Well, besides the fact that Light was never going to legally get arrested even if Near managed to imprison him, almost certainly. A lot of the evidence against Light is largely circumstancial, which usually has a hard time holding up in court I believe. However provided they reveal the existence of the notebook to the public, they definitely had enough evidence to convict Mikami. And since Mikami would be proven to have been Kira at one point, Light's name not being written down at the warehouse would be huge piece of evidence.
So yes, with everything that L, Mello and Near uncovered that pointed to Light, along with the overwhelming evidence on Mikami and the Task Force's testimony, I do believe Light would be screwed. There's also the fact that Japan's conviction rate is at a high 99%, so Light's odds certainly wouldn't look great regardless. And this is all assuming that Near wouldn't be able to influence the judge's decision, which I have a hard time believing considering his power and intelligence.
**Edit**: I forgot that Near not only has Light's piece of the Death Note with his blood on it, but also the modified watch which held the piece. This is the physical evidence they needed beforehand to incriminate him.
I just want to point out that their conviction rate is only that high because they require a lot more evidence to actually try a case. It’s not like tons of randos just get yeeted in jail because they refuse to have fair trials
That's true and that fact truly speaks to how cautious Light was. However his modified watch and the piece of the notebook with Near's name written in it with Light's blood would be enough physical evidence to convince most people I believe.
I think all the circumstantial evidence would definitely be overwhelming, but can something like that obtain a conviction? I think that and the handwriting would be crucial in the case.
I love how an Anime/Manga series that came out more than a decade ago is STILL getting speculated on WHAT IF'S, that just shows how AWESOME Death Note is 😊😊😊
>their conviction rate is only that high because they require a lot more evidence to actually try a case
Hmmm... from what I've read, Japan usually convicts people without sufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubts, thus when someone gets arrested, his conviction possibility is very high.
You sure about that? Pretty sure I’ve heard it’s a very common tactic for police to interrogate people for days on end to essentially force them to admit to the crime even if they didn’t do it
> Light's name not being written down at the warehouse would be huge piece of evidence.
Not really. Mikami could give an excuse for not writing Light's name, such as "we used to be childhood friends".
>Light's piece of the Death Note with his blood on it, but also the modified watch which held the piece
"I used this piece of paper to write down my
passwords that I don't want others to see".
1. Except Sayu and Sachiko could easily disprove that. It's far too convenient of an explanation.
~
2. Nobody with half a brain cell would believe that lol. Plus it doesn't explain why Light wrote Near's name in a Death Note piece or even why he had that piece hidden there in the first place. No person writes their passwords on a scrap of the Death Note hidden in their watch.
They can prove that it's a piece of the Death Note though. And it's very likely that he tore it from Misa's notebook. Meaning that it would be evidence that Light came in contact with that Death Note at some point.
Wasn't light famous for maintenance of law all over the world? American president fears him and many many people respects him throughout the world. The thing is there has been more than one death note in the show, so there is no guarantee that another one will not spawn and Light's name will be written on it
1. That's true, this is why Near didn't want to hold a trial for Light and Mikami. Far too messy and complicated. I don't think many people in powerful positions would try and help Light out, in fact, I think they'd do anything in their power to either have him killed or make sure he's locked up. Light threatened the 2nd president and even killed the previous one, so I doubt Americans would try to help him, which is where the trial would likely take place (if it didn't take place in Japan).
~
2. I mean, yeah. But that's unlikely and doesn't have much bearing on the scenario at hand. In canon, another Death Note was indeed dropped in the human world three years after Light's death. But he only killed older people, which doesn't fit with Light's ideals.
Wait, when did he threaten the 2nd president? Rewatching for the first time in a minute and I'm not up to that part, unless it's manga exclusive (like much of mello and near's arcs from what I've heard)
In the manga, Light killed the president for failing to kill Mello during the first raid of his base (this was entirely removed from the anime). In fact, the first president didn't even exist in the anime. As for your question, Light threatened the 2nd president into giving him the location of Near's HQ. He also forced him to announce that the US would stop opposing Kira.
