The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty Monday for a man convicted of strangling and then raping a young mother and murdering her 11-month-old daughter in 1999 in Yamaguchi Prefecture when he was 18.

The high-profile trial has sparked a lengthy legal debate over whether someone who committed such extremely cruel acts as a minor should be sent to the gallows. Initial lower court trials resulted in life imprison ment.

The top court's 1st Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Seishi Kanetsuki, branded the crime "very evil" and said hanging is "inevitable," as there was no room for leniency even though the defendant, Takayuki Otsuki, was a minor when he committed the crimes.