By SHUNSUKE ABE/ Staff Writer
June 30, 2021 at 18:10 JST
The Supreme Court on June 29 rejects the appeal of Chisako Kakehi, who has been sentenced to death over the murders of three men and other crimes. (Pool)
The Supreme Court on June 29 upheld the death sentence given to a woman dubbed the “Black Widow” who was convicted of murdering three male partners with cyanide.
The five justices of the top court’s Petty Bench unanimously agreed that capital punishment was warranted for Chisako Kakehi, 74.
The ruling said there were no grounds for clemency because Kakehi’s motive for the murders was financial gain. It also said she made light of human life by committing four similar crimes over a period of about six years.
Kakehi was found guilty of committing three murders, one attempted murder and robbery.
According to lower court rulings, she fed capsules of cyanide to her husband and three boyfriends to gain inheritance money or to escape from her debts. Those crimes were committed in Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo prefectures between 2007 and 2013.
Under the lay judge system, the Kyoto District Court in 2017 sentenced Kakehi to hang for the crimes. The Supreme Court’s decision finalized that sentence.
The defense team filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that capital punishment violates Article 36 of the Constitution, which prohibits cruel penalties for criminal cases.
But Presiding Justice Yuko Miyazaki cited the Supreme Court’s first ruling on the issue in 1948, which judged that the death penalty was constitutional.
The defense also insisted that Kakehi was not mentally competent to stand trial.
The top court also rejected that argument, and it concluded that capital punishment was the only penalty that could be chosen in this case.
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