Man sentenced to death for murder of 19 at Japan care home

YOKOHAMA, Japan: A Japanese court on Monday sentenced a man to death for the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a care home, one of the country´s worst mass killings. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the facility, never disputed his involvement in the grisly stabbing rampage, but his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, arguing the 30-year-old was suffering a “mental disorder” linked to his use of marijuana. Chief judge Kiyoshi Aonuma dismissed that argument and ruled Uematsu deserved no leniency over the horrifying attack, which shocked the country. “The lives of 19 people were taken away. This is profoundly grave,” he told the court. Uematsu planned the murders and had “an extreme intention to kill”, the judge said. Prosecutors sought the death penalty, which in Japan is implemented by hanging, arguing Uematsu was capable of taking responsibility for what they said was an “inhumane” attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in Sagamihara town, just outside Tokyo. Uematsu´s behaviour in court, including apparently trying to put something in his mouth, disrupted proceedings at the first hearing in January, with the judge calling a recess and then resuming without him. But he was impassive on Monday as the verdict was announced, looking straight ahead at the judge during the sentencing. He wore a black suit with his hair in a long ponytail down to his waist, and was flanked by six uniformed court officers wearing surgical masks.