Japan hangs 3 convicted murderers

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

By MARI YAMAGUCHI – 4 hours ago

TOKYO (AP) — A serial killer who mutilated the bodies of four young girls and reportedly drank the blood of one of his victims was among three convicted murderers executed in Japan on Tuesday for crimes an official called indescribably cruel.

Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, whose rash of grisly killings in the late 1980s triggered calls for tighter restrictions on violent pornographic videos, was hanged at a detention center in Tokyo, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said.

Miyazaki burned the body of one 4-year-old and left her bones on her parents' doorstep. He also wrote letters to the media and victims' families taunting police. Japanese newspaper reports said he ate part of the hand of one of his victims and drank her blood.

The two others executed Tuesday were Shinji Mutsuda, 45, who had been on death row for the murder and robbery of two people, and Yoshio Yamasaki, 73, who was convicted of killing two people for the insurance money, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwp7Q7pJ5MIZrvoFsAIZJDyKm1HAD91BN7I00

[surf]

1. I'm normally against the death penalty, but...

It seems more and more often I'm finding myself rooting for some especially evil bastard to be kicked off the planet. Its either were getting more evil, or they've always been around and they're just getting better news coverage.

[Warpy]

3. It's actually the latter

The POS who killed my family member was suspected in 2 other murders that were exactly the same. The casket was closed because he didn't leave much that was recognizably human.

Still, I didn't want him killed in my name, it would have made the whole thing worse. He got life in prison and he eventually died there.

I was sixteen when it happened. My opinion on the DP hasn't changed.

[Rassah]

5. Good idea

Why not just send these guys to the moon or something? Literally kick them off our planet, and maybe colonize the moon in the process. After all, Australia didn't turn out too bad.

[pattmarty]

2. Wow, I didn't realize that Japan STILL had the death penalty.

[Blue_Tires]

4. much less hangings

i would have thought japan had some sort of mega-hightech system of clean, efficient execution...

[Poll_Blind]

7. A crude, painful execution=ultimate loss of face?

PB

[psychopomp]

27. Hanging, when done properly, can be the most "humane" means

It will render the victim unconscious immediately if the hanging is done well. The problem is that there is never a guarantee that things will go perfectly. I learned a lot by watching this BBC documentary on the subject, "How to Kill a Human Being:"

http://bestdocumentaries.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-kill-human-being.html

Japan's prisons are notorious. On top of all of the misery and privation on a day-to-day basis, death row victims are not warned of impending execution, let alone the families or press. IIRC, the subject is told the night before.

[dysfunctional press]

31. they should put the condemned's head in a large hydraulic punch press

kind of like what happened to (half of)david hedison in in "the fly", only A LOT faster- kind of like the kind of press they use for stamping out steel lawn mowers.

in an instant, there wouldn't be time to feel any pain- nor brain matter left to feel it.

[AlphaCentauri]

16. XXIII century system?

?0.25409615200301483

[galledgoblin]

26. ultimately, how is one form "better" than another?

at least if it's brutal, then it makes people squeamish, and hopefully less willing to sentence people to death.

[plasticsundance]

28. Yeah ... like robots

[Jack_DeLeon]

30. seems like hanging can be pretty clean and efficient....

Only reason it could get really messy was if you were hanging an obese person and then there is the chance for the head to pop off the neck.

They dont really have an obesity problem in Japan, much less so on Japan's death row I would think.

[PittPoliSci]

35. i'd still rather hang than get a lethal injection.

assuming i had the choice of course...

[Blue_Tires]

37. firing squad for me!

[melm00se]

17. same here n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

25. it depends on the justice minister

Executions are usually very rare, the current justice minister though is a real ghoul and is making a spectical out of it.

[aikoaiko]

6. c'est la vie

Sayonara MFs.

[Politicalboi]

8. I bet they

Don't fuck around in Japan with these sicko's. I think we should change the jury to 3 judges who decide life or death for those who leave DNA and or confess to it. Why should the family have to relive the horror and have to put up with looking at the scum as he sits there and smiles while his attorney makes the victim look guilty or that they deserved it. We have come a long way with DNA and if they wanted to frame anybody they can still do it today with anybody. Cases like OJ would have found him guilty. I believe Blake killed his wife but there was no DNA so a jury trial would have to happen.

