Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
crime

Ex-head of parents' group gets life in prison for murder of 9-year-old Vietnamese girl

39 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

39 Comments
Login to comment

It is extremely rare that a single murder will result in the death penalty here, yet in this case, if there was ever one for it to be handed down, THIS would have been it!

Now "we" all will be forced to take care of this man for the next 30 or 40 years!

4 ( +11 / -7 )

The death penalty should be abolished. It's just ancient 'eye for an eye' mentality that amounts to nothing more than revenge. People quickly forget that, the majority of prisoners on death row in Japan have admitted to committing their crimes in order to get the death penalty. This means, the death penalty does not deter violent crime, it actually encourages it. I'm happy with seeing this creep spend the rest of his life in a cell.

-6 ( +11 / -17 )

He should have hanged for his horrific crime.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

I'm with Disillusioned. If one thinks about it... life in prison (if it really means life) amounts to a slow death anyway. That's probably worse.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Haaa NemuiToday  08:33 am JST

I'm with Disillusioned. If one thinks about it... life in prison (if it really means life) amounts to a slow death anyway. That's probably worse.

At our expense?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Why not the death penalty? He is surely deserving of the ultimate penalty

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Chico3 - At our expense!

Expense? You worry about the money used to keep these criminals in jail? Seriously? Jail is a punishment. Death is a release from punishment. The criminal’s suffering ends on their death. However, the suffering of their victims still remains. Knowing that revenge has been carried out by killing them does not replace those lost nor does remove the suffering. It is just revenge!

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

FYI : the death penalty is also paid with tax payers money, and overhaul costs more than keeping someone in prison for years.

Adding Japan's tendency to keep inmates in death row for decades, and it certainly costs even more.

The money argument is bulldoodle.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

This one needs to hang too.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

The debate on life and death can go on, cos it's not black and white either way. What we can take from this however, is that a poor little thing from a foreign land was abused and killed by a local scum who now has been served justice. In some countries they have inprosnment and then they have something called as “rigorous”. Hope his is the worst possible!!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

He will always deny it because he can't look his family in the eyes and say "I raped and murdered a little girl"

2 ( +4 / -2 )

It is easy for people to be against the death penalty when it wasn't their daughter who was brutally raped and murdered. I am on the father's side who wanted the death penalty. Downvote me I guess for being a family first type of person.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

What DaDude Said....and Michael Jackson, as well.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

ok.... so, free lodging with food for the rest of his life. While we and the victims father will work hard so we can pay tax for this pig rapist.

”Life is unfair, You just have to swallow it”. - BG

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Dadude - yes, we all were sickened by the attrocious events that played out. And almost all would want revengeful punishment enacted upon the murderer, whether your own daughter or not.

But not all wish to have another death to "balance" a death. Revenge (justice) can take many forms.

And being a family first type person - what does that mean? If you don't have family you can never understand your thinking or empathize with your feelings?

The cold blooded killer has a family. He probably even loved his children and was a very respected "family man" in his community - head of PTA, etc. Where does that fit into your equation?

As hard as it may be for some to accept, there are ordinary people who deplore anti-social violent, deadly attacks, but at the same time don't wish to repeat the deadly violence.

In 1914 in the Canadian House of Parliament a member named Mr. Graham argued against the death penalty. He mentioned the well-known verse of Exodus (an eye for an eye...) and then employed it in a trope about the members of the Parliament.

Mr. GRAHAM: We can argue all we like, but if capital punishment is being inflicted on some man, we are inclined to say: ‘It serves him right.’ That is not the spirit, I believe, in which legislation is enacted. If in this present age we were to go back to the old time of ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ there would be very few hon. gentlemen in this House who would not, metaphorically speaking, be blind and toothless.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I suggest life in prison in solitary confinement

0 ( +2 / -2 )

A firm believer in Justice and the Death Penalty.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I think that its easy to argue against the death penalty if nothing has happened to you or yours.

If someone kills your family and then gets a number of years in jail and then gets out, its not normal human justice.

Justice is when someone gets what they deserve. If someone waits for a child and then rapes and kills them, I and most of society and that childs family want that person held, hurt, and then given death as he gave out.

No mercy shown! Thus none should be given.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@Chico3

At our expense?

