National Sep 14, 2019
Pope may meet Japanese man seeking retrial over death sentence
Pope Francis may meet Iwao Hakamada, who is seeking a retrial for his conviction in a 1966 quadruple homicide, during his visit to Japan in late November.
World / Crime & Legal Sep 3, 2019
White House to propose expedited death penalty for perpetrators of mass shootings
U.S. Attorney General William Barr has drafted legislation that would speed the death penalty for people who have committed mass murder, a White House official said on Monday. Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told reporters on Air Force 2 that ...
National / Social Issues Aug 15, 2019
Long after his hanging, teen quadruple-murderer continues to stir debate on death penalty in Japan
by Keiji Hirano
Half a century since his arrest in 1969, and 22 years since his execution, Norio Nagayama, a repentant random killer who became a prolific writer behind bars, is still provoking debate on the issues surrounding capital punishment, poverty and children's rights. The most concrete legacy ...
National Aug 2, 2019
Hangings carried out for two Japanese death row inmates convicted of multiple rape-murders
by Sakura Murakami
The hangings of rapists and murderers Koichi Shoji and Yasunori Suzuki were Japan’s first executions of 2019.
World / Crime & Legal Jul 31, 2019
U.S. move to resume death penalty bucks domestic and global trends, U.N. says
The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday the Trump administration's decision to reinstate the death penalty at the federal level goes against the domestic and international trend to abolish or halt executions. The U.S. Justice Department last Thursday reinstated a two-decade dormant ...
World / Crime & Legal Jul 26, 2019
U.S. to resume federal executions after 16-year break, setting dates for five
The U.S. government will resume its use of capital punishment after a 16-year hiatus and has set execution dates for five convicted murderers, Attorney General Bill Barr announcedThursday. Acting on President Donald Trump's call for tougher penalties on violent crimes, Barr directed the Federal Bureau ...
National / Crime & Legal | FOCUS Jul 5, 2019
One year after 13 Aum Shinrikyo executions, scant debate over the death penalty in Japan
One year after the founder and 12 former senior members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult were executed for crimes including the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system, the debate over the death penalty remains a muted affair in Japan despite ...
World / Crime & Legal Jun 25, 2019
Former University of Illinois doctoral student guilty in slaying of visiting Chinese scholar
Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict Monday at the federal death-penalty trial of a former University of Illinois doctoral student who killed a visiting scholar from China after abducting her at a bus stop. Brendt Christensen, 29, looked straight ahead ...
Asia Pacific / Crime & Legal Jun 11, 2019
Human rights group locates hundreds of North Korean public execution sites
A human rights group said Tuesday it has identified hundreds of spots where witnesses claim North Korea carried out public executions and extrajudicial state killings as part of an arbitrary and aggressive use of the death penalty that is meant to intimidate its citizens. The ...
National / Crime & Legal May 24, 2019
Osaka High Court upholds death penalty for 'black widow' serial killer Chisako Kakehi
The Osaka High Court on Friday upheld the death penalty imposed on a 72-year-old woman dubbed Japan's "black widow" for murdering her husband and two common-law partners with poison to inherit money and escape debt. In handing down the sentence to Chisako Kakehi, presiding Judge ...
National / Crime & Legal May 22, 2019
Death sentence confirmed after killer of two Osaka junior high school students drops appeal
A death sentence for a man convicted of murdering two junior high school students in Osaka has been finalized after he dropped an appeal, it was learned Tuesday. According to the Osaka High Court, the appeal against the Osaka District Court ruling of December last ...
Asia Pacific / Crime & Legal May 21, 2019
Convicted French drug smuggler sentenced to firing squad in Indonesia
Indonesia on Monday sentenced a French drug smuggler to death by firing squad, in a shock verdict after prosecutors had asked for a long prison term. The three-judge panel in Lombok handed a capital sentence to Felix Dorfin, 35, who was arrested in September at ...