Japan on Friday executed a person dubbed the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered 9 folks he met on-line, within the nation’s first enactment of the demise penalty since 2022.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged for killing his younger victims, all however considered one of whom had been girls, after contacting them on the social media platform now known as X.
He had focused customers who posted about taking their very own life, telling them he may assist them of their plans, and even die alongside them.
According to the BBC, his Twitter profile contained the phrases: “I wish to assist people who find themselves actually in ache. Please DM [direct message] me anytime.”
He killed the three teenage ladies and 5 girls after raping them. He additionally killed the boyfriend of one of many girls to silence him, the Related Press reported.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki mentioned Shiraishi’s crimes, carried out in 2017, included “theft, rape, homicide… destruction of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse”.
“9 victims had been overwhelmed and strangled, killed, robbed, after which mutilated with elements of their our bodies hid in packing containers, and elements discarded in a rubbish dump,” Suzuki advised reporters in Tokyo.
KYODO / REUTERS
9 dismembered our bodies had been present in coolers and gear packing containers when officers visited his flat, which was dubbed by media retailers as a “home of horrors,” the BBC reported.
Shiraishi acted to fulfill “his personal sexual and monetary needs” and the murders “brought on nice shock and anxiousness to society,” Suzuki mentioned.
“After a lot cautious consideration, I ordered the execution.”
Japan and the USA are the one two G7 international locations to nonetheless use capital punishment, and there may be sturdy assist for the follow among the many Japanese public, surveys present.
There was one execution in 2022, three in 2021, three in 2019 and 15 in 2018, the justice ministry advised AFP.
Shiraishi was sentenced to demise in 2020 for the murders of his 9 victims, aged between 15 and 26.
After luring them to his small dwelling close to the capital, he stashed elements of their our bodies across the condo in coolers and toolboxes sprinkled with cat litter in a bid to cover the proof.
His legal professionals had argued Shiraishi ought to obtain a jail sentence fairly than be executed as a result of his victims had expressed suicidal ideas and so had consented to die.
However a decide dismissed that argument, calling Shiraishi’s crimes “crafty and merciless”, experiences mentioned on the time.
“The dignity of the victims was trampled upon,” the decide had mentioned, including that Shiraishi had preyed upon individuals who had been “mentally fragile”.
The grisly murders had been found in autumn 2017 by police investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old girl who had reportedly tweeted about desirous to kill herself.
Her brother gained entry to her Twitter account and ultimately led police to Shiraishi’s residence, the place investigators discovered dismembered physique elements.
Executions in Japan
Executions are all the time accomplished by hanging in Japan, the place round 100 demise row prisoners are ready for his or her sentences to be carried out.
Practically half are in search of a retrial, Suzuki mentioned Friday.
Executions are carried out in secrecy, the place prisoners are usually not even knowledgeable of their destiny till the morning of their hanging, in accordance with the Related Press.
Japanese legislation stipulates that executions should be carried out inside six months of a verdict after appeals are exhausted.
In actuality, nevertheless, most inmates are left on tenterhooks in solitary confinement for years, and generally a long time.
There may be widespread criticism of the system and the federal government’s lack of transparency over the follow.
Shiraishi’s execution was the primary beneath Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration, the Japan Times reported.
In 2022, Tomohiro Kato was hanged for an assault that killed seven folks in 2008, when he rammed a rented two-ton truck right into a crowd in Tokyo and went on a stabbing spree.
The high-profile executions of the guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult befell in 2018.
Aum Shinrikyo orchestrated the 1995 sarin fuel assaults on Tokyo’s subway system, killing 14 folks and sickening 1000’s extra.
When you or somebody you recognize is in emotional misery or suicidal disaster, name the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
For extra details about psychological well being care sources and assist, The Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness (NAMI) HelpLine will be reached Monday via Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or electronic mail info@nami.org.