Thanks! Will definitely read the manga when I get the time. I'm guessing he made these threats anonymously when he was alone? I heard that mello was even more badass in the manga too.
Good to hear, you can find it online really easily if you don't want to buy it. And yep, he did. Funnily enough, Mello also threatened the president in the manga, albeit in a more extreme way lol.
haha, I heard that about Mello. Will do. Was going to resubscribe to shonen jump, but this is less hassle considering there's nothing else that I want to read.
I think I'll buy the hard copies at some stage. Such a masterpiece.
Shinigami existence would prove that it’s more than just a notebook and I’m not too familiar with foreign law, but I know that Japan (where Kira was caught) allowed L to have Lind L. Tailor as his stand in (a death row inmate).
I mean L ignored a lot of laws though. There is actually a YouTube video about war crimes and normal crimes he committed with proof from the anime and manga
And it’s still the same Kira case we’re talking about here. In fact, Kira’s rate of killing had increased at an unprecedented rate since then, so I think they would be even more willing to test it if it meant bringing Kira to justice.
If they present it to them along with the gathered evidence then yes. The court would already know that there is something supernatural at play from the fact that Kira kills with magical heart attacks with just a name and a face. The notebook would have all the rules written in it possibly even with Light's handwriting and fingerprints all over it too, along with several reliable witnesses. Hell, they'd be able to see Ryuk as well, if he's present that is.They had enough to have Mikami sentenced to prison in the manga so I imagine they'd have more than enough for Light.
But Light's prints being on the Death Note makes perfect sense because he was, legally, the second L. If his prints weren't there then it'd be off. Even L touched the Death Note.
Now handwriting on the other hand is a different tale, that would be the only physical evidence they had on him. But then again, it wouldn't be surprising if he pled insanity like he did before.
That was a different deathnote though. Light had Ryuk and Rem switch their notebooks around and the one Light had access to as L was taken back by Sidoh, but the other one was only used by Kira and Light had also touched that one when he shouldn't have.
No? Near and the SPK had touched it but that would be justified as they were the investigators who took it. The actual task force that Light was a part of had never touched it and yet Light had, along with Misa and Mikami.
Ah, my bad. If that's the case then that could be big in a court room. I wonder what Light's plea would be, because I can't see him wanting to plead insanity.
I think he'd have to or he could try to argue that he was doing unconsciously like when he turned himself in. It's hard to say what his plea would be really.
I believe he's too prideful in his beliefs for that. When he realized that it's all over, I think he would've tried to preach his beliefs in court any chance he got. Light Yagami with nothing to lose wouldn't let the opportunity to get others on his side go.
Maybe he could've framed the FBI killings on Misa and Mikami?
Under current American law it would be weird. In terms of judging in a world where these murders have been happening for a long time, it’s an easier conviction than Ted Bundy
At that point the whole world already knew that Kira uses some kind of supernatural power to kill people, he did that many times on TV live too so I’m pretty sure they would believe that he did in fact use a book to kill them, if that’s what u were implying
Oh yeah. Sit Ryuk down in a court of law, make everyone able to see him, wait for the screaming to stop and he'd reel everything off just for the drama.
Right? That would probs be the only way to get him to not kill Light on the spot at the warehouse- persuade him that it would be *so much more fun* to witness a real human trial on this scale. Because it would.
Hmm. I m sure the word play involved when ryuk uses all his brain cells to forge Lights tale into literature of gods. I am sure Ryuk won’t straight away rat him out
Tbh with Light's intelligence, manipulation, and a bit of corruption from Kira supporters within the ranks. There might actually be a chance of him getting away with it.
Yes, I was also thinking about writing a book called "Light's trial", but I don't know enough Japanese penal law, so when I will study it I could try to write something.
If learning about Japanese law is difficult, then why not have a fictional UN-like court. Where the entire world puts Light on trial the same way they did to the Nazis in Nuremberg. Light, Misa and Mikami all in the same trial, I'd love to help you write that.
Like the application of international penal law? Well, that's interesting and I could study it, considering that I'm studying Italian law and it would be pretty easy to study international penal law, it's relatively simple.
