Japan netizens support death penalty for man who butchered suicidal victims
- Prosecutors have sought capital punishment for Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, who admitted to killing, dismembering and storing the bodies of nine people
- In Japan, support for the death penalty for heinous crimes is widespread
Japanese prosecutors on Thursday demanded capital punishment for a man indicted over a 2017 serial murder of nine people who had expressed suicidal thoughts on Twitter.
At a lay judge trial at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, who has pleaded guilty to murdering, dismembering and storing the bodies of the nine in his flat near Tokyo.
“Nine young lives were taken in such a short period of two months,” a prosecutor said, adding that his crimes “deserve death”.
Shiraishi on Wednesday said he expected to receive the death penalty. “I humbly admit my guilt and will accept the punishment.”
His defence team, however, took a different stance, arguing that Shiraishi killed the victims with their consent as they had expressed suicidal thoughts on social media. He was therefore guilty only of the lesser charge of homicide with consent, they said.