Sagamihara disabled casualty case first trial today Yokohama District Court January 8, 4:16

In a case where 19 residents were killed at a facility for the intellectually disabled in Sagamihara City, a judge trial of a 29-year-old former judge will begin in the Yokohama District Court on August 8. There is no dispute over the facts, but the defendant's lawyer is likely to guilty at the time for not being liable due to the mental illness.

In July 2016, 19 people were stabbed with blades one after another at the intellectually disabled person facility "Tsukui Yamayurien" in Sagamihara City, and 19 people were killed, and 26 people including staff were injured, A former employee of the facility, Uematsu Seiji (29), has been charged with murder and other charges.

It will be three and a half years soon after the incident, but a judge trial will begin in Yokohama District Court on the 8th.

There was no dispute over the facts, but the prosecution asserted that the defendant was liable based on the results of the psychiatrist, while the defendant's lawyer used marijuana. He is convinced that he was not liable for criminal liability due to the effects of his mental illness.

The defendant told NHK reporters he interviewed last month that "I don't want to be sentenced, the lighter the crime, the better." It's important to tell people with disabilities that it is better not to be in society. I think it's the same. "

Defendant also said on Wednesday, "I would like to apologize to the bereaved, deceased, and inconvenienced in court. I will just apologize."

In this case, except for one victim, the victim is called "A", and it is expected that anonymous hearings will be conducted with information that identifies the individual, such as name, hidden. In addition, the court has decided to take unusual measures to install shields in some of the auditoriums so that survivors in the auditorium cannot be seen by other observers.

The ruling will be sentenced on March 16.

In the trial, there is no dispute between the prosecution and the defendant's lawyer about the fact that the defendant has filed the case. Prior to the trial, an issue was narrowed down and the issue was determined by the defendant's liability at the time of the case and to what extent.

The prosecution conducted an expert psychiatric assessment during the investigation phase for approximately five months. The defendant was cautiously extending the initial schedule, and said that the defendant had multiple personality disorders such as `` narcissistic personality disorder '' who sought praise from the surroundings and overly regarded himself as special Results.

In response, the prosecution charged the defendant with murder and other charges in February 2017, claiming that he had responsibility.

Defendant's lawyer, on the other hand, is likely to accuse the defendant of not being liable for the mental illness of cannabis use at the time.

After being prosecuted, the lawyer requested a psychiatric assessment and conducted a procedure in the course of organizing the issue.

According to the investigators, this psychiatric appraisal produced results similar to those obtained during the investigation. The lawyer also requested a third psychiatric assessment, but the court rejected it.

What happened on the day of the incident

The incident occurred early on July 26, 2016. Persons with disabilities who had entered the facility at Tsukui Yamayuri Garden in Sagamihara City were stabbed one after another with blades, killing 19 people and injuring 26 people, including staff, with minor injuries.

According to the investigators, at about 1:43 am, the vehicle entered the facility premises through the entrance in the parking lot. The man broke the window glass of the first floor room of Hana Home with a hammer and entered the building, first killing a 19-year-old woman.

In order to prevent reports to the outside, she threatened to kill female staff during the night shift with a knife, saying, "If I make a noise," she tied her hands with a tying band and tied it to the railing of the facility, making her unable to move.

After attacking a resident at Hana Home, he lost the key to this employee. While moving around the facility, they attacked the residents one after another, 5 at "Hana Home", 5 at "Niji Home", 2 at "Tsubasa Home", and then went up to the second floor of the facility to "Ibuki Home" Killed four people and three in Subaru Home.

On the way, four other night shift staff members also threatened to prevent the incident from being discovered, and similarly tied their wrists with a tying band.

However, since the staff were unable to lock up in one room of the facility and could not be restrained, they seemed to have escaped from the scene by car for fear of being discovered. Immediately after the incident, a former employee, Uematsu Seiji, appeared in police and was arrested.

In response to police investigations, he stated that he aimed for a disabled person who could not communicate.

About Uematsu St. Defendant

Defendant Uematsu is 29 years old born on January 20, 1990 in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

According to investigators, she went from kindergarten to junior high school locally and went to a private high school in Hachioji, Tokyo. After graduating from high school, he was aiming to be a teacher at a private university education department, but after all, he did not become a teacher but after graduating from college he worked for a shipping company and refilled vending machines with drinks. did.

I quit this job in about six months and started working as a part-time employee at Tsukui Yamayurien, which was the scene of the incident, in December 2012, and was later hired as a staff member.

About half a year before the defendant, defendants began discriminating their colleagues working at the facility to discriminate against them, saying that "people who cannot communicate are not worth living" and quit the facility in February 2016. Was. Around this time, it seems that the incident was being embodied in a facility for the disabled, and he wrote a letter to the chair of the lower house, summarizing the plan of the case, and visited the chairman's residence in Tokyo to be a police officer in charge of security. I was giving a letter.

However, on February 19, Sagamihara City, which was consulted by the facility, responded to "Measures Hospitalization" by forcibly admitting hospitals based on a doctor's diagnosis as "may cause harm to others." Hospitalized for about a day.

Immediately after discharge, he did not execute the plan, but his mindset remained unchanged, and he was apparently preparing for the practice while practicing martial arts and strengthening his body. During this time, she also performed cosmetic surgery on her eyelids and nose.

On July 25, the day before the incident, I started taking concrete actions, took out a kitchen knife from my house, purchased a unity band and a hammer at a home improvement store, and then moved to Tokyo by car to use a sex shop.

When the date changed, I drove to Sagamihara city and caused an incident.

Long procedure Three and a half years until first trial

The trial begins only three and a half years after the incident occurred.

The following year, courts and prosecutors, as well as lawyers to narrow down issues, have been undertaken before the trial.

According to the investigators, there was no initial dispute between the prosecution and the lawyer in the process that the defendant had filed the case. On the other hand, the psychiatrist requested by the lawyer was carried out, and although it was finally rejected by the court, it took time for the lawyer to request a psychiatrist again.

In addition, due to difficulties in adjusting the trial schedule, the date of the first trial was decided last April, and the “pre-trial arrangement procedure” was completed last month.

According to a report published last year by the Supreme Court, the average time required for this procedure in a case subject to a judge trial was 8.2 months, which was extremely long in this case. I can say

What is Yokohama District Court 101 Court

The trial will take place in Yokohama District Court, Court 101, the largest court in the Yokohama District Court.

There are 84 seats for the auditorium, and it is possible to remove the seats and secure a space in case a handicapped person uses a wheelchair or the like to observe.

The auditorium is divided into three blocks, with a block of 24 seats in the middle and a block of 30 seats on each side.

In this case, the bereaved family and victim's family would sit together in one of the 30-seat blocks, taking the unusual measure of installing a shield to prevent the entire block from being seen by other observers. I have decided.

Utilize the Victim Participation System

In this case, lawyers of victims, bereaved family members, or their representatives will participate using the Victim Participation System. By using this system, victims and bereaved families can ask questions directly to defendants and witnesses.

You can also comment on the severity of the sentence at the end of the trial, if the court approves. In addition, some survivors and victims use a system that expresses their feelings and opinions about the incident.

The Yokohama District Court did not disclose how many survivors use such a system in this trial.