A 78-year-old woman twice convicted of stealing avoided prison thanks largely to the personal interest her lawyer took in her impulse control disorder.

The woman was diagnosed with kleptomania when she was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for shoplifting in 2019.

But during that period of suspension, she was caught stealing two plant pots, including roses, worth about 2,300 yen ($20) at a Tokyo gardening shop in March 2021, according to the indictment.

The defendant pleaded guilty during her first hearing at the Tokyo District Court.

Under a Criminal Law provision, people who commit a