Indefinite Term Given for Saitama 2022 Triple Murder

Saitama, March 16 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese district court Monday sentenced a man to an indefinite prison term for murdering three members of a family, including a U.S. citizen, in the city of Hanno in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in December 2022. The crime was “brutal, merciless and very vicious,” Presiding Judge Hideki Igeta said in a lay judge trial at Saitama District Court, while acknowledging the defendant’s limited criminal responsibility. Public prosecutors sought the death penalty. The defendant, Jun Saito, 43, harbored anger and the delusion that the victims were attacking him, the judge said. “The manner of the crime was extremely vicious as Saito relentlessly assaulted the victims even after they stopped resisting,” the judge emphasized. It is very serious that Saito killed the three victims, who were without fault, and “capital punishment could have been an option,” the judge said. Meanwhile, Igeta said that the defendant had schizophrenia at the time and “it is suspected that he had difficulty in restraining himself from committing the crime.” The judge admitted that Saito had a limited mental capacity, finding an indefinite prison term to be appropriate. The judge rejected the defense’s insanity plea, saying that the defendant took planned and rational actions such as preparing an ax and wearing a face mask to avoid being seen by security cameras. Meanwhile, Igeta said that it was unreasonable and arbitrary to assess Saito’s mental status in a way that excludes his delusions and motives at the time of the crime,” in response to the claim by public prosecutors that the influence of his mental disorder on the crime was limited. “The sentence is generous and we feel strong anger,” a member of the bereaved family said in a statement after the sentencing. “We hope that prosecutors will quickly appeal the ruling.” According to the verdict and other sources, Saito killed U.S. national William Ross Bishop Jr., 69, and two members of his family by slashing their heads and necks with an ax at the couple’s house at around 7 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2022. Saito then poured kerosene into a room and set it on fire. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]