In the trial of a 53-year-old defendant accused of intentionally hitting and killing two unrelated men and women with a truck in the town of Miharu, Fukushima Prefecture, last month, the second trial canceled the first trial's death sentence and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Regarding the sentence, the Sendai High Public Prosecutors Office filed an appeal to the Supreme Court by the 2nd as dissatisfied with the judgment.
Defendant Yoshitaka Morifuji (53), who has no fixed address and is unemployed, drove a stolen truck without a license on a national highway in Miharu Town in May 2020, and was an unrelated 55-year-old man and a 52-year-old man who were cleaning volunteers. He has been charged with murder and hit-and-run for intentionally hitting and killing a woman.
Two days before the incident, the defendant had just left the prison where he had been serving time for another crime, and he was worried about his life after his release, so he wanted to stay in prison for a long time.
While the lay judge trial in the first trial handed down the death penalty as requested, the Sendai High Court in the second trial said on the 16th of last month, ``The purpose is not to kill another person, and it is not comparable to the cases that have been sentenced to death so far. I can't say it," he canceled the death sentence in the first trial and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The Sendai High Public Prosecutors Office filed an appeal to the Supreme Court by the 2nd, dissatisfied with the ruling.
Koji Yamazaki, deputy chief public prosecutor at the Sendai High Public Prosecutor's Office, commented, "After reviewing the content of the ruling, we have reached the conclusion that an appeal should be filed."