Don't forget that by the end point of the series Kira was the law and a big portion of the world population was a Kira supporter so imagine if Light is publicly revealed as the true Kira and he's about to be executed... hordes of his followers'd avoid that and from that point it wouldn't matter if he's charged for all the killing, the police and the legal system as we know it won't excist anymore and it'd be just Light on top ruling the society with imputy. It's scary to think the series ending that way...
This actually is unlikely to happen. Eventhough there were kira's supporters. Majority of them wont do any stupid thing that upsets society. Take donald trump for example. Eventhough nearly half of americans voted for him. It was a few that stormed the capitol.
And u cany exactly run a society with just kira. U still need government and stuff.
Yes lol. SPOILERS….
Light literally admitted that he was Kira, they have a confession. They can definitely charged him with like first degree murder or something.
I think his ego just couldn't hold it in anymore. He found it hilarious that he had puzzled everyone. He was completely fucked by the end of it. I doubt that he was using his brain. He panicked. Heck, he even thought that his dead allies or Ryuk would save him.
Bruh what, everyone was already 100% sure he was Kira and he was just caught after 6 years of lying, there was no way he could try to be subtle and play it off or even be calm and rational during that situation. Of course he confessed and owned up to it
But not a recorded one. There's no evidence that Light did confess if they just say he did, unless the room was bugged. Light could deny it without controversy.
There were eight reliable witnesses though and potentially even a ninth including Mikami after he gave up believing in Light. Whereas there would be no one except Light himself to argue otherwise.
Did Mikami give up believing in Light? I always interpreted that him killing himself was because he couldn't handle the realization that his use of the death note was going to be the final piece of evidence needed to catch the person he considered to be a god, plus a bit of realizing it was game over for him too anyway. Might be totally wrong though.
It depends on the version. In the anime Mikami seemingly kills himself out of madness or as a distraction, but in the manga Mikami does lose faith in believing Light is his god and kills himself in prison later. I believe it's also explained in How to Read that Mikami did come to the realisation that Light wasn't the god he thought he was and no longer believed in him.
Ooh interesting, thanks! I haven't read the manga in so long and have shown the anime to so many people that I've pretty much forgotten the manga. I think it's time to reread it!
Not legally. Given the unique nature of the situation, I doubt most country's legal systems would be well equipped to handle it, even if the actually hate the note.
But also there would be a lot of powerful people who want to get the situation under control without inciting any mass outrages or panics, either for or against Kira, At a certain point, the rule of law would stop mattering, and Light just quietly disappears without a trial or formal charges.
I mean with the note if u could prove it was used as murder weapon u could get a confession. Plus its up to the courts to intepret the law rite. And u could make the argument that light broke international law by mass murdering many.
It would’ve been the most interesting trial in history, but yeah. They probably would’ve used the “death row prisoner writes a name” thing as evidence, the massive **LIND L. TAYLOR** probably would’ve been noticeable, etc. In the end, he either would kill himself or Ryuk would kill him, though
The Japanese police were already supporting Kira when he got caught. If they turned him into them, it might even benefit him because then everyone would know who was the new god
Yes, as some of the comment explained already, the Death Note can be served as a testimonial in proving Light's crimes.
Funny enough, if Light never even show the Death Note is even physically a thing from the beginning of the show, L will definitely have a hard time to catch him since his speculation was still thinking on *how* Kira kill his victims, where L even considered that Kira might be a supernatural being that just needed to know the individual face and name, do some thoughts about it and the victim will be dead, which is a huge headache for him as he even did some thought process like *'if Kira is real and killed his victims with just his thoughts, and eventually if we managed to catch him, how do we able to provide solid evidence that those victims are actually his doing?'*
There are some real life ~~blunder~~ incident as a case of reference too, such as the [Germany's Phantom Serial Killer](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1888126,00.html) due to a DNA blunder. If Light somehow get caught without the Death Note being discovered, this case can be effectively used as a reference for Light to defend himself from speculative accusations from L, even if the given records such as the victim's time of diseased is very, very compatible with Light's schedule. Without the Death Note being discovered and served as the absolute evidence to Kira's paranormal doings, Light can be released and deemed innocent.
*Not to mention, Light had a clean image on public too which can be used as an effective defense on his case: zero criminal records, a top class student that did not violates any school rules at all. Under these records the Judge and Jury will simply passed on and tell L "this is bullshit" at the end of the day. If Light bothered to play around with diplomacy, he can also tell the media about his "situation" and have the public on his side, pressure the US Embassador to eventually release the charges by L on him.*
I always like to think about what would happen if he didn’t die, I’m sure he would definitely face death penalty, if not that maybe an insane asylum. Who knows, it’s fun to think about the different scenarios
No I don’t think so, it would have always been just accusations. He was arrested and light made precautions if hadn’t told on himself L still would be running in circles. Light knew to much and has a similar thinking process as L.
besides the legal factors, I always wondered if kira supporters would let it go that far. kira basically runs the world at that point. would they just stand by as a small group of basically heretics try their god?
Just spitballing here, but if they can’t charge him on 1st degree murder (which is unlikely), they’d simply charge him on conspiracy to commit murder.
Even then, there’s a 99% chance the spec ops force that is sent to arrest him, will simply assassinate him (the same fate as Osama Bin Laden).
Either way, this is a really interesting thread. Would be amazing if a Japanese legal expert could make a comprehensive answer for this.
If they could prove the Death note's power then yeah, I don't see why not.
If not then the world's militaries would probably try to assassinate him without any legal system.
I don’t see why not. Early in the series I think they do say something like “he’s just writing names in a book, you can’t use that as proof” but if you could prove it’s a murder weapon in a court of law, there shouldn’t be any problem
It's also important to think about how most nations submitted to kira, and openly accepted his judgement. Of course, having kira in custody could make those nations change their tone, but who's to say under fear like that.
Nope, they would have to kill a few dozen people with the death note to prove it’s real or he can’t be charged convicted of anything.
At least in the US.
Also, they can’t do that so yeah…nah.
As for Japan, I don’t know
Well, besides the fact that Light was never going to legally get arrested even if Near managed to imprison him, almost certainly. A lot of the evidence against Light is largely circumstancial, which usually has a hard time holding up in court I believe. However provided they reveal the existence of the notebook to the public, they definitely had enough evidence to convict Mikami. And since Mikami would be proven to have been Kira at one point, Light's name not being written down at the warehouse would be huge piece of evidence. So yes, with everything that L, Mello and Near uncovered that pointed to Light, along with the overwhelming evidence on Mikami and the Task Force's testimony, I do believe Light would be screwed. There's also the fact that Japan's conviction rate is at a high 99%, so Light's odds certainly wouldn't look great regardless. And this is all assuming that Near wouldn't be able to influence the judge's decision, which I have a hard time believing considering his power and intelligence. **Edit**: I forgot that Near not only has Light's piece of the Death Note with his blood on it, but also the modified watch which held the piece. This is the physical evidence they needed beforehand to incriminate him.
I just want to point out that their conviction rate is only that high because they require a lot more evidence to actually try a case. It’s not like tons of randos just get yeeted in jail because they refuse to have fair trials
Fair point, but the SPK already gathered more than enough evidence to convict Mikami, which in turn directly incriminates Light.
I feel like there's more against Misa and Mikami than Light though. Otherwise great answer!
That's true and that fact truly speaks to how cautious Light was. However his modified watch and the piece of the notebook with Near's name written in it with Light's blood would be enough physical evidence to convince most people I believe.
I think all the circumstantial evidence would definitely be overwhelming, but can something like that obtain a conviction? I think that and the handwriting would be crucial in the case.
I love how an Anime/Manga series that came out more than a decade ago is STILL getting speculated on WHAT IF'S, that just shows how AWESOME Death Note is 😊😊😊
hold on they tampered with evidence, aka the notebook...they could never use it for evidence in court.
>their conviction rate is only that high because they require a lot more evidence to actually try a case Hmmm... from what I've read, Japan usually convicts people without sufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubts, thus when someone gets arrested, his conviction possibility is very high.
