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© KYODOFather gets 16 years in prison for fatal abuse of 10-year-old daughter
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Dan Lavender
abused by her father and the city officials neglected her..They are also partially responsible for her death..
Negligence is negligence!!
nakanoguy01
Such a light sentence for this monster. The judge deserves to be sentenced to prison for gross incompetence.
Rizdown
I wish this pos had been given life with no parole.
Vince Black
What’s the point of Japan having the death penalty when it doesn’t use it on monsters like him and his wife. They’re the perfect candidates for it.
rgcivilian1
Wow, what a light sentence since the child has no future RIP, and didn't show any emotion. mmm..I would have preferred something much harsher. Does anyone know if his sentence will come with hard labor the entire time? Perhaps a jail in Hokaido.
John Beara
If you take the life from someone, you shall get a life sentence.
16 years for real? Or could he get out before if he's good boi?
gokai_wo_maneku
Death sentence!
jeancolmar
Sixteen years for killing his lovely daughter. Justice has not been served.
gokai_wo_maneku
We don't need monsters like this walking amongst us! Death!
Chip Star
What, in your opinion, is the purpose of the death penalty? We know it’s not a deterrent, so I’m curious to know what purpose you believe it serves. This is an honest question.
Random
So he admits that he abused her, just not every day. Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.
Chikatilo
@Chip Star
I would think death rid the world of the burden of keeping alive people who have committed despicable acts. This is an honest answer.
Prevention of such acts is another completely different issue.
Chikatilo
@Chip Star
I would think death rids the world of the burden of keeping alive people who have committed despicable acts. This is an honest answer.
Prevention of such acts is another completely different issue.
rcch
16 years? you gotta be kidding me ...
Chip Star
Thanks for the answer. You seem to support the death penalty as retribution. Is this a fair reading of your answer?
techall
When does the trial for the welfare people start?
Chikatilo
I will have to distance myself from the philosophical question of whether we can and/or should whether another human being should continue living and whether in such case we deemed not so we should be the ones to actually end it and how.
My answer is despite and inspire of those issues. Just addressing the consequences and result of death to such people.
The actual judging and execution of it is a whole different complicated issue.
Chikatilo
There was a word missing:
Vince Black
The purpose is knowing their life has been snuffed out for the atrocities they have committed. And maybe, as a side, my taxes went toward paying for that snuffing out of their pathetic lives. It’s comforting.
Do the hustle
So, the mother has been tried and sentenced. Now, the father has tried and sentenced. The next step should be to bring the social workers who let this happen into a court.
carp_boya
I don’t know what Japanese prisons are like, but I hope the other inmates make these the worst 16 years imaginable!
Toasted Heretic
Monsters come in different guises.
Some wish torture and violence on Japanese women who have been betrayed by society and their circumstances.
Monsters need therapy and even compassion.
They may well end up with long sentences but they don't need a violent end to satisfy other ghouls.
Vince Black
a violent end is exactly what they need. You think they should live comfortably in a jail? Wow, if the whole world had that type of Beta thinking...
Thomas Robert Mountcastle
I agree with 'chip star'.
The death penalty serves no purpose other than revenge.
N. Knight
I'm also anti death penalty, however when thinking of the constant suffering and miserable life of this poor little girl it's horrendously heartbreaking and I'm conflicted... this guy is a waste of oxygen and it's hard to argue against a capital sentence for the bastard.
smithinjapan
While better than the usual 2.5 years per life or so many here get, 16 years is not enough for what this scumbag did. What's more, staff at the welfare center should be going to prison.
"After her period in protective custody ended, with a welfare center approving her return to her parents, there were no visits to her home by officials of either the center or the school to check on how she was being treated."
This is nothing short of criminal itself, especially with the "Abe vow" for zero tolerance of such behaviour in light of all the abuse and murder cases.
kokoro7
IMO: I've never thought the death penalty serves as a deterrent, but I do believe in it, as it serves justice, which I think is a large step away from revenge.
madmel
If Japanese prisoners in for life are the same as here he will be taken care of once in general population. Many lifers have little tolerance for people who abuse/hurt children. I am sitting here watching my lovely 10 year old daughter playing hapily and it brings me to tears thinking of a monster doing those things to such an innocent delicate person.
starpunk
I thought bowing was meant to be a sign of respect. He sure as hell didn't respect his daughter, did he? And his lawyer used the lame justification of 'excessive discipline'. Is that the best that he can come up with?
