Woman given suspended term for killing 2 autistic sons

Wednesday 26th November, 07:15 AM JST

HIROSHIMA —

The Hiroshima High Court sentenced a 36-year-old woman Tuesday to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for killing her autistic sons aged 5 and 3 in 2006 out of despair about raising them.

The appeals court reversed a lower court ruling sentencing Hiromi Izumi to six years in prison, saying the previous sentence was ‘‘too heavy’’ and that the high court ‘‘could not refrain from sympathy’’ over the circumstances that led to the killings.

The woman strangled her two sons with her hands in a car parked in a parking space in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Nov 6, 2006, according to the ruling. The defendant had been devotedly rearing her children while suffering from panic disorder herself, Presiding Judge Yasuhide Narazaki said.

But she ended up losing her will to live due to uncertainties about the future and concluded that she had no other choice but to kill her children, according to the judge.

She would have avoided committing the crime if people around her had appropriately dealt with her mental condition, the judge said.

He said the woman had diminished responsibility at the time of the crime, and that the fact that she voluntarily surrendered herself to police was a mitigating circumstance.

The high court dismissed the defense’s argument that the defendant should be acquitted for being mentally incompetent.

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Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

NYC_Samurai at 11:55 AM JST - 26th November

disgusting
romulus3 at 01:43 PM JST - 26th November

She could have reached out herself for help. she chose to kill instead. kill her children. murder her hapless children. she should be locked up for 30 years. this ruling only encourages more child killing and provides other murders with an excuse.
Spidey at 01:55 PM JST - 26th November

I repeat!

*"Sorry to say but children, for the most part, in this country are nothing more than mere possessions. And are handled as such. People here have stronger emotional bonds with their mobile phones than they do with their own flesh and blood." *

S
bebert at 02:35 PM JST - 26th November

Even in America with all the support available, autistic children are a handful -- its literally 24/7 care

Exactly. An autistic kid is a lifelong responsibility and if the father (or fathers) had abandoned her, and she didn't have a family support system, I can understand how despair might have driven her to do the unthinkable.

The question is, for those who object to the lenient sentence for this poor woman, would you have demanded a strict sentence if the woman had learned her kids were autistic while still in the womb and then had them aborted - as is the case for about 2/3rds of autistic children in the United States (Notable exception: Gov. Sarah Palin)?
Nessie at 06:04 PM JST - 26th November

They'll let it go as long as she doesn't kill any more autistic children she might have.
sensei258 at 06:31 PM JST - 26th November

I can't believe the bu****it legal system in Japan. Strangle your two kids just because raising them was inconvenient for you, and get a suspended sentence? What the hell is going on here?! "The high court could not refrain from sympathy". How about sympathy for the ones who lost their lives. Who will defend them? How about leaving them with somebody instead of KILLING them.
BBLeo at 07:13 PM JST - 26th November

What a cheap version of justice is this. Here we had today an example that prosecutor is asking for life in jail (throwing baby from balcony), and this woman that killed two children, walking free. What system is that? No human has the right to take life from another human under any circumstances. Doesn't religion in Japan also say the same thing? No wonder Japan had so many killings, all you have to do get fat lawyer, and act as lunatic or poor of the poorest and you will walk. When you get married you want children, ask yourself what is love? 'LOVE IS NEGOTATION OF HAPPINES BUT HERE WITH THIS WOMAN IT FAILED.'
romulus3 at 08:47 PM JST - 26th November

'LOVE IS NEGOTATION OF HAPPINES BUT HERE WITH THIS WOMAN IT FAILED.'

it also appears that the father failed. as did the families of all involved. Its not just a woman, its a society that failed.
Ke11iente at 12:12 AM JST - 27th November

Screw that. You can't off your kid just because they're difficult to raise or have problems. "Society didn't help me! Waaah!" That is such complete bullsh*t.
flammenwerfer at 12:36 AM JST - 27th November

The question is, for those who object to the lenient sentence for this poor woman, would you have demanded a strict sentence if the woman had learned her kids were autistic while still in the womb and then had them aborted - as is the case for about 2/3rds of autistic children in the United States (Notable exception: Gov. Sarah Palin)?

While I dont condone what she did, I can understand what drove her to it.

eh? there is no prenatal test for autism, you are confusing it with Down syndrome - completely different. Palin son has Down syndrome and it can tested for easily. Autism is massively misunderstood by many people and groups in society.
Good_Jorb at 12:50 AM JST - 27th November

eh? there is no prenatal test for autism, you are confusing it with Down syndrome - completely different.

That is what I thought as well, autism is usually not diagnosed until the parents and/or doctors obeserve noticeable social/mental developmental irregularities, which by default means detection is post natal.
kjunluc2 at 03:16 AM JST - 27th November

Mitigating circumstances? Well,.......
BigInJapan at 08:37 PM JST - 27th November

I cannot understand this (or better: understand it way too much): - If she is not responsible for her acts, and a lose cannon that can kill than her place is in a mental institute, and also people who didnt support/stop her are responsible. - If she is mentally enough capable to be responsible, than this sentence is a WTF.

It is a typical Japanese sentence: nobody dare to choose or decide, so they ended up in a stupid white washed middle way.
mindovermatter at 09:07 AM JST - 30th November

But she ended up losing her will to live due to uncertainties about the future and concluded that she had no other choice but to kill her children, according to the judge.

What law school did this judge graduate from... Mickey Mouse university...? WTF kind of reasoning is this...? They need to throw crackpot in Jail for such non-sense...

And people wonder why most people view Japan as a society of 12 yrs olds... Unbelievable...
tyciol at 09:26 AM JST - 16th December

I'm sick of parents acting aggressing towards austistics, this is inexcusable.