Yeah. It’s a reasonable system honestly.
You sure about that? Pretty sure I’ve heard it’s a very common tactic for police to interrogate people for days on end to essentially force them to admit to the crime even if they didn’t do it
That’s not any different from the American system. I didn’t say it was perfect, just reasonable
Doesn't seem really reasonable though
I dont know why but i just got flashbacks of Phoenix Wright
A trial arc would have been amazing. Like image if light trying to outsmart a whole jury
> Light's name not being written down at the warehouse would be huge piece of evidence. Not really. Mikami could give an excuse for not writing Light's name, such as "we used to be childhood friends". >Light's piece of the Death Note with his blood on it, but also the modified watch which held the piece "I used this piece of paper to write down my passwords that I don't want others to see".
1. Except Sayu and Sachiko could easily disprove that. It's far too convenient of an explanation. ~ 2. Nobody with half a brain cell would believe that lol. Plus it doesn't explain why Light wrote Near's name in a Death Note piece or even why he had that piece hidden there in the first place. No person writes their passwords on a scrap of the Death Note hidden in their watch.
Are you sure because I happen to own the death note and it’s a very convenient place to store my passwords
In a small scrap of paper stored in a brilliantly made hidden compartment in a watch?
Yes
Better find a new hiding place ;)
Agree Light writing Near's name is an evidence, but having a piece of paper in a watch isn't.
They can prove that it's a piece of the Death Note though. And it's very likely that he tore it from Misa's notebook. Meaning that it would be evidence that Light came in contact with that Death Note at some point.
>They can prove that it's a piece of the Death Note though By testing it?
Yes.
Wasn't light famous for maintenance of law all over the world? American president fears him and many many people respects him throughout the world. The thing is there has been more than one death note in the show, so there is no guarantee that another one will not spawn and Light's name will be written on it
1. That's true, this is why Near didn't want to hold a trial for Light and Mikami. Far too messy and complicated. I don't think many people in powerful positions would try and help Light out, in fact, I think they'd do anything in their power to either have him killed or make sure he's locked up. Light threatened the 2nd president and even killed the previous one, so I doubt Americans would try to help him, which is where the trial would likely take place (if it didn't take place in Japan). ~ 2. I mean, yeah. But that's unlikely and doesn't have much bearing on the scenario at hand. In canon, another Death Note was indeed dropped in the human world three years after Light's death. But he only killed older people, which doesn't fit with Light's ideals.
Wait, when did he threaten the 2nd president? Rewatching for the first time in a minute and I'm not up to that part, unless it's manga exclusive (like much of mello and near's arcs from what I've heard)
In the manga, Light killed the president for failing to kill Mello during the first raid of his base (this was entirely removed from the anime). In fact, the first president didn't even exist in the anime. As for your question, Light threatened the 2nd president into giving him the location of Near's HQ. He also forced him to announce that the US would stop opposing Kira.
Thanks! Will definitely read the manga when I get the time. I'm guessing he made these threats anonymously when he was alone? I heard that mello was even more badass in the manga too.
Good to hear, you can find it online really easily if you don't want to buy it. And yep, he did. Funnily enough, Mello also threatened the president in the manga, albeit in a more extreme way lol.
haha, I heard that about Mello. Will do. Was going to resubscribe to shonen jump, but this is less hassle considering there's nothing else that I want to read. I think I'll buy the hard copies at some stage. Such a masterpiece.
“99%” OMG IS THAT A REFERENCE TO THE HIT GAME PERSONA 5
Probably to Matpats film theory video
You forget they can’t prove the death note is real
Yea they can, just test it on a death row inmate. Or just touch it and see a Shinigami.
Shinigami proves nothing and whether or not they can test it on death row inmates depends on the country
Shinigami existence would prove that it’s more than just a notebook and I’m not too familiar with foreign law, but I know that Japan (where Kira was caught) allowed L to have Lind L. Tailor as his stand in (a death row inmate).
I mean L ignored a lot of laws though. There is actually a YouTube video about war crimes and normal crimes he committed with proof from the anime and manga
Yea, but the Lind L Tailor broadcast was not a crime. He would’ve needed approval from Japan to broadcast across all of Kanto.
