Kyoto Animation Arsonist Sentenced to Death by Japanese Court
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A Japanese court on Thursday announced the death sentence for Aoba Shinji, the man who burned down the Kyoto Anime studio in 2019 and killed 36 people.
There was little doubt that Aoba, who himself was badly burned in the blaze, was the perpetrator and set the fire using gasoline.
Shortly after the attack, at a press conference, the Kyoto police said that Aoba had unspecified mental health issues. Aoba pleaded not guilty at trial and his defense lawyers argued that he was mentally unfit and could not be held criminally responsible.
The Kyoto District Court, however, said it found that Aoba could determine right and wrong at the time of the incident. His capacity for responsibility was “determined to have been neither insane nor mentally incompetent at the time of the crime,” public broadcaster NHK reported.
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