16 years is way too short a sentence for this type of crime. It's nothing less than abuse, neglect and outright murder.
Kazuaki Shimazaki
When you are a defense lawyer you use what you can, and the defendant didn't give him a lot to use.
chen li
he should get more
Mary Anne Sandoz
Was the mother victim of abuse as well? Seems likely.
Chip Star
Pure retribution. At least you’re honest about it. How do you feel about people wrongly convicted having their lives sniffed out to sooth your thirst for retribution?
It’s not jail, it’s prison. You think life in prison is comfortable? Wow, if the whole world had that type of incorrect thinking . . .
Chip Star
When you are a defense lawyer in Japan, you’re pretty much worthless given Japan’s rigged “justice” system.
Paul Laimal-Convoy
Apart from the abuse from the father, this seems to be a classic case of Japan's shamefully inadequate social services, linked to the shockingly backwards way that the police and education authority's intact with them.
Comparing Japan's broken system to ones in developed countries, such as the UK (which isn't great itself) is night and day.
Japan should be ashamed of itself.
Michelle Harrison
Very leniant with semtence and explanation. This girl was murdered with torture.
Wellington
Evidently the life and worth of a child is judged by a different standard in Japanese courts.
Very sad.
aomorisamurai
One thing I don't think I've seen pointed out:
"However, a local education board was found to have given a copy of Mia's questionnaire to Kurihara, who stated her claims were 'lies.'"
WHY would you do this? "Let's give a copy of what the bullied said about the bully to the bully! What could possibly go wrong?"
Mirai Hayashi
She sought and this is what they did to her??? They should be held accountable and sent to prison as well. THIS IS DISGUSTING!
Kazuaki Shimazaki
Chip StarToday 06:37 am JST
Now, that's a bit unfair. First, generally speaking, most people arrested by police are really guilty. Second, a very large number of the convicted get suspended sentences, and a lawyer's work is often to reduce the sentence, not fight the conviction - that's true also in the West.
madmel
"Chip Star" - Jail/Prison is the same thing and yes they are very comfortable in most first world nations. That I have seen. I have worked in a couple. Especially compared to the victim! They have way more luxuries than the general population is aware of. His sentence years would be fine if he was humiliated and beaten every day he was there.
Mocheake
Maybe someone in prison can give him what he gave and then that would be closer to real justice. Sixteen years is like a slap on the wrist. RIP, Mia.
Toasted Heretic
Nobody lives comfortably in jail. Talk to any ex convict and they will open your eyes.
And yes, in some cases people can be rehabilitated.
Violence is never the answer.
Speed
Social Services should've also been sent to prison for their complete ineptitude. Gave Mia back to her father with no follow up visits. C'mon.
Kazuaki Shimazaki
Do the hustleMar. 19 08:53 pm JST
Sigh ... the fact is, they are in a difficult position. Ultimately, they don't know. They had reason to suspect, but they did not know.
Suppose they refused. Then the man might sue them for violating his "parental rights" and his right to "family life". The court may not be sympathetic and we'll end up this same road. Yet you don't want courts to too easily defer to the views of the administrative officer.
ReynardFox
Oy vey, here we go again. Vince, not every crime deserves the death penalty. I don’t support it not because I don’t think some people deserve it. I don’t support it because it’s the only punishment you can’t undo when an innocent is wrongfully convicted. There are people on this site who support capital punishment and that is their prerogative. But I can safely say none of them seem to be as deeply and constantly bloodthirsty as you. Might want to do a bit of navel gazing on that.
As to the article, the father got off light, if you ask me. Like others, I say he should be behind bars for the rest of his life. The city officials also need to be held responsible for the catastrophic failures in their part. As for the mother, it’s a tough call and I think the judge got it right. She was complicit, that much is true. However, the mitigating factor of being a victim of her husband’s abuse is a pretty compelling one. Victims of abuse are conditioned to act in the way the abuser approves of. It starts with abuse for every supposed transgression and eventually, the mere threat or even perceived threat of abuse is enough to elicit compliance. They live under a sword of Damocles and they fear that every action or inaction could possibly cause the horsehair to snap. Rational thinking under those conditions isn’t always possible. Should the mother have done something? In a perfect world, yes. But ultimately, we don’t live in a perfect world and I think the sentence she was handed takes into account both her complicity and her victimhood.
stormcrow
It's unbelievable that the life of a child is so cheap. 16 years imprisonment!? Unbelievable.
Zaphod
She would have lived another 70 years, that is what he should get.