Photo by Ali Meizels ’23
BY ANNA KANE ’20 & KATE TURNER ’21
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, former Professor of Art and Studio Art Chair Rie Hachiyanagi was ordered by Judge Mark D. Mason in Franklin Superior Court to be held without the right to bail as she awaits trial.
Hachiyanagi was charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, following her alleged assault upon a fellow Mount Holyoke faculty member between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 2019. She has entered a not guilty plea on all charges, and as of Feb. 19, is still being held in Franklin County House of Correction.
On Feb. 12, Hachiyanagi was arraigned in Franklin Superior Court, where she pled not guilty on charges of three counts of armed assault to murder a person over 60, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of mayhem, one count of home invasion and one count of entering a dwelling at night to commit a felony.
Hachiyanagi had been arraigned in Orange District Court on Jan. 3, as previously reported by the Mount Holyoke News, but the case has since been transferred to Superior Court due to the fact that all of the charges are felonies.
Following Hachiyanagi’s arraignment, she appeared in Franklin Superior Court in Greenfield, Massachusetts on Feb. 19 for a dangerousness hearing. According to the Massachusetts Legislature, a dangerousness hearing is requested by the Commonwealth in cases of use, attempted use or threat of physical force and asks a judge to hold a defendant without bail for up to 120 days.
During the hearing, Thomas Kokonowski, Hachiyanagi’s defense attorney, argued in favor of Hachiyanagi’s release based on the presumption of innocence, in addition to what he called her strong ties to the community.
“My client, along with having no criminal record, has been a Mount Holy- oke College professor for a significant period of time. She reached the level of chair of the arts department, and there’s no evidence of violent behavior prior to this date — and we have denied that there was violent behavior at this date,” Kokonowski argued.
“The one thing we know in the practice of criminal law is that people do horrible things to one another, even people without records,” responded the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas. “That’s what happened here. On Dec. 23, this defendant, Rie Hachiyanagi, was at a breaking point — and she broke.”
Thomas also asked the judge to consider that Hachiyanagi is under “tremendous psychological stress.”
“It’s not like that stress is going to go away if Your Honor chooses to release her,” he said. “In fact, the stress she’s operating under is going to be much worse, in that she has no job and she’s under indictment. The things that brought her meaning in the past won’t be there to bring her meaning now.”
Thomas continued on to argue that should Hachiyanagi be released, her situation would only increase the threat she poses to the alleged victim.
“She sits as a danger and she should be held,” he said.
Testifying on Hachiyanagi’s behalf was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and former Dean of the College Lee Bowie. Bowie was employed by the College from 1975 to 2015, and stated that he and Hachiyanagi had crossed paths regularly when they were both employed at Mount Holyoke. However, he had not had any contact with her for several years before the alleged incident on Dec. 23.
Mason ruled that there was “no condition of release” in order to ensure the safety of the victim. According to MassLive, the hearing was “scheduled to determine under what conditions Hachiyanagi could be released back into the community prior to trial. Mason’s ruling indicates he did not believe there were any.”
“My client has pleaded not guilty and we look forward to testing the evidence that [the Commonwealth] has,” Kokonowski told the Mount Holyoke News. “It is not all that it appears to be on the surface and we plan on challenging all the evidence — and we have not received all of it.”
Referencing media coverage of the alleged assault, Kokonowski continued, “The Washington Post effed up on this case. I’m not telling you how to write your paper, but the Post mistakenly wrote the wrong thing. They made the mistake of saying that she pled guilty. She maintains her plea that she is not guilty.”
The alleged victim, a fellow Mount Holyoke faculty member, has still not been named publicly. They are expected to make a full recovery from their injuries.
The College has not officially named either Hachiyanagi or the alleged victim in any statement, although a trespass order has been issued against Hachiyanagi following the alleged incident.
Hachiyanagi is due back in court on April 22, and a pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for June 3.