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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Japan: Death penalty sought for man over 2016 dagger killing at Osaka home

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Inside Tokyo's Fuchu prison
OSAKA - Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a 25-year-old man who allegedly stabbed a man to death with a dagger and injured his three children at their home in Osaka Prefecture in 2016.

During the trial at the Osaka District Court, the prosecutors said Yuma Kobayashi aimed to kill the entire family, whom he was unacquainted with, while they slept. Defense lawyers have argued he is mentally incompetent and cannot be held criminally responsible for the attack.

According to the indictment, Kobayashi broke into the house of carpenter Yukinobu Kawakami, 43, in the city of Kadoma on Oct 19, 2016, killing him with a dagger and injuring his 20-year-old and 19-year-old daughters as well as his 17-year-old son.

Kobayashi, who had a history of schizophrenia, has denied the allegations, saying there are many things he does not recall doing. The defense team told the first court hearing earlier this month that Kobayashi "brought the dagger upon receiving orders from three unidentified men through brainwaves and found Kawakami in a pool of blood."

Calling his acts "extremely cruel," the prosecutors said Kobayashi "flagrantly made light of lives" and that the death penalty cannot be avoided.

Under a system that allows victims to take part in trials, a surviving family member told the court Thursday that the defendant "should repay with his life" for his crime. Kobayashi made remarks against that statement, prompting the court to temporarily halt the session.

The prosecutors indicted Kobayashi in March last year as they concluded following psychiatric examinations that he can take criminal responsibility.

Source: Japan Today, March 17, 2018


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
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