Death Penalty on Special Juvenile

Kofu District Court sentenced a death penalty to the defendant, who was charged with murder of two people and arson. The uniqueness of the case is that the defendant was nineteen years old when he committed the crime. Adopting revised Juveniles Act, which regards the people in eighteen and nineteen years old as “special juvenile,” the court disclosed the name of the defendant. Has the court thoroughly considered legitimacy of killing a young person. 

According to the sentence, the defendant intruded into a house in Kofu city, Yamanashi, killed husband and wife, injured their daughter and set fire on the house in October, 2021. 　While the lawyer argued that the defendant had been mentally depleted at the time, the public prosecutors argued that the defendant could recognize his responsibility, and demanded death penalty.

 

The chief judge described the case as very malicious and cold-blooded crime based on firm intention for murder, exercised with deliberation and selfish motivation. “Considering the significance of criminal responsibility and low possibility of regeneration, the age of nineteen does not consist of a reason to avoid death penalty,” said the chief judge.

 

The revised Juvenile Law treats the people in eighteen and nineteen years old as juvenile, even though they are treated as adults in Civil Code revised in April, 2021. While a person younger than twenty years old is not subjected to the criminal laws, revised Juvenile Law requires the courts to treat a person in eighteen and nineteen years old with malicious crime as an adult. This is the first case of death penalty on “special juvenile” after that rule was established.

 

The point is how “malicious” the defendant is. In the decision of Nagayama Case in 1983,　in which the Supreme Court sentenced death penalty on a juvenile, it raised nine points for death penalty on a juvenile: 1) nature of crime, 2) motivation, 3) premeditation, 4) significance of consequence, 5) sentiment of victim’s family, 6) impact on society, 7) age of criminal, 8) previous conviction and 9) mitigating circumstance. Kofu District Court seems to have focused on 1) to 4).

 

The background of revision of law should be worth considered. The revision of Civil Code, lowering the age of adult from twenty to eighteen, was motivated by constitutional amendment. Lawmakers who promoted the amendment argued that the referendum should be made by broader range of people including juveniles.

 

Constitutional Amendment Referendum Law set the age of voters as eighteen years old or older, making a gap with Civil Code. So, they changed the age of adult in Civil Code.

Then, the change produced a contradiction between Civil Code and Juvenile Law. “Special juvenile” was created by the political movement of constitutional amendment. So, it is necessary to double check on legitimacy of terminating chances for a defendant with death penalty to regenerate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Not A Royal Wedding

The bride called her husband an indispensable existence and their marriage was necessary choice to protect their mind. The groom insisted on his life as only once and his right to be with his loved one. Her father wanted his daughter’s marriage to be celebrated by the people. The people were not sure whether the family was happy as a whole. Is this the traditional Japanese social system that makes no one happy? Mako Komuro, as known as Princess Mako during her life in one of the royal family Akishino, held on Tuesday a press conference with her husband Kei Komuro, right after submitting marriage report to local government. It was something different from ordinary Q&A session, because Mako was afraid of her mental uneasiness brought by some questions not based on truth. So, the event was actually one-sided speech to the reporters. Mako emphasized that the Kei’s decision of studying abroad five years ago had not been his original idea, but a result of her request to establish an over...
Read more