27-year-old, in retrial, given death for murders he committed when he was minor

Wednesday 23rd April, 04:24 AM JST

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presto345 at 10:45 PM JST - 22nd April

He killed the woman unintentionally, (he said), but he had every intention to rape her, to violate her, to carry out his animal lust violent plan, lacking any respect for human life. Murdering a baby in addition capped it. This abomination of a human wasted all his chances for a new life. Life imprisonment might be the worst punishment, but the constitution calls for capital punishment. Let those opposing capital punishment lobby for abolishment and hope they will never be in the shoes of Hiroshi Motomura.
Simon_Foston at 12:16 AM JST - 23rd April

They often leave a person on Death Row for 40 years because they know he's innocent. That's how pathetic the process here is. Once someone signs that piece of paper they are coerced into signing during 23 days of incarceration permitting torture, they become one with the 99.7% conviction rate.

Anything to make the figures look good and create the impression of a "safety" country, eh? I suspect that in more than a few cases, though, once they think they've got their man they won't let anything as inconsequential as compelling evidence to the contrary get in the way of wrapping up the case. Presumably when innocent people get put on death row and stay there it's because the police can't be bothered to go looking for the real criminals and don't want to lose face by admitting they screwed up the inquiry in the first place.
1keiron at 04:11 AM JST - 23rd April

Bring back the gauntlet! If somebody did that to my wife and child I wouldnt want that person to experience another day which my loved ones had taken all away! Life sentence..pff what of it, its nothing to these sick people. Eventually they get let out as a free man. Sure its many years but they get let out again! Sure nothing brings back the murdered inocent but hey..eye for an eye, tooth for tooth. Anyone can go againts my opinion, fair game but i wouldnt waste your time because my opinion will always stand untill i proceed over to the next life.
timorborder at 06:01 AM JST - 23rd April

Good stuff. This is one of those criminal cases that has stayed with me over the years. I remember when it was committed and the furor in the domestic press. I particularly remember one article that looked into the background of the defendant and basically painted him blacker than black. With regard to the case itself, I must admit that I have been very impressed with the attitude of the husband. Whereas most victims in Japan seem willing to leave justice up to the powers that be, and simply shrug when these powers end up going soft of the defendent because they were a "minor," this guy (quite rightly) was willing to put the boot in at every opportunity. He has to be admired for that.

Finally, although in principle I am against the death penalty, I think that anybody who bashes a baby's brains out on the floor can expect little else.
Proffessor at 08:57 AM JST - 23rd April

Considering that he is an adult now, why don't they publish his name and splash his picture all over? This would help in crime prevention as the 'would be offenders' might think twice before committing a similar crime. more over, this guy is gonna get the noose anyway so what's the deal?
Fair dinkum! at 10:05 AM JST - 23rd April

The death penalty is a grey zone. If one person kills another then the government decides to kill the person who was the first killer doesn't that make the government guilty of murder as well? If the average Joe cannot kill a person why does the government have the right to do so? It is clear the offender should not be released for fear of repeat offending, but prisoners cost tax payers around $100k a year for each prisoner. I don'T know what the answer is. Perhaps they should put him in stocks in the center of Shibuya and we can all have a go at him.
cleo at 10:15 AM JST - 23rd April

the 'would be offenders' might think twice before committing a similar crime

I very much doubt it. Killings either happen on the spur of the moment, in which case the murderer isn't thinking about the consequences; or the murderer is mentally ill, in which case he isn't thinking about the consequences; or the murderer plans his actions carefully and thinks he isn't going to be caught anyway.

Fair dinkum is right; if it's wrong to kill, then it's wrong to kill, full stop. If a murderer is considered a public safety hazard, then of course he should never be allowed his freedom ever again. 'It costs the taxpayer' can surely be dealt with by making prisoners work for their food and board while they're inside (they'd have to do it if they were outside, so what's the difference?), allowing friends and relatives to contribute to their living costs, etc.
Simon_Foston at 10:25 AM JST - 23rd April

'It costs the taxpayer' can surely be dealt with by making prisoners work for their food and board while they're inside (they'd have to do it if they were outside, so what's the difference?), allowing friends and relatives to contribute to their living costs, etc.

How about making relatives contribute to their living costs? In a lot of cases I think it's the parents' fault they're that messed up in the first place.
romulus3 at 11:24 AM JST - 23rd April

timorborder,

nice post. I saw him on the news last night. he said he felt vindicated. now perhaps he can move on with his life. It must be so painful for him everyday but what a strong man he has proven to be. yeah, the death penalty sucks but if there was a case of it being deserved, that baby killer, corpse raping scum warrants it.
dennis0bauer at 11:45 AM JST - 23rd April

cleo; or he is a psychopat and does not care about the consequences
papasmurfinjapan at 11:57 AM JST - 23rd April

The death penalty is a grey zone. If one person kills another then the government decides to kill the person who was the first killer doesn't that make the government guilty of murder as well?

If a person kidnaps someone and locks them up in a cage for 15 years with nothing but the bare necessities to keep them alive, and then the government decides to put the perpetrator in a jail cell with similar conditions for 10-15 years, isn't the government guilty of kidnap as well? Surely the perpetrator would not be in the cell of his own free will?

Justice is defined by law, and in Japan, whether you like it or not, the death penalty is considered as a just punishment for people who are guilty of particularly heinous crimes. Knowing the law, the perpetrator willingly chose to break it. Now he must accept the consequences.
Patrick Smash at 01:35 PM JST - 23rd April

This case is quite cut and dried, and there is certainly a case for saying this guy deserves to hang. My main problem is the huge number of cases where the evidence is not so compelling, and where a retarded criminal justice system hangs an innocent person on the strength of a forced confession.

Agree with the death sentence or don't, but Japan needs serious changes in its criminal justice system to protect the innocent.
northlondon at 02:34 PM JST - 23rd April

I really feel for this poor husband and although this is confirmation that someone will be executed, that is the husbands wish and good for him after fighting all these years.

Personally speaking, I disagree with a death sentence and would prefer to see these kind of murderers suffer hard labour and in a bare cell for the rest of their lives. But this is what the husband wished and what he fought for, so good for him.

And what kind of defence lawyer can make up those rubbish excuses for a monster who raped, murdered and then murdered a baby ?? (you should read the Yomiuri today for a list of their incredibly awful excuses) No lawyer should have tried to justify the actions of that animal once he admitted to that awful crime.

18 is old enough to know. 18 is a man in my book. I disagree with the death penalty but this is one monster who truly deserves to be obliterated from this world.
TheguyNextdoor at 03:38 PM JST - 23rd April

Get him, he deservers nothing less then the death penalty. Killed a kid, raped a dead women...he's sick. Don't need people on this planet like that.
presidentbaka at 08:03 AM JST - 24th April

Two things here: One - this is GREAT news! I personally know the guy who this happened to. He NEVER once gave up the fight for justice for his wife and child. He lives in Hikari city here in Yamaguchi. He fought this all the way, and now finally, he can rest some, knowing the evil little scum that killed and raped his wife, then killed his baby, is going to take a trip to HELL!

Secondly, this is my FIRST and LAST post to this site. I only signed up today and JapanToday.com has SPAMMED my email box with over 16400 emails since signing up just 15 hours or so ago. Way to go JT, if this is how you treat users, then &%$# you!!!!!!