'He's a child': Ex-lay judge reflects on death sentence for crime involving minor

A former lay judge in the trial of a one-time minor accused of killing two people and wounding another in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, revealed their mixed thoughts after the news that the defendant's appeal against his death sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court on June 16.

The former lay judge, a person in their 40s who was involved of the first trial held at the Sendai District Court, heard the news on a car radio that the appeal by the former minor, now 24, was not successful. The lay judge first entered the court for the trial in November 2010, when the defendant was still 19 years old. The defendant was sitting down, facing away from the observer seating, and toward the lay judges. During the five days of court arguments, the lay judge looked at the defendant's face and thought, "He's a child."

While noting down the statements by witnesses and by the defendant, the lay judge thought carefully about the intentions behind and the background surrounding those statements. "I listened more closely than I ever had to these people's stories," the former lay judge says.

In deliberations, the lay judges shared their opinions on what they had felt in court. The lay judge was exhausted, and thought about the case all the time even while at home, but could not tell their family about it.

The lay judge saw news reports mentioning the possibility of the death penalty, but it was not until the prosecution actually sought it in court that they really felt the weight of it. They thought time and again, "What would be best for this kid (the defendant)?"

The former lay judge thinks they had enough time and does not have any regrets. But after the death sentence was announced, they felt time and again like they would be crushed under the weight of what they had done. They felt sick from the mental pressure while going to work, and at least once had to stop and get off the train to collect themselves. While they feel the experience as a lay judge benefited them, they also think that death penalty decisions should perhaps be left to career judges.

The former lay judge read an article after the first ruling, in which a reporter had met with the defendant and he expressed regret over the killings.

"I wished he had felt regret before the killings," says the former lay judge.

While the first trial's ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court, the former lay judge still feels, "No matter how you put it, it doesn't change the fact that it was telling a stranger to die. I think I will continue to live with the feeling that I have killed someone."