[slackmaster]

9. The Japanese criminal justice system is very different from ours

There is no presumption of innocence. Arrest, arraignment, and prosecution are very fast. There are no jury trials. Conviction rates are very high.

But to many people, Japan looks like a safe, crime-free paradise.

[pattmarty]

10. I thought they are a Democracy? What you say doesn't sound very democratic.

[slackmaster]

11. It's basically a police state version of Disneyland with Democratically elected officials

And an Emperor.

:D

I had a great time there in 1996 - Stayed with my brother and his family for a week, climbed Mt. Fuji, took in a bunch of interesting sights like the largest bronze Buddha in Asia.



The thing is about 42 feet tall. You can go inside for a few extra yen.

[miyazaki]

12. police state?

my god, what bullshit.

[slackmaster]

13. That is the impression I got

Deal with it.

I also know a few people who have run afoul of the justice system there.

If you stay out of trouble, it's exciting and entertaining. Lots of clever people, great artwork, happy faces on everything. But just as with real Disneyland, if you do something wrong on Pirates of the Caribbean, the ride stops, a hidden door opens, and a bunch of guys grab you and summarily escort you out of the park.

[Carnea]

15. Really???

"But just as with real Disneyland, if you do something wrong on Pirates of the Caribbean, the ride stops, a hidden door opens, and a bunch of guys grab you and summarily escort you out of the park."

I got to try that next time I go cause that would be real cool.

[slackmaster]

18. Foreigners who get caught for minor offenses are simply deported

The police avoid dealing with crimes in which neither the perpetrator nor the victim is Japanese.

My brother's rented house near Yokosuka Naval Base got burglarized while he and his family were living there. My sister in law called the local police. They showed up promptly, four young dudes and one older man, all wearing spiffy uniforms and clean white gloves.

They searched the place for a few minutes. The older man took my sister in law aside and said "I am sorry, we will not investigate this crime. It was committed by a foreigner."

"How do you know it was a foreigner?", she asked.

"Here, see this footprint? The burglar was wearing a tennis shoe. A Japanese burglar would have removed his shoes before entering the house."

:D

It's a funny story, and all she lost was a few pieces of jewelry and cash. But if you think about it, a crime victim in the USA who is in the country illegally is likely to get better support from the police.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. So one can go there and rob non-Japanese people at will? That sucks almost as bad as having the DP.

[saigon68]

36. LOL

Hi Slack--

Don't forget its a Monoculture.

When I was in the service the black dudes always said their reception was cold at best.

[superconnected]

22. If you look at their modern history they were taken over by their mafia.

Right now the population is very old, I think I read the average person there is in their 50's, hence the low crime rate.

[marshall]

19. Still they must have a lengthy appeals system in place

Tsutomu Miyazaki was arrested in 1989 and his trial was in 1990. Finally 18 years later they are getting around to executing him. That's about the same time period as our trial to execution, isn't it?

[slackmaster]

21. It's about the same as California's time to exhaust all appeals

But still, Japan has executed as many people this week as California has in almost seven years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_California

[psychopomp]

29. I wonder what you are basing your description on

Everything I have heard about the justice system is that it proceeds like molasses in winter. This is one means by which confessions are extracted: leave the accused to wonder about his fate in miserable conditions followed by harassment and rough treatment.

Police in Japan can hold you for up to 23 days without charge, during which unrecorded interrogations may be conducted. This all takes place without access to legal representation.

[AndyTiedye]

14. They Would Convict a Lot of Innocent People That Way

You know how this would go in the deep South.

[Anexio]

23. Interesting

There isn't a Wikipedia entry for deep south justice so you gotta help me out here.

How do things like this go down here in the deep south?

[RantinRavin]

24. No I don't

Why don't you enlighten all of us exactly how things are done in the deep south.

[Fumesucker]

32. I've lived here for well over fifty years now..

Think: _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , in a lot of ways the deep South hasn't changed much since that was written.

[Endangered Specie]

33. Hopefully they made the rope too short.

[samsingh]

34. some justice is served.