The defense team for a man dubbed Japan's "Twitter killer" appealed Friday against the death penalty handed down earlier this week over the 2017 serial murders of 9 people who posted suicidal thoughts on social media.
The move came despite Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, having said during his trial at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court that he would not appeal his sentence, even if given the death penalty.
He had pleaded guilty to all charges against him.
The court ruled that the 9 victims did not consent to being killed, and that Shiraishi was mentally fit to be held responsible for the murders.
In the high-profile case, his defense lawyers had argued that he was guilty only of the lesser charge of homicide with consent as he had his victims' tacit approval based on messages they sent to him.
According to the ruling, Shiraishi strangled and dismembered his victims -- 8 women and 1 man aged 15 to 26 -- from late August to late October in 2017 and also sexually assaulted all the female victims.
He also stole cash.
Their body parts were discovered inside several coolers in his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo.
Shiraishi is believed to have promised to help his victims die via Twitter, using his handle that loosely translates as "hangman" and inviting them to his apartment, after they had expressed suicidal thoughts.
Source: mainichi.jp, Staff, December 18, 2020
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