A Japanese man has been sentenced to death today 25, January after causing a fire at a Kyoto animation studio in 2019 which killed 36 people and left several injured.
Shinji Aoba, 45, pleaded guilty to the mass killing that claimed the lives of mostly young animation artists.
Aoba’s lawyers had appealed that he get a lighter sentence saying that his judgement was impaired as he suffered mentally.
The Judges, however, rejected their plea saying that Aoba was of sound mind and knew what he was doing.
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“I have determined that the defendant was not mentally insane or weak at the time of the crime.” Chief Judge Masuda said on Thursday at Kyoto District Court.
This is according to a report done by BBC.
At the time of the crime, July 2019, Aoba is said to have burst into the building during a workday with petrol shouting ‘drop dead’ repeatedly.
He had reasons to believe that the Kyoto Animation Studio had stolen his work and plagiarized a novel he entered into a contest run by the firm.
“I had no option left but to do what I did,” Aoba said.
“I feel tremendously sorry and the feeling includes a sense of guilt.”
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The victims are said to have been trapped in the upper floors of the building desperately trying to break out.
Aoba himself suffered serious burn injuries which made him admitted to a hospital to nurse his wounds.
It wasn’t until his recovery that he was arrested.
Judge Masuda of Kyoto District Court read a judicial reasoning saying that most of the surviving victims are suffering psychological effects as they had to witness their colleagues aflame.
The victim’s families were seen in Court to witness justice being served to their loved ones.