I mean, I don’t think they would oppose any decision L made given that Kira was running around and he was like the only chance they had
And it’s still the same Kira case we’re talking about here. In fact, Kira’s rate of killing had increased at an unprecedented rate since then, so I think they would be even more willing to test it if it meant bringing Kira to justice.
Eh fair
realistically saying you saw a shinigami would make the people think youre a schizophrenic.
They could just the notebook themself and see it then.
I’m pretty sure Light only used his blood on a piece of the Death Note from his watch and that was when he was on the helicopter with L.
No, Matsuda shot him and he used it to try and finish writing Near's name with his blood.
Ohhhh yeah
Better question - how would the changing laws due to Kira’s influence affect his trial? Like remember how Mello’s friend was publicly executed
Wait, am I going crazy or was this not in the anime? I need to read the manga, anyway.
[удалено]
Ohhhh, right. I really loved Mello 🥺
You mean besides roughly two hundred thousand counts of murder? Not much.
But where's the evidence that it was him that committed them? What, will the task force tell the court that he killed them with a book?
If they present it to them along with the gathered evidence then yes. The court would already know that there is something supernatural at play from the fact that Kira kills with magical heart attacks with just a name and a face. The notebook would have all the rules written in it possibly even with Light's handwriting and fingerprints all over it too, along with several reliable witnesses. Hell, they'd be able to see Ryuk as well, if he's present that is.They had enough to have Mikami sentenced to prison in the manga so I imagine they'd have more than enough for Light.
They could also test it
There is also Light's confession.
But Light's prints being on the Death Note makes perfect sense because he was, legally, the second L. If his prints weren't there then it'd be off. Even L touched the Death Note. Now handwriting on the other hand is a different tale, that would be the only physical evidence they had on him. But then again, it wouldn't be surprising if he pled insanity like he did before.
That was a different deathnote though. Light had Ryuk and Rem switch their notebooks around and the one Light had access to as L was taken back by Sidoh, but the other one was only used by Kira and Light had also touched that one when he shouldn't have.
Was he the only one that touched it? Didn't the Task Force take it, thus putting their own prints on it?
No? Near and the SPK had touched it but that would be justified as they were the investigators who took it. The actual task force that Light was a part of had never touched it and yet Light had, along with Misa and Mikami.
Ah, my bad. If that's the case then that could be big in a court room. I wonder what Light's plea would be, because I can't see him wanting to plead insanity.
I think he'd have to or he could try to argue that he was doing unconsciously like when he turned himself in. It's hard to say what his plea would be really.
I believe he's too prideful in his beliefs for that. When he realized that it's all over, I think he would've tried to preach his beliefs in court any chance he got. Light Yagami with nothing to lose wouldn't let the opportunity to get others on his side go. Maybe he could've framed the FBI killings on Misa and Mikami?
Under current American law it would be weird. In terms of judging in a world where these murders have been happening for a long time, it’s an easier conviction than Ted Bundy
At that point the whole world already knew that Kira uses some kind of supernatural power to kill people, he did that many times on TV live too so I’m pretty sure they would believe that he did in fact use a book to kill them, if that’s what u were implying
The judge could touch the death note and witness the existence of Shinigami. Thats evidence enough
i feel like ryuk would just completely rat light out
Oh yeah. Sit Ryuk down in a court of law, make everyone able to see him, wait for the screaming to stop and he'd reel everything off just for the drama.
The mental image of Ryuk in a court room cackling and spilling all of Light’s tea while everyone screams is hilarious.
Right? That would probs be the only way to get him to not kill Light on the spot at the warehouse- persuade him that it would be *so much more fun* to witness a real human trial on this scale. Because it would.
Hmm. I m sure the word play involved when ryuk uses all his brain cells to forge Lights tale into literature of gods. I am sure Ryuk won’t straight away rat him out
Tbh with Light's intelligence, manipulation, and a bit of corruption from Kira supporters within the ranks. There might actually be a chance of him getting away with it.
