Life imprisonment for Japanese nurse who killed 3 patients

A Japanese court on Tuesday sentenced a former nurse who killed three patients by injecting sterile substances into their veins, to life in prison, local media reported.

During her trial, 34-year-old Ayumi Kobuki admitted to killing patients in their 70s and 80s five years ago, in a case that shocked Japan.

She previously told police that she may have killed 20 people in just two months, but later told prosecutors that she was not authorized to comment on the matter during the trial.

The chief justice of the Yokohama District Court said he had intended to sentence Kobuki to death, according to information from public broadcaster NHK.

The judge noted that Kobuki "expressed remorse and said that she wanted to be held accountable for her crime. ... I could not stop myself from hesitating to choose the death penalty."

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Kobuki, but patient advocates said she was depressed by the stress of her patients' deaths, which reduced her abilities.

Kobuki told the court that she did not want to receive any blame from families in the event of a misfortune for her patients during her service, noting that she was "relieved" when any of her victims died.

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