Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday overturned a death sentence given to a man convicted of murdering a student in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, in 2009. The court instead sentenced the man to life imprisonment.
Tatsumi Tateyama, 52, was convicted of murdering 21-year-old Chiba University student Yukari Ogino in October 2009. Ogino was found dead with stab wounds to the chest and neck in the burned-out ruins of her apartment. Tateyama was arrested after police released security camera footage of him withdrawing money from the victim’s account at an ATM machine.
He admitted to the crime and said that he had set fire to the apartment after the murder in order to erase any possible DNA evidence that would lead to his arrest.
In June 2011, he was sentenced to death, but his lawyer appealed.
In handing down its ruling on Tuesday, the high court said that Tateyama's stated objective was robbery and that premeditated murder could not be proven, TBS reported.
© Japan Today
6 Comments
Login to comment
The Chronic
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Put this coackroach down.
ControlFreak
The right sentence for all the wrong reasons. State sanctioned murder is just another evil on top the original one.
Scnadal.Lova
How could it not be proven if he admitted it?
WilliB
If "sentenced to life" really means "life", then OK. As long as he works for his upkeep. But if it means that this creep will be released back into society eventually, this is a terrible misjustice.
Thunderbird2
Oh you are kidding! The tosser murdered the poor girl... pure and simple. Jeez, this is insane. He did the crime, he admitted it... and what? Will he now apologise to her family and walk free? I hope he's kept in the prison and rots there!