SAGA (Kyodo) A Japan-based European businessman whose wife and daughter were slain in 2004 by a Japanese man renewed his call Tuesday for establishment of a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
KYODO PHOTO
| Alberto Stucki holds up photos of his slain wife and daughter outside the Saga Prefectural Government on Tuesday. |
He said most prisoners sentenced to life in prison in Japan are released on parole after serving 10-plus years, but that it is too short for them to reflect on their crimes.
Stucki said he plans to meet Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama next week and hand him a petition bearing more than 80,000 signatures from people seeking establishment of life imprisonment without parole.
He has gathered the signatures in the past two years and three months during three rounds of signature-collecting tours across the country.
Last November, Hatoyama's predecessor, Jinen Nagase, rejected Stucki's plea.
Stucki's 46-year-old wife and 12-year-old daughter were burned to death in Miyazaki on May 27, 2005, when a thief broke into their home, stole ¥550,000 and set the house ablaze.
The Miyazaki District Court sentenced Yuji Takeyama to life in prison on June 30, 2005. Takeyama did not appeal the sentence and is currently incarcerated.
Under the Penal Code, capital punishment is the heaviest penalty, followed by life imprisonment.
Most convicts sentenced to life are eventually paroled.
Legally, a convict sentenced to life can be detained for life. But the Justice Ministry has released such prisoners under its prisoner-rehabilitation policy.
A Korean resident of Japan found guilty of shooting two Japanese men to death was one of the longest-serving prisoners. He served 31 years before being paroled in September 1999.
Stucki's e-mail address is minervai@rhythm.ocn.ne.jp
The Japan Times: Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007
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Parole to remain part of life terms: Nagase
Nov 26, 2006
Kyodo News
Justice Minister Jinen Nagase rejected a proposal Friday to establish a penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
"We don't have any plans at this moment to study establishing the punishment of life imprisonment without parole," Nagase said at a regular news conference.
Asked why he would not study the proposal, the minister said, "Opinion is split over such punishment, and it might be linked with the abolition of capital punishment."
Nagase denied any intention of abolishing capital punishment.
The minister was referring to a plea from a European businessman whose wife and daughter were slain in 2004 by burglar Yuji Takeyama. The murderer, currently serving life in prison, is widely expected to be paroled after serving more than 10 years.
On Wednesday, Stucki Alberto, who has dual Italian and Swiss citizenship, sent Nagase a collection of signatures from more than 60,000 people seeking establishment of life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
Alberto's 46-year-old wife and 12-year-old daughter were burned to death in their home in the city of Miyazaki on May 27, 2005. Takeyama torched the house after stealing 550,000 yen.