bail and the poor could not. I have seen documentaries about US bail hostels and some of them seem like horrific places as bad as prisons in some other countries and this is before you've been found guilty of anything.
  - lazyasciiart 6mo ago
    > I have seen documentaries about US bail hostels I’m not familiar with this term. Is that an old thing?
    - OneDeuxTriSeiGo 6mo ago
      It's a British term for halfway houses specifically for people out on bail.
      - nephihaha 6mo ago
        No, I'm not meaning this here. I'm meaning people who cannot afford bail so are kept imprisoned, before even going to trial.
        OneDeuxTriSeiGo 6mo ago
ranger_danger 6mo ago
The author acknowledges that it still ruins people's lives and is completely unfair.
guiambros 6mo ago
Not sure why you were downvoted. From the last paragraph: "I spent a total of 35 days here. The first arrest was 3 days of processing, the initial 10 days followed by the 10 days extension for a total of 23 days before my case was dropped. But the same time my case was dropped my accusers found a another reason to issue a second arrest keeping me there for an additional 12 days! Both cases were ultimately dropped and the second arrest was essentially tied to the first and shouldn’t have even been possible."

Japan has a conviction rate of 99.8%. arrested and convicted is pretty much the same thing over there https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...

actionfromafar 6mo ago
And your point is?
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
applfanboysbgon 6mo ago
It's actually not. You can be arrested and then released without charges, which is not a conviction but does not factor into the conviction rate statistic.
- glenstein 6mo ago
  I was going to say the same thing. OP in this case would not count toward either percentage, what you have to wonder is how many people get charges dropped who get put through the ringer. It also makes the act of accusing incredibly powerful, and you have to wonder what threshold there is and whose accusations matter, because this severe punishment for dropped charges feels extremely powerful.
beejiu 6mo ago
Of charges, not arrests.
lokar 6mo ago
Not surprising if you can detain people for long periods under harsh conditions without charging them. If they confess, it counts as a win. If they don’t, you release them but it’s not a loss (as they were not charged).
vchuravy 6mo ago
Arrested is not the same as convicted. I lived in Japan for a few years, and I have heard of similar situations to what the article describes. In Japan you can be arrested while an investigation is in process, only afterwards you will be indicted. Additionally, Japan does not permit defendants to post bail prior to an indictment. Yes Japan has a really high conviction rate, but that is because they indict only cases were a conviction is likely. Arrests don't need to lead to the person being indicted.
thaumasiotes 6mo ago
The author doesn't seem to have been charged with anything, so her release doesn't affect the 'conviction rate' - but she was arrested. By comparison, you might consider https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-than-1-of-defendants-in-federal-criminal-cases-were-acquitted-in-2022/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-tha... : > In fiscal year 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted
ranger_danger 6mo ago
> Japan has a conviction rate of 99.8% So does the US. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of...
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]

wisty 6mo ago

In the US, it's seen as a God-given truth that no innocent person should ever be punished. Partly because it was founded (in part) by oppressed minorities fleeing states where the were constantly harassed by authorities. (Irony - the US's approach hardly fixed the issue). But is it OK to risk punishing a few innocent people if it greatly reduces the amount of suffering caused by crime?

actionfromafar 6mo ago
I don’t believe in the premise.
nephihaha 6mo ago
Back in the 19th century. De Tocqueville talks about American justice favouring the rich since they could post bail and the poor could not. I have seen documentaries about US bail hostels and some of them seem like horrific places as bad as prisons in some other countries and this is before you've been found guilty of anything.
- lazyasciiart 6mo ago
  > I have seen documentaries about US bail hostels I’m not familiar with this term. Is that an old thing?
  - OneDeuxTriSeiGo 6mo ago
    It's a British term for halfway houses specifically for people out on bail.
    - nephihaha 6mo ago
      No, I'm not meaning this here. I'm meaning people who cannot afford bail so are kept imprisoned, before even going to trial.
      - OneDeuxTriSeiGo 6mo ago

ranger_danger 6mo ago

The author acknowledges that it still ruins people's lives and is completely unfair.

guiambros 6mo ago

Not sure why you were downvoted. From the last paragraph: "I spent a total of 35 days here. The first arrest was 3 days of processing, the initial 10 days followed by the 10 days extension for a total of 23 days before my case was dropped. But the same time my case was dropped my accusers found a another reason to issue a second arrest keeping me there for an additional 12 days! Both cases were ultimately dropped and the second arrest was essentially tied to the first and shouldn’t have even been possible."