Okumoto Akihiro
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Man appeals to high court over death sentencefor triple murder
December, 18, 2010
MIYAZAKI
A 22-year-old man who was sentenced to death earlier this month for killing his wife, baby and mother-in-law appealed the ruling to the Fukuoka High Court’s Miyazaki branch on Friday, his defense counsel said.
In the Dec 7 ruling in the citizen-judge trial, the Miyazaki District Court handed down a sentence of capital punishment to Akihiro Okumoto, determining that the defendant’s action was self-centered and cruel as he took the victims’ lives simply because he was annoyed by his mother-in-law’s scolding and wanted to live alone and free to do as he pleased.
According to the ruling, Okumoto strangled his 5-month-old son Yuto and killed his 24-year-old wife Kumiko and her 50-year-old mother, Takako Ikegami, using a kitchen knife and a hammer in Miyazaki on March 1 this year. He buried the boy’s body in a nearby yard.
Man sentenced to death penalty for murder of wife, baby, mother-in-law
(Mainichi Japan) December 7, 2010
MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) -- A 22-year-old man was sentenced to death Tuesday for killing his wife, baby and mother-in-law in the city of Miyazaki earlier this year, the third capital sentence given under the lay judge trial system that began last year.
Giving the ruling to Akihiro Okumoto, Presiding Judge Masayoshi Takahara at the Miyazaki District Court said the defendant "took the lives of the three because of his selfish desire to live self-indulgently and alone after being reprimanded by his mother-in-law."
The crime was "cold-blooded and atrocious" and its consequence was "too grave," Takahara said.
As Okumoto admitted to killing his wife Kumiko, 24, their 5-month-old son Yuto and Kumiko's mother Takako Ikegami, 50, in Miyazaki on March 1, the focus was on the severity of the sentence given by the panel of six citizen and three professional judges.
Prosecutors had sought capital punishment, saying the crime was "one of the most heinous cases involving members of the same family," while the defense counsel sought leniency by arguing the defendant regrets what he did and can be rehabilitated.
According to the ruling, Okumoto strangled the baby boy around 5 a.m. on March 1 and killed his wife and her mother using a kitchen knife and a hammer, respectively, and then buried the boy's body in a nearby yard.
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家族３人殺害：死刑判決後の記者会見実現せず 宮崎地裁
宮崎市で家族３人を殺害したとして、殺人罪などに問われた無職、奥本章寛（あきひろ）被告（２２）に対する裁判員裁判で、宮崎地裁は７日、求刑通り死刑を言い渡した。「小さな子どもまで殺害した。被害者の感情も重視した」。判決後、裁判員を務めた宮崎市内の会社員が個別取材に応じ、苦しい胸の内を明かした。
家族間のトラブルは、裁判員にも個人的な体験を重ね合わせやすいテーマ。「（過去の判例ではなく）個々の事件で決めなくてはいけないと裁判長に促された」という。「評議では手が震えた。決まった後も涙を流した」と振り返った。
「（被告は）感情が表に出ない。涙は流すが、反省が深くないように感じた」とも。死刑を選択した後は、それまで活発な議論を交わしていた裁判員全員が沈黙したという。「悩んでいることを他人に言えず、負担だった」と打ち明けた。更に「人の生死を決める刑だから、国が責任を持つべきではないか。（市民には）すごい負担になると思う」と訴えた。
判決後の記者会見が実現しなかったことについて、裁判員経験者のネットワーク設立で呼びかけ人を務めた牧野茂弁護士（第二東京弁護士会）は「裁判員は被害者のことも被告のことも毎日考えて悩む。評議の内容は守秘義務で言えないから、死刑判決の会見に出席すれば、そのまま『判決を下した人』とみられてしまい抵抗感が強い」と指摘する。一方で「会見は裁判員制度で社会に開かれている唯一の窓口。貴重な機会が損なわれない方策が必要だ」と強調した。
裁判員経験者からは、負担の重さに理解を示す意見の一方「残念」との声も聞かれた。
長崎地裁であった殺人未遂事件の裁判員裁判で補充裁判員を務めた長崎県大村市の自営業の４０代男性は、宮崎の裁判について「結論が重い。どれだけ話し合っても、最善を尽くしたと確信を持てなかったのでは」と心の負担を思いやった。
福岡地裁で１２月上旬にあった殺人事件の裁判員を務めた福岡県小郡市の自営業男性（４８）は「裁判員は国民の義務。こんな裁判でしたと記者に説明する判決後の会見も義務の中に含まれると思う」と語り、会見がなかったことを「残念」と語った。【岸達也、釣田祐喜】
Death penalty sought for man over murder of wife, baby, mother-in-law
(Mainichi Japan) November 26, 2010
Tokyo (Kyodo) -- Prosecutors called for the death penalty in a trial Thursday for a 22-year-old man charged with the murder of his wife, baby and mother-in-law at home in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, in March.
As Akihiro Okumoto has admitted to killing his wife Kumiko, 24, their 5-month-old son Yuto and Kumiko's mother Takako Ikegami, 50, the issue is whether the panel of six citizen and three professional judges will hand down a death sentence in a ruling on Dec. 7 as demanded by the prosecutors.
It is the fifth time in a citizen judge trial that the death penalty is being sought.
The defendant "decided to take the lives of the three people because of his selfish desire to live self-indulgently," the prosecutors said in their closing arguments, adding the crime was "cold-blooded, relentless and atrocious."
They also said it was "one of the most heinous cases involving members of the same family."
Okumoto has said he will accept any sentence. But his lawyers called on the lay judge panel not to issue a death sentence, saying the defendant regrets what he did and can be rehabilitated.
Okumoto strangled the baby boy around 5 a.m. on March 1 and killed his wife and her mother using a kitchen knife and a hammer, respectively, and then buried the boy's body in a nearby materials yard, according to the indictment.