Four and a half years after the arson of an animation studio in Japan, the perpetrator was sentenced to death. 36 people were killed and another 32 were injured (see video above). The chairman now said that the perpetrator was neither mentally ill nor mentally ill.
The 45-year-old was found guilty of murder and other crimes on Thursday. He confessed to setting fire to the animation studio in the old imperial city of Kyoto in 2019. He had spilled a flammable liquid in the building and set it on fire. “Die!” he shouted. He later told investigators that the studio had stolen his idea for a work.
Lawyers argued delusions
His lawyers argued that he was delusional. The Kyoto court concluded on Thursday that the man was neither mentally ill nor mentally retarded. The 45-year-old was sentenced to death for murder and other crimes. The Public Prosecution Service had previously demanded this.
The perpetrator was seriously injured
The trial only started last September. The perpetrator suffered life-threatening injuries during the incident and required prolonged treatment. The world’s third-largest economy is one of the few industrialized countries that adhere to the death penalty. However, it may take years or decades before this is actually enforced. Most death row inmates are in solitary confinement. Just a few minutes before the execution, the prisoners find out that they are now going to die.
The arson caused horror and sadness among anime fans in Japan and around the world. “But even after the verdict, our sadness has not disappeared at all,” said the head of the affected film studio, Hideaki Hatta. The fire killed 36 people and injured another 32. The affected company, Kyoto Animation, produced popular animated series especially in the 2000s such as “K-On!”, “Free!” and “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu”.
Source: Krone
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