Summary:
Hiromi Higuruma is a criminal defense lawyer who takes on difficult cases because he believes in the truth. He is currently defending young Keita Oe, who was unfairly found guilty by a broken justice system. Pushed to the brink by one unfair verdict after another, the would-be Culling Game player decides to make up his own mind.
Plot:
Ninety-nine percent of criminal trials in Japan result in a guilty verdict. Hiromi Higuruma, a criminal public defender, talks to her client Keita Oe.
Keita explains that he had a cat that went missing and when he was looking for it, he was confronted by the police and decided to flee because his cat would die. Where she lives, the rule is that she can’t have a cat, so no one knows she has one.
In March 2016, a mother and daughter were both killed in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. Prosecutors suspected Keita Oe, who is a local resident. He was arrested and charged on suspicion of murder and robbery. After Keita flees from the police’s first interrogation, they follow him to his house and find a bloody blade. Laboratory analysis confirmed that the blood on the knife matched the victims’ DNA. Despite overwhelming evidence and being practically caught in the act by the police with a murder weapon in his possession, Keita insisted that he was innocent.
Higuruma reviews Keito’s case with his office colleague named Shimizu. Keita told Higuruma that he picked up the blade even though it wasn’t his. Shimizu doesn’t believe this and believes he fled the authorities because he was guilty. Higuruma argues trauma because Keita was illegally harassed by the police in the past because of an acquaintance who used drugs.
Keita claims he was going to hand the knife over to the police later because his job didn’t allow him to call the police or an ambulance. His work functions as a shelter for the elderly who have nowhere to go but have not paid their wages. Employees only receive New Year’s cash for lunch and groceries, while still being overpaid by ¥50,000 a month for rent. More than a few residents have criminal records, and more shady non-profit businesses have sprung up since earthquake relief money began flowing into the region. Higuruma believes that it is likely that the gun was actually lying around and Keita is actually telling the truth.
Higuruma makes a plan to take on the case. He wants to continue gathering information while Shimizu takes care of all the other logistics. Shimizu thinks she gets most of the work and is even asked to take care of Keita’s cat. Shimizu believes public defenders like them are underpaid and overworked. In a murder case like this, there is no chance of a suspended sentence and the defendant may even receive the death penalty. Shimizu doesn’t understand why they’re even attempting such a hopeless case, but Higuruma claims that he takes on tough cases once in a while to keep up his skills. Annoyed, Shimizu thinks out loud and says that it’s not “occasionally”.
Shimizu meets a friend and fellow lawyer named Takagi at the cafe he owns. Takagi used to work with Higuruma and apparently he never changes. He’s the type who doesn’t care about money, and Takagi believes he may have gotten worse. He cites an example from a past case where Higuruma defended a 19-year-old who was forced to drink and drive because of his job. The defendant was angry with Higuruma because he was not found innocent. Higuruma never told him that he would be found not guilty, only that he could have his sentence suspended. Takagi pointed out the way clients abuse their lawyers and how it’s not worth it, but Higuruma replied that he understands that people are just up against the wall financially and emotionally, so they take it out on their lawyers. Concerned, Takagi asked how this was affecting Higuruma’s mental state.
Higuruma and Shimizu work tirelessly until the day of trial and succeed in obtaining a not guilty verdict for Keita. Shimizu is surprised that they actually got a verdict, but Higuruma knows that the prosecution will immediately appeal. In the media, the court of public opinion assumes that the prosecution was bribed, the verdict was wrong, and justice in some sense failed, which is the opposite of the truth.
At the post-trial meeting, Higuruma reveals to Keita that nothing from the robbery was found in his room, which was stolen, and someone disappeared from the residence soon after the crime. On top of everything else, Keita also appeared on camera footage in convenience stores at the same time as the estimated time of death. Keita thanks Higuruma, but the lawyer only points out that there will be a second trial. A sobbing Keita clarifies that he only means to thank Higuruma for believing in him.
However, in the second trial, Keita is unfortunately found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Independent advocates like Higurum’s office rely on limited funding and a small staff. Prosecutors have access to tax money and a much larger workforce. No new evidence was presented at the second trial either, and the court handed down this verdict on the flimsy argument that there was no reason to suspect the missing person. A third trial before the supreme court is unlikely because they refuse to hear most cases. A fair hearing is unlikely, and the system unfairly framed Keita as guilty from the outset.
Desperate and angry, Keita looks at Higuruma with sadness and disappointment in his eyes. Shocked, Higuruma questions himself as to why the clients are looking at him this way, losing touch with the rationalization he gave Takagi. When Takagi asked him about his mental state, Higuruma replied that his intention was not to save the weak. He was always the type of person who couldn’t ignore things. Justice is supposed to be blind and people close their eyes to spare themselves the harsh truths, but Higuruma wants to keep his eyes open, even if he is the only one.
The judge announces that objections to Keita Oe’s guilty verdict must be filed within fifteen days. Higuruma abruptly interrupts the announcement by slamming the table with his judge’s gavel. This surprises the prosecutor, the judge, and Shimizu, who backs away from her partner as a curse begins to form behind him. Higuruma refused to let the trial end in this unfair way and tells everyone that no one is allowed to leave as they have a retrial. Higuruma was chosen as a Culling Game player and this event served as the catalyst for his powers to awaken.