High court upholds life sentence for former college student over two murders
June 18, 2010
TOKYO —
The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court decision to sentence a former college student to life imprisonment for murdering two people and stealing cash in 2007. The high court rejected an appeal by prosecutors who had demanded Hiroshi Shimura, 25, be hanged as well as an appeal by defense lawyers who sought acquittal or a reduced term.
It is usual for a court to impose a death sentence in cases where an offender has murdered more than one person. Presiding Judge Hidenobu Konishi said ‘‘the defendant had developed the murderous intent immediately before committing the crime’’ and the crime was not premeditated.
The judge, taking into account Shimura’s youth and lack of a prior criminal record, said ‘‘the court cannot decide that imposing capital punishment is the only choice,’’ for the defendant.
The judge also said that the court also took into consideration the fact Shimura’s father paid 80 million yen in compensation to the family of the victims.
The court upheld the lower court decision to reject the defense lawyers’ argument that Shimura was mentally incompetent at the time of the crime.
Shimura intruded into the home of Tomie Nomoto, 86, in Tokyo in January 2007 and stabbed her and her son Shinichiro, 61, to death. He stole 100 items from the home, including 47,000 yen in cash and a credit card, which he tried to use to withdraw cash, according to the ruling. Full audio, videotaping of suspects' questioning called 'unrealistic'