Over 70% of people who were acquitted of murder in a retrial in Japan were initially found guilty based on their confessions, a Jiji tally showed Saturday.
At least 20 people in 18 cases were found innocent in a retrial after receiving a guilty verdict in the post-World War II period. Of them, 15 in 13 cases were previously convicted as a murderer because of confession records.
In the 13 cases, the credibility and voluntariness of the confessions were denied when courts decided to hold a retrial or retrial rulings were given.
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