栃木女児殺害、無期確定へ　弁護側の無罪主張退ける―取り調べ映像判示せず・最高裁

　栃木県今市市（現日光市）で２００５年に起きた小学１年女児殺害事件で、殺人などの罪に問われた勝又拓哉被告（３７）について、最高裁第２小法廷（三浦守裁判長）は６日までに、被告の上告を棄却する決定をした。無罪主張を退け、無期懲役とした二審東京高裁判決が確定する。決定は４日付。４裁判官全員一致の意見。
　事件の最大の争点は自白の信用性で、一審宇都宮地裁の裁判員裁判は、法廷で取り調べの様子を録音・録画した７時間超の映像を再生し、「自白は信用できる」と判断した。二審判決はこうした一審の手続きを「強い疑問がある」と批判。状況証拠から有罪と認定したが、小法廷は録音・録画の取り扱いについては言及しなかった。（2020/03/06-14:23）

Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a 37-year-old man over the murder of a seven-year-old girl from the eastern prefecture of Tochigi in 2005, a decision that will finalize an indefinite prison term given to him.
   The decision rejecting the claim of innocence by the defendant, Takuya Katsumata, was made unanimously by all four judges at the court's Second Petty Bench on Wednesday.
   The point at issue in the case was whether the defendant's confession to the murder of the victim, Yuki Yoshida, in police interrogations was credible.
   Utsunomiya District Court concluded in a trial involving lay judges that his confession was credible, based on more than seven hours of videos of interrogations, while Tokyo High Court criticized the use of the videos as the basis for judgment.
   The top court did not mention the issue of the videos.