When a 21-year-old woman was sentenced to life in prison on March 24 for killing an elderly woman, the Nagoya District Court acknowledged that the defendant's mental illness — a developmental and bipolar disorder — was part of the reason for the heinous crime and that she should be treated in a medical prison.
The woman, who was a minor at the time of the offense, was also found guilty of the attempted murder of two people by poisoning them with thallium sulfate, a highly toxic substance, when she was a high school student. She told the court that she simply "wanted to see a person die."
"We should let her be aware of her responsibilities, so that she can atone for her crimes while serving her sentence. To do so, authorities need to come up with the most suitable rehabilitation and treatment for her disability," the court said.