The Kyoto District Court in Japan has sentenced the Kyoto Animation arsonist, Shinji Aoba, to the death penalty.
Aoba, 45, killed 36 people at the Kyoto Animation studio back in 2019. He also managed to injure 32. As a result, the incident was called one of Japan’s deadliest mass murders in recent years.
The fire started when he doused the entrance of the building with gasoline. The arsonist also suffered from severe heavy burns, making him go under intensive treatment for almost a year.
The reason behind the fire was that Aoba had a grudge against the studio. He claimed that they stole and allegedly plagiarized his ideas after rejecting his novels.
No one has found any evidence of Kyoto Animation plagiarizing any of Aoba’s work.
More about the Arsonist’s ruling
The court decided Aoba’s fate this Thursday morning. More than 400 people gathered and hoped to get one of the 23 seats available to listen to the court’s ruling.
Additionally, family members of victims were also present.
Aoba faced five charges, including murder, attempted murder, and arson. The trial focused on whether or not he was mentally competent during the time of the crime to be held liable.
The trial revealed a lot of crucial information. For one, the prosecutors revealed throughout the 22 trials that Aoba had planned a mass-stabbing spree somewhere at Omiya Station. He decided to back out at the last minute.
A survivor from the incident testified and shared that she had to go through 49 surgeries as the fire ate almost 94 percent of her body.
In the end, Judge Keisuke Masuda ruled the following: “Neither insane nor suffering diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime,” to which one of the family members of the victims broke down into tears.
Afterward, the court issued Aoba the death penalty.
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