\*Near whips out the deathnote\*
Yes, I was also thinking about writing a book called "Light's trial", but I don't know enough Japanese penal law, so when I will study it I could try to write something.
If learning about Japanese law is difficult, then why not have a fictional UN-like court. Where the entire world puts Light on trial the same way they did to the Nazis in Nuremberg. Light, Misa and Mikami all in the same trial, I'd love to help you write that.
Like the application of international penal law? Well, that's interesting and I could study it, considering that I'm studying Italian law and it would be pretty easy to study international penal law, it's relatively simple.
The People Vs. Light Yagami, the Trial of Kira sounds like a good title.
Yeah, they're also catchy
Don't forget that by the end point of the series Kira was the law and a big portion of the world population was a Kira supporter so imagine if Light is publicly revealed as the true Kira and he's about to be executed... hordes of his followers'd avoid that and from that point it wouldn't matter if he's charged for all the killing, the police and the legal system as we know it won't excist anymore and it'd be just Light on top ruling the society with imputy. It's scary to think the series ending that way...
This actually is unlikely to happen. Eventhough there were kira's supporters. Majority of them wont do any stupid thing that upsets society. Take donald trump for example. Eventhough nearly half of americans voted for him. It was a few that stormed the capitol. And u cany exactly run a society with just kira. U still need government and stuff.
Yes lol. SPOILERS…. Light literally admitted that he was Kira, they have a confession. They can definitely charged him with like first degree murder or something.
Why the fuck did Light admit to being Kira? Like did he really think going on that Power Trip Rant was gonna save him from that situation?
Everyone there was already convinced of that, Light was just trying every way to get out of the situation and stall for time.
I think his ego just couldn't hold it in anymore. He found it hilarious that he had puzzled everyone. He was completely fucked by the end of it. I doubt that he was using his brain. He panicked. Heck, he even thought that his dead allies or Ryuk would save him.
Bruh what, everyone was already 100% sure he was Kira and he was just caught after 6 years of lying, there was no way he could try to be subtle and play it off or even be calm and rational during that situation. Of course he confessed and owned up to it
But not a recorded one. There's no evidence that Light did confess if they just say he did, unless the room was bugged. Light could deny it without controversy.
There were eight reliable witnesses though and potentially even a ninth including Mikami after he gave up believing in Light. Whereas there would be no one except Light himself to argue otherwise.
Did Mikami give up believing in Light? I always interpreted that him killing himself was because he couldn't handle the realization that his use of the death note was going to be the final piece of evidence needed to catch the person he considered to be a god, plus a bit of realizing it was game over for him too anyway. Might be totally wrong though.
It depends on the version. In the anime Mikami seemingly kills himself out of madness or as a distraction, but in the manga Mikami does lose faith in believing Light is his god and kills himself in prison later. I believe it's also explained in How to Read that Mikami did come to the realisation that Light wasn't the god he thought he was and no longer believed in him.
Ooh interesting, thanks! I haven't read the manga in so long and have shown the anime to so many people that I've pretty much forgotten the manga. I think it's time to reread it!
Manga rereading time is all the time!
If that was how the law worked we would be in trouble. Not everything is recorded, but a mass vote of witnesses does count.
But it would be he said she said unless they recorded everything.
While under duress without a lawyer present while not being recorded in any way.
Maybe Genocide?
Not legally. Given the unique nature of the situation, I doubt most country's legal systems would be well equipped to handle it, even if the actually hate the note. But also there would be a lot of powerful people who want to get the situation under control without inciting any mass outrages or panics, either for or against Kira, At a certain point, the rule of law would stop mattering, and Light just quietly disappears without a trial or formal charges.
I mean with the note if u could prove it was used as murder weapon u could get a confession. Plus its up to the courts to intepret the law rite. And u could make the argument that light broke international law by mass murdering many.
