Sadamichi Hirasawa

Sadamichi Hirasawa was a Japanese painter who was sentenced to death, convicted of mass cyanide poisoning. Sadamichi Hirasawa Fair use under US and Japanese copyright law. ... Sadamichi Hirasawa Fair use under US and Japanese copyright law. ... For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Death Penalty World Map Color Key: Blue: Abolished for all crimes Green: Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Orange: Abolitionist in Practice Red: Legal Form of Punishment Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered... A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the group C≡N, with the carbon atom triple bonded to the nitrogen atom. ...

On January 26, 1948 a man named Jiro Yamaguchi arrived in a branch of the Teigin Bank at Shīnamachi, suburb of Tokyo, before closing time. He explained that he was a public health official sent by US occupation authorities who had orders to inoculate the staff against a sudden outbreak of dysentery. He gave all sixteen people present a pill and a few drops of liquid. Those present drank the liquid he gave, which was a cyanide solution. When all were incapacitated, the robber took all the money he could find, which amounted to only 160,000 yen. Ten of the victims died at the scene (one was a child of an employee) and two others landed in the hospital. January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Imperial Palace. ... Inoculation was a method of minimising the harm done by infection with smallpox. ... Dysentery is a severe diarrhea illness often associated with blood in the feces. ...

He was eventually caught by the police due to the Japanese habit of exchanging cards with personal details. The real Dr. Yamaguchi contacted the police, and one of the cards in Yamaguchi's possession was that of Hirasawa, meaning the two had at one point exchanged cards. The police were also led to Hirawasa through the use of stolen checks.

He was identified by one of the survivors as the man who had given them the poison, marked by a scar under the murderer's chin. He was arrested August 1948. Hirasawa confessed (though he later recanted), and his later defense was based on partial insanity, but the court disagreed and Hirasawa was given the death penalty. His attorneys successfully had the sentence revoked because of a Japanese law that forbade people from suicide (the death penalty in Japan at the time called for hanging, and the lawyers argued that hanging was a form of self-strangulation). Death Penalty World Map Color Key: Blue: Abolished for all crimes Green: Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Orange: Abolitionist in Practice Red: Legal Form of Punishment Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered... Japanese law was historically heavily influenced by Chinese law, but has been largely based on the civil law of Germany since the late 19th century. ... Hanging to Music. ...

His lawyers argued that the sentence was against the new Japanese constitution. Over the following years they submitted 18 pleas for retrial, but the Supreme Court of Japan upheld the death sentence in 1955. Hirasawa remained in prison for the next 33 years. He spent his time painting and writing his writing his autobiography (My Will: the Teikoku Bank Case). The death sentence, however, was never carried out and he died in a prison hospital in 1987; shortly before that at the age of eighty-eight, he was granted amnesty by the Emperor. The original of the Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan (日本国憲法) has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947. ... Japanese law was historically heavily influenced by Chinese law, but has been largely based on the civil law of Germany since the late 19th century. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is an act of grace by which the supreme power in a state restores those who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the position of innocent persons. ... His Majesty The Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇 tennō) is Japans titular head of state and the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. ...

Even after Hirasawa's death, his son Takehiko Hirasawa has tried to clear his name. As of 2003, his lawyers have submitted new pieces of evidence to prove Hirasawa's innocence. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External References

• J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, 1996, Harrap Books, London
• Sadamichi Hirasawa (http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/hammer/73/hirasawa.html)
• 19th bid to clear late murderer's name (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/11/1057783357998.html?oneclick=true) Sydney Morning Herald, July 12, 2003