crime

Woman who stabbed 15-month-old grandson to death ruled unfit for trial

29 Comments

Prosecutors said Friday a 65-year-old woman who was arrested in March for fatally stabbing her 15-month-old grandson on the ground that the woman is not mentally fit to stand trial.

Mie Tanaka stabbed her grandson Eisuke Kimura at her apartment sometime between 2 and 4 p.m. on March 20. At the time of the attack, Eisuke's mother was out, leaving the boy alone with his grandmother.

The boy's mother returned home at around 4 p.m. and found her son unconscious and bleeding from a stomach wound. She called 110. Eisuke was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Tanaka admitted she stabbed her grandson but police said she has so far given no motive. Tanaka and her husband lived with their daughter and their grandson.

Prosecutors said Friday that a psychiatric evaluation of Tanaka showed she was unfit to stand trial and will be institutionalized, Fuji TV reported.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

29 Comments
Login to comment

Terrible.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Joke of the day .. killer set free

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

If only this were a fairy tale it wouldn be so sad. Grandma, what a big knife you have.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Killers being found unfit to stand trial is not even the slightest bit unique to Japan. As disgusting as this is, it's not something that should surprise people.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Stand by for creative punishments from the revenge fantasists.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The question I have is for the mother of the child: iven that the grandmother has quite possibly been declared insane, what on Earth posessed her to leave the child alone with the grandmother? There must have been red flags before the killing happened.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Institutionalized, will be more like a "retirement home" for the elderly. No punishment. Kahului had it right. "killer set free."

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

This is just sad all around.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Joke of the day .. killer set free

She wasn't set free. She's being sent to a psychiatric institution for what will likely be the remainder of her life. These facilities are a long, long way from Club Med by any definition.

It also bears noting that being found "unfit" to stand trial is the equivalent of being found insane. Holding someone who is insane to the same standards (and punishents) we expect as a matter of course for people who are of sound mind to make rational, concious choices to commit crimes is completely and utterly barbaric, full stop.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Family devastated and will never be the same. Dementia is the only logical reason for this as she raised a child when she was young herself. Disease of the brain is unpredictable and even though the family may have been aware they obviously never felt she would do such a thing.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Absolutely appalling how lenient this justice system is. Always protect the perpetrator, and never any thought for the victim.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Maybe one of the worst things I've read about. At least when it's a stranger, you can kind of wrap your head around it, but when it's the grandmother...that's horrible.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The question I have is for the mother of the child: iven that the grandmother has quite possibly been declared insane, what on Earth posessed her to leave the child alone with the grandmother? There must have been red flags before the killing happened.

It's called Bipolar

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Agree with David Blue. Dementia can develop very quickly and unpredictably. Some people are able to mask changes for awhile until stressed. There's no need to punish the grandmother if she's been designated unfit. And I'd give the poor mother the benefit of the doubt that she wouldn't have left the child had she thought her mother had become incompetent. There may or may not have been big red flags.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Mirai,

Absolutely appalling how lenient this justice system is.

Reread the article. She is being institutionalized in a psychiatric facility, quite likely for the rest of her natural life. She's been removed from society and placed somewhere where she can harm no one, and will almost certainly never experience freedom again. What, pray tell, beyond this should be done on behalf of the victims that would seem equitable for you? Public flogging? Hobbling? Or how about just kill this insane woman outright? Perhaps a good old fashioned drawing-and-quartering in a public square is what's called for?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

LFRAgain

She should still stand trial and be judged by a court of law. Whether she is sentence to life in prison or life in a mental institution should be determined by the court, not by some doctor who "thinks" she is too sick to stand trial.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Mirai.

Who is better qualified if she can trial: 1)a court using an experts evaluation 2) an expert doing the evaluation.

Take your pick either will use an expert/doctor to make the decision.

All suspects are evaluated before a trial can happen if they are fit to stand the trial.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Enough with socially conditioned vengefulness (i.e. bad people must be punished). The woman is insane (obviously) and can't defend herself. Let it go.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The question I have is for the mother of the child: iven that the grandmother has quite possibly been declared insane, what on Earth posessed her to leave the child alone with the grandmother? There must have been red flags before the killing happened.