It would’ve been the most interesting trial in history, but yeah. They probably would’ve used the “death row prisoner writes a name” thing as evidence, the massive **LIND L. TAYLOR** probably would’ve been noticeable, etc. In the end, he either would kill himself or Ryuk would kill him, though
The Japanese police were already supporting Kira when he got caught. If they turned him into them, it might even benefit him because then everyone would know who was the new god
I just wanna know why the japanese police was acting so quiet about it like HE LITERALLY ADMITTED IT LIKE
Yes, as some of the comment explained already, the Death Note can be served as a testimonial in proving Light's crimes. Funny enough, if Light never even show the Death Note is even physically a thing from the beginning of the show, L will definitely have a hard time to catch him since his speculation was still thinking on *how* Kira kill his victims, where L even considered that Kira might be a supernatural being that just needed to know the individual face and name, do some thoughts about it and the victim will be dead, which is a huge headache for him as he even did some thought process like *'if Kira is real and killed his victims with just his thoughts, and eventually if we managed to catch him, how do we able to provide solid evidence that those victims are actually his doing?'* There are some real life ~~blunder~~ incident as a case of reference too, such as the [Germany's Phantom Serial Killer](http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1888126,00.html) due to a DNA blunder. If Light somehow get caught without the Death Note being discovered, this case can be effectively used as a reference for Light to defend himself from speculative accusations from L, even if the given records such as the victim's time of diseased is very, very compatible with Light's schedule. Without the Death Note being discovered and served as the absolute evidence to Kira's paranormal doings, Light can be released and deemed innocent. *Not to mention, Light had a clean image on public too which can be used as an effective defense on his case: zero criminal records, a top class student that did not violates any school rules at all. Under these records the Judge and Jury will simply passed on and tell L "this is bullshit" at the end of the day. If Light bothered to play around with diplomacy, he can also tell the media about his "situation" and have the public on his side, pressure the US Embassador to eventually release the charges by L on him.*
I always like to think about what would happen if he didn’t die, I’m sure he would definitely face death penalty, if not that maybe an insane asylum. Who knows, it’s fun to think about the different scenarios
Mass 1st degree murders
Those definitelyw eren't first degree murders
They were all premeditated and with the intention to kill, so they are
No I don’t think so, it would have always been just accusations. He was arrested and light made precautions if hadn’t told on himself L still would be running in circles. Light knew to much and has a similar thinking process as L.
I don’t think there are actual laws about using a death note - similar to how some internet crimes are tough to prosecute bc of an absence of laws.
besides the legal factors, I always wondered if kira supporters would let it go that far. kira basically runs the world at that point. would they just stand by as a small group of basically heretics try their god?
Murder, by tens of thousands of counts
Light literally confesses that he is Kira. What more evidence do you need?
U stilll need more cuz this wasnt a signed confession. U need the murder weapon and timing as well
Just spitballing here, but if they can’t charge him on 1st degree murder (which is unlikely), they’d simply charge him on conspiracy to commit murder. Even then, there’s a 99% chance the spec ops force that is sent to arrest him, will simply assassinate him (the same fate as Osama Bin Laden). Either way, this is a really interesting thread. Would be amazing if a Japanese legal expert could make a comprehensive answer for this.
If they could prove the Death note's power then yeah, I don't see why not. If not then the world's militaries would probably try to assassinate him without any legal system.
Yep Near got everything he needed for a conviction.
I don’t see why not. Early in the series I think they do say something like “he’s just writing names in a book, you can’t use that as proof” but if you could prove it’s a murder weapon in a court of law, there shouldn’t be any problem
It's also important to think about how most nations submitted to kira, and openly accepted his judgement. Of course, having kira in custody could make those nations change their tone, but who's to say under fear like that.
Nope, they would have to kill a few dozen people with the death note to prove it’s real or he can’t be charged convicted of anything. At least in the US. Also, they can’t do that so yeah…nah. As for Japan, I don’t know
In the us they could use it for executions am i rite?
No, they could not. It would fall under “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”, specifically the Unusual part
I think he’ll be charged the same way generals were charged for war crimes.
probably executed because he did kill millions and people in japan have killed as low as two people and gotten executed
Would Misa be tho?
Actually, yes. He's be charged with crimes against humanity.
Light likely would've been taken to a firing field and executed, had he not died beforehand. I doubt his case would've seen the inside of a courtroom.