Yes. As has been mentioned the death penalty is paid for with tax payer money also. That makes us responsible for it... including wrongful convictions. Don't know about you but I really don't want that on me.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The faster you hang these people and flush their ashes down the toilet, the better. We are supposed pay to house, feed, clothe, and educate these people for 20-50years? Show leniency because they are human, too? No, I don't think so. The majority of people who think that have never had a loved one brutalized.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Although the death penalty seems warranted in this case, personally, I still hold a 1% doubt about the police and the manner in which they conduct their investigations.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@DaDude - It is easy for people to be against the death penalty when it wasn't their daughter who was brutally raped and murdered. 

Ok then, let the father kill him, not the state.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Have no issue with that, Disillusioned. Have the arrest, trial and guilty verdict - and you're led into a room with the elected member of the victim's family (or the victim if not a murder case, and willing/able). The punishment will be handed out at the elvel they see fit.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Not satisfied with the judgement. Life in prison is enough for this heinous crime. He don't deserve life.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Let’s imagine, he’s in prison. Time goes on. After a while he begins to see he did wrong, reversing his denial. He begins to ask ‘why did I do it?’ His conscience begins to bring him down. In prison. This is burning in hell. Once he’s on the other side he’ll also burn in hell. If he’s executed for his crime then he can feel he paid his due. He won’t necessarily feel good but he’s not as paralyzed..something like this, I imagine.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"I wish for a fair judgement for the sake of my two children, who are waiting for me and believe in me."

Awww... maybe should of thought of that a little before murdering someone just like them? The good news for them is that little by little, they'll stop believing in you, and little by little, your wife will find someone knew, whom they will see as their true father while, little by little, they forget about you completely. You, on the other hand, will think of them more and more, and perhaps start to realize that you shouldn't have murdered a little girl, and that life was a whole lot more worth living on the outside. You'll probably want to die, but fortunately, you'll be left to rot. Hopefully you get some of what you gave to the little girl while you're in there, too.

He doesn't deserve death -- he deserves to suffer for life.

"The shock and worry (the defendant) brought upon society and school education is unimaginable,"

How about what he brought upon the family, judge?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Time goes on. After a while he begins to see he did wrong, reversing his denial. He begins to ask ‘why did I do it?’ His conscience begins to bring him down. In prison. This is burning in hell. Once he’s on the other side he’ll also burn in hell.

Few problems with this. First of course is no proof hell exists, so that's a non starter. Even if you do believe in it whether he is executed or spends life in prison, he ends up there anyway.

2nd problem-a lot of criminals never show remorse. They are psychopath and incapable of remorse or genuine feelings for others.

My vote for this criminal-death penalty and the sooner the better.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

In Japan, does a Life Sentence mean "Full Life-Time" ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

As to the Cries for "Death!"... are we sure that this is the culprit ?

Do we really, "trust", the Police ?

Is the evidence 100% correct ?

If any of these questions could be answered "No" or "Maybe", then the Death Sentence is clearly out.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

As to the Cries for "Death!"... are we sure that this is the culprit ?

He was the leader of the so called sect.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

This "Killer" should have got the death penalty!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"The shock and worry (the defendant) brought upon society and school education is unimaginable," Presiding Judge Toshiro Nohara said in handing down the ruling.

How melodramatic... and naïve.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

DisillusionedJuly 7 07:39 am JST

People quickly forget that, the majority of prisoners on death row in Japan have admitted to committing their crimes in order to get the death penalty.

Source?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Funny how opposing the death penalty is supposed to be "easy", when it's clearly the minority opinion, while in order to support it you just need to give up to your basic instincts and the herd mentality.

Also funny to see the death penalty being called "justice" and at the same time calls to expedite justice, or people wanting to kill a suspect even before he is judge.

Even funnier is the "you just can't understand how families of victims feel" or "you would change your mind if it was your family" type of argument, like people don't know the meaning of "empathy".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Once this all sinks in, I suspect they'll find him unresponsive in his cell at some point in the not-too-distant future

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Much prefer exposing these criminals to the US prison system where he can be brutalized repeatedly for the entirety of his sentence.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Much prefer exposing these criminals to the US prison system where he can be brutalized repeatedly for the entirety of his sentence.

Utterly depraved and sadly all too common comment. I suppose you watch the prison rape scenes in films b/c they give you pleasure. Not to mention that most convicts brutalized in such fashion eventually see their sentence end. They end up walking among us. And you probably wonder, jaw ajar, drool gathering on your lapel, why there is so much sexual violence in our culture.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The man claims he's innocent but it seems a little sketchy that his defense claims the police planted all the DNA evidence. I'm not saying that couldn't happen, but exactly what motive then, would the police have to frame this particular man?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Perhaps racial harmony classes so we don't prey on racial minorities.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites