Michael Cash wrote:

> On Sun, 25 May 2003 16:32:17 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
> <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> gasped and wheezed:
>
> >Michael Cash wrote:
> >
> >> A summary of something I read the other day. I knew that Eric would
> >> love the pace of this:
> >>
> >> June 14, 1:00 p.m.
> >> A human hand is discovered on the banks of Sumidagawa, around the
> >> Hakozaki area
> >>
> >> June 15, morning
> >> Another human hand is found along the river, this one under
> >> Azumabashi.
> >>
> >> June 18
> >> A human left foot is found in the river, in the area of the Shibaura
> >> docks.
> >>
> >> Sometime between June 18 and 23
> >> Having determined the identity of the original owner of the body parts
> >> through matching up fingerprints with those of people with criminal
> >> convictions, the cops set out canvassing the entirety of Tokyo until
> >> they find out where the man was living in Tokyo. (His records showed
> >> him to be living in Tokushima Prefecture).
> >>
> >> June 23
> >> Police visit/search the victim's home, question neighbors, etc. They
> >> determine that they actually have a double murder, since the man's
> >> wife went missing the same time he did. A little detective work points
> >> them toward a recently released ex-con, a man who was rooming with
> >> them. His photo is pulled from his criminal records, and every cop in
> >> Tokyo is on the lookout.
> >>
> >> June 28
> >> A cop out walking his beat spots the suspect and arrests him.
> >>
> >> September 12
> >> Convicted and sentenced to death.
> >>
> >> October 12
> >> Redeems a coupon good for one free neck stretching treatment, courtesy
> >> of the state.
> >>
> >> I'll refrain from typing up the details of just what it was the guy
> >> did; some people might be eating supper.
> >>
> >> The year? 1934.
> >
> >What of it?
>
> I just thought it remarkable that the whole thing was over and done
> with in under four months. The discovery of the crime, the
> investigation, the capture, the trial, and the execution. Given the
> speed at which the Japanese court system has become famous for moving,
> this is blindingly fast by comparison. I dunno, for whatever reason,
> when I read about it I thought I would like to share it with you. So
> there it is.

I thought it was another attempt to show me how heinous crimes also occurred
long ago, or perhaps you would drop the zinger that the man was later
exonerated.

No, other than the fact police had fewer such cases to focus their attention
on, thus an easier time solving the case, I am not surprised it happened so
"quickly". It is just one example, however old, of how quickly and
effectively police and the law *could* work if they were more serious.

Here in Fukuyama, locals were rather upset by the body of a woman found in
the immediate vicinity of the police box near the station. Less than a week
later, a homeless man sought for another crime admitted to it.

http://tinyurl.com/cmaj

This does not impress me, as there were two women stabbed dead in their own
homes, one in my neighborhood, and a fatal shooting after one of about six
large robberies, all unsolved by the police.

> --
>
> Michael Cash
>
> "I used to have a dog named Michael Cash."
>
>                                 Prof. Ernest T. Bass
>                                 Mount Pilot College
>
> http://www.sunfield.ne.jp/~mike/