Probably were, but I doubt even in her wildest dreams the mother never believed the grandmother would do something like this. Otherwise Im sure she wouldn't have left him.

What scares me is that I think there are a lot of people like this in Japan (not saying there aren't in the rest of the world either but we are focusing on Japan) with unrecognized severe mental illnesses.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Mirai,

It sounds like you're far more interested in extracting some sort of eye-for-an-eye pound of flesh than in seeing any actual justice or social good done here. That you so casually dimiss the recommendation of a medically trained professional speaks volumes and only reinforces my belief that the courts did the right thing here, if for no other reason than to shield those who can't protect themselves from the pitchfork-and-torches mob mentality of "outraged" citizens like yourself

2 ( +2 / -0 )

LFRAgain

Not at all... What I am saying is that she committed a crime, and rather than having a doctor determining her fate, she should stand trial no matter what. You can bring a doctor into the court room and have him testify that she was mentally ill when she killed the child. That is an acceptable argument to be had, and should be left up to the courts to decide. But a doctor has no right to determine the fate of, and effectively sentencing a person to a mental institution without a proper judicial process taking place. By doing this, you are effectively undermining and bypassing the whole judicial process.

Just think about the precedence this can set. A mentally healthy person can kill another person, and then hire a doctor to say he isn't mentally fit to stand trial, and effectively get away with murder.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Mirai Hayashi

I know of no civilized country where a court determines whether a defendant is mentally competent during a trial. That must be determined in advance by psychiatrists. Certainly, the suspect's lawyer can have their own psychiatrist conduct an evaluation as well, but it should never be done during a trial, "no matter what," as you put it.

The purpose of a trial is to determine guilt or innocence, nothing else.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

hello?...haven't you ever heard of pleading insanity?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Clear as day...If you kill a 15 month old or anyone more that matter, you probably have something disconnected up in your brain housing group! How in the heck do they find anyone fit to stand trial, THEY ARE ALL NUTS!!! LOCK THEM UP and never let them out! Even better save the money, Death Penalty!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Number of posters who hold a degree that would allow them to evaluate this woman's sanity (or lack thereof): 0

Number of posters who have interviewed this woman to see if she is sane or not: 0

Number of posters who think they know more than someone who has training to evaluate sanity, and interviewed this woman: Too many to count.

Gotta love the JT armchair quarterback brigade, who always know more than everyone, on every matter, every time.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Maria,

But a doctor has no right to determine the fate of, and effectively sentencing a person to a mental institution without a proper judicial process taking place.

It's not as if some psychiatrist just randomly walks into the jail and hands a defendant a "get out of jail free because I said you're insane" card. The doctor is court appointed. Which means he's assigned to assess a defendant's mental fitness to stand trail based on procedures outlined in the very judicial process you fear is being bypassed.

hello?...haven't you ever heard of pleading insanity?

No. One cannot plead "insanity," largely by virtue of the very definition of the word.

But one can plead temporary insanity.

This is not, however, the same thing as what you seem to be worried is happening here, namely, someone accused of a horrific crime bypassing the judial system by simply being declared insane. For one thing, it's not that easy to be declared insane. It required considerable assessment by trained, objective professionals. For another thing, a review of this woman's mental state was court ordered, as occurs in all cases where the defendant's state of mind appears from all outward indicators, well, insane.

In this case and any other that is similar, the doctor(s) coducting the assessment are court-sanctioned, and the subsequent delaration of being unfit is court approved. No bypassing if the judicial process is at work here. On the contrary, this is precisely how the judicial system is supposed to work; judges, police, attorneys, and society, by virtue of implicit consent to the system, are a part of this carefully constructed process, and nobody -- nobody -- is being hoodwinked here.

A mentally healthy person can kill another person, and then hire a doctor to say he isn't mentally fit to stand trial, and effectively get away with murder.

Again, see my comments above. A defendant cannot "hire" a doctor to declare him or her insane. That's absolutely not how the system works.

Honestly, I'm a bit confused by some of the language you're using here. Are you under some sort of impression that declaring a defendant mentally unfit for trial is in some way a new or recent development? If so, please look up the name "John Hinkley Junior."

1 ( +1 / -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