A man who killed a woman and her 11-month-old baby daughter in 1999 when he was 18 was sentenced to death by a Japanese court on Tuesday.
The case, in which the youth strangled and raped the woman and killed her daughter, prompted an outpouring of public emotion after the woman's husband called for the youth to be executed. Convicted criminals in Japan can be executed by hanging if they are 18 or over at the time of the crime, but death penalties for young offenders are rare.
"This is not something to be happy about. I solemnly accept the court's decision," the widower, Hiroshi Motomura, told a news conference after the verdict, having sat in the court room holding a picture of his wife and daughter.
"There has been retribution, so the family has been compensated to some degree, but the results are the deaths of my wife, daughter and the defendant, and that's not positive for society."
Media said the defendant listened to the sentencing quietly and bowed to the judge, prosecutors, lawyers and the victims' family before leaving the court room. His lawyers have appealed the ruling, Kyodo news agency said.
The sentence, which came after the Supreme Court ordered a retrial following a high court ruling of life imprisonment for the defendant, has fueled debate over the rising influence of victims and their families in court cases.
The defendant had initially admitted to the murders but during the retrial denied he had any intent to kill, Kyodo said.
Japan executed four convicted murderers this month, bringing to seven the number of hangings this year. Japan executed nine people last year, the highest number since 1976.
Source:Xinhua
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