How is the death penalty in Japan?

The country of the rising sun is known for its color and adherence to traditions, which so far has not prevented it from playing the role of one of the advanced states. This causes many to be interested in the question of whether there is a death penalty in Japan, because many have already abandoned such a capital punishment, successfully replacing it with life imprisonment. But not the Land of the Rising Sun.

The guilty must be punished

Perhaps this type of punishment is still practiced in Japan because of its age-old traditions, because long since committed in this country had to pay its own life. Previously, this outcome was promoted by customs that say that any shame can be washed away only by blood, but unlike our time, in the era of the samurai, death could be noble.

In this case, the sentenced person had the right to commit seppuku (ritual suicide through ripping the abdomen followed by decapitation), after which he could be buried with all the honors. However, with the onset of the Meiji era and the ban on the free use of weapons, tradition has become obsolete. The death penalty in Japan through seppuku was no longer practiced, while other methods, on the contrary, vilified the condemned, so this penalty was no longer noble.

Justice

The term of imprisonment of a person sentenced before execution is an average of about 6 years. This time is spent on a thorough investigation of the incident, the search for evidence and clarification of all the subtleties of the crime, in order to exclude the possibility of error. The murder of the innocent is the worst thing that authorities can tolerate, therefore in the Land of the Rising Sun they take very seriously all the circumstances of what happened.

But mistakes are rarely allowed. The death penalty in Japan was abolished only four times during its entire existence as an official measure of punishment. Moreover, the last known case of removal of guilt from the convicted person occurred about 60 years ago.

Deserved punishment

To the credit of the Japanese government, it is worth saying that such a supreme measure is contained only in 11 articles of the Criminal Code. And only in 5 of them there is no other punishment in the absence of aggravating circumstances. Thus, such a severe sentence is more often imposed on terrorists and maniacs, on whose hands a lot of blood, less often - to military traitors (art. 82).

The fact that the death penalty in Japan applies to criminals provokes violent resentment from other civilized countries, however, this penalty is supported not only by the government, but also by 86 percent of the residents themselves.

The content of prisoners

This aspect of the life of the condemned is the most unenviable and, perhaps, more frightening than the execution itself. All the time, while the suicide bomber is kept in custody, he is in solitary confinement in the size of only 2X5 meters. There are no windows facing the street, and light is constantly turned on, facilitating the process of constant monitoring of the prisoner. Only chess is allowed out of entertainment, as the suicide bomber can play alone.

Those who are not fortunate enough to receive such a sentence as the death penalty, in Japan there is no longer any place as a member of society, so no visits with relatives for prisoners are not provided. Moreover, the prisoner's family is informed of the enforcement of the sentence even after its execution.

The suicide rate is rather meager - only 1500 kilocalories per day, so many of the prisoners work part-time to buy food in addition. Usually they are engaged in gluing cardboard boxes or assembling simple parts, which is encouraged by the management of prisons.

The death penalty in Japan

How is the execution carried out? It's simple - the prisoner is executed by hanging in a special room. About the impending suicide bomber learns for half an hour or a day, depending on the stability of the mental state, which often suffers from the constant expectation of his fate.

The documents confirming the verdict are confirmed by the Japanese authorities and the emperor personally, they can also extend the standard term for additional investigation. Because of this, many of the sentenced can for decades languish in ignorance (for statistics - only 49 of the 112 sentences carried out).

The death penalty in Japan (photo below) is held in a separate cell with a built-in hatch and a hook on the ceiling for fixing the rope. In the next room there are three consoles, one of which brings the mechanism into action. Execution carries three guards, simultaneously pressing buttons, but none of them knows who actually turned out to be the executioner. This is made from humane considerations, in order to avoid remorse and guilt of guilt.

Before death, a prisoner has the right to confess. If his religion is Buddhism or Shinto, then a priest is invited to the prisoner for these purposes. The Christian suicide bomber is worse: all he can do is pray before the wooden cross.

After pressing the button, the hatch under the sentenced person opens. This is quite dramatic, so many of the death row do not die from asphyxiation - cervical vertebrae can not withstand body weight. The executioners receive an award for the work done of about 300 US dollars.

Relatives have the right to take the body of the executed person to bury him as they see fit.

Effectiveness of the Japanese justice system

The way executions take place in the Country of the Rising Sun have long been a secret, along with abominable conditions of detention. Against their backdrop, it is difficult to say how humane the chosen way of executing punishment is, since many prisoners seem to be getting rid of such a miserable existence.

But the effectiveness of such an approach is difficult to challenge. Over the years, the crime rate in Japan has fallen already below the skirting and continues to push down, as few would like to deserve such a fate. And to circumvent it in the case of a crime is very difficult, because the Japanese court makes 99.8% of convictions, which is why it is virtually impossible to leave the meeting room "clean".