2016年经济学人 日本的刑事司法 屈打成招

 

Criminal justice in Japan

日本的刑事司法

Forced to confess

屈打成招

Suspects in Japanese police cells are far too vulnerable to abuse

日本监狱里的政治嫌犯极其脆弱，易受欺凌

ON THE face of it Japan's system of criminal justice looks as if its gets a lot right. Crime rates are lower in Japan than almost anywhere else—the murder rate is less than a tenth of America's. Those arrested for minor¹ wrongdoing are treated with exceptional leniency². Less than one in 20 Japanese deemed to have committed a penal³ offence go to prison, compared with one in three of those arrested in America, where the average jail term is much longer. In Japan the emphasis is on rehabilitation⁴, especially of young offenders⁵. The rates of recidivism⁶ are admirably low, partly because the state is adept⁷ at involving families in reforming those who stray.

日本的刑事司法体系表面看来是挺公正的。日本的犯罪率比大多数国家都要低得多——谋杀率连美国的十分之一都不到。那些由于轻微违法行为而入狱的人通常会得到特殊的宽大处理。犯了刑事罪的人中只有不到二十分之一的会进监狱，而这个比例在美国则是三分之一，且刑期也比日本长得多。日本注重的是对罪犯，尤其是对年轻罪犯的改造。惯犯的比例也是极其的低，部分原因在于日本在改造这些迷失自我的人时善于融入家庭的力量。

Yet the state's benign⁸ paternalism has a dark side. The chief reason the system looks good is that Japan is a remarkably⁹ safe society. And where once police worked closely with local communities to solve crimes, now they struggle to catch criminals. The system relies on confessions¹¹, which form the basis of nine-tenths of criminal prosecutions¹³. Many confessions are extracted under duress¹⁴. Some of those who admit guilt¹⁵ are plainly innocent, as recent exonerations have shown. The extraordinary lack of safeguards for suspects in Japanese interrogation cells is a stain on the whole system, failing victims as well as those wrongly convicted.

但日本家长式作风有利有弊。日本司法体系看起来运作良好，主要是由于日本是一个非常安全的社会。曾经，为了破案警民密切合作，而现在，警方想要抓住罪犯却困难重重。日本司法体系的根基依赖于招供——90%的刑事起诉案件即是如此。很多人是在胁迫之下承认了罪行。最近的无罪声明显示，在承认罪行的人中，有些明显是无辜的。日本审讯室中的嫌疑犯极其缺乏安全保障，这是日本司法体系的一个污点，也让受害者以及那些蒙冤者失望至极。

Say you did it, even if you didn't

欲加之罪 何患无辞

In a country more inclined than the West to think of itself as a big family collective, admission of guilt is often seen as the first step to readmission into society. It is also the surest route to a conviction. Prosecutors¹⁶ and police are thus under immense pressure to make suspects talk, and have powerful tools to encourage them to do so.

相比西方国家，日本社会更像一个集体式的大家庭，在这个国家里，承认犯罪通常被视为洗心革面重回社会的第一步。同时这也意味着定罪。日本检方和警方因此不得不在巨大的社会压力下逼嫌犯招供，而他们也有这个本事。

Common criminal suspects may be held in detention¹⁷ for 23 days without charge. Many have only minimal¹⁸ contact with a lawyer. Few interrogations are recorded, and then not in their entirety, so there is not much to stop interrogators piling in. Physical torture is rare, but sleep deprivation¹⁹, which is just as effective, is common. So are various other forms of psychological coercion²⁰. Some interrogators use moral blackmail²¹ (“Think of the shame you are bringing on your family”). A few, if they are convinced that the suspect is guilty, simply fabricate a confession¹⁰ and press the suspect into signing it.

如果不经控告，一般嫌犯可能会被拘留23天。许多嫌犯与律师取得联系的机会微乎其微。审讯一般都不会被记录下来，即便记录也非全部，因此阻止审讯员介入，无太多可为。身体上折磨少有，而与之同效力的剥夺睡眠却十分见。因此形成了多种心理逼供。一些审讯员用精神压迫进行逼供（“比如，想想你给你家人带来的耻辱”）。如果他们确信犯罪嫌疑人有罪，一些审讯员甚至会捏造一份认罪书然后逼迫嫌犯签字画押。

In a court system without an adversarial approach to establish innocence²² and guilt, judges too rarely question whether confessions really are voluntary. Yet time and again innocent people have been shown to confess to crimes in the hope of a more lenient²³ sentence—or simply to make the interrogation stop. In October a mother convicted of killing²⁴ her daughter for the insurance money was released after a crime reconstruction²⁵ proved her innocence. Last year Iwao Hakamada was freed after 46 years on death row when a judge declared that his conviction was unsafe (among other things, he appears to have been tortured at the time of his arrest). One lawyer estimates that a tenth of all convictions leading to prison are based on false confessions. It is impossible to know the true figure, but when 99.8% of prosecutions end in a guilty verdict, it is clear that the scales of justice are out of balance.

在没有抗辩制度确认无罪或有罪的法庭中，法官很少质疑被告人悔罪是否出于自愿。然而屡次无辜者曾被指示：供出罪行便有希望获得较轻处罚——或者仅仅只为终止审问。十月，一位曾被指控为谋保险金而杀死自己女儿的母亲，在案卷重审后得意无罪释放。去年，经历了46年死囚生涯的Iwao Hakamada也被释放，因为法官宣布证据不足，不能认定他有罪（从其他方面，他似乎在被抓捕期间已经备受折磨）。据一位律师估计，所有获罪入狱的罪犯中有十分之一是基于不实的供认。虽不可能了解这背后的真实数据，但是99.8%的起诉案件最后都是认定犯罪嫌疑人有罪。由此可见，司法公正已明显荡然无存。

As a step towards restoring due process, all interrogations should be filmed from start to finish. Suspects should have ready access to defence counsel, to whom prosecutors should also disclose all evidence. Interrogations should be much shorter; suspects should be properly rested. Investigators²⁶ who fabricate evidence should be put in the dock themselves. Prosecution¹² cases should rely more on detective work, and less on self-incrimination. Such reforms would not improve conditions in Japan's psychologically brutal²⁷ prisons (see article). But they would give the innocent a better chance of keeping their liberty.

为了进一步恢复法定诉讼程序，应将审讯从始至终都拍摄下来并记录在案。嫌犯应有权诉诸于辩护律师，检察官也应向其辩护律师公开所有证据。此外，还应缩短审讯时间、妥善安置嫌犯。对于编造供词的审讯员也应使其接受讯。起诉案件的处理应当更多地依赖于侦察工作，而非自我控告。这样的改革并不能改善日本监狱中心理逼供的残忍状况（见文章）。但是他们将会为无辜者提供一个更好的机会以维系自由。

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

3 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

4 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

5 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

6 recidivism   

n.累犯，再犯

参考例句：

• Many areas and work units have experienced no recidivism at all for as long as ten or more years.不少地区和单位出现了连续几年、十几年没有发生重新犯罪的好典型。
• It needs to supplement the personality factor to confirm the ordinary recidivism.在普通累犯成立的条件中,应增加罪犯的人格因素。

7 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

8 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

9 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

10 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

11 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

13 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

14 duress   

n.胁迫

参考例句：

• He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。
• These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

15 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

16 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

17 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

18 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

19 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

20 coercion   

n.强制，高压统治

参考例句：

• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions.既不诱供也不逼供。
• He paid the money under coercion.他被迫付钱。

21 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

22 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

23 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

24 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

25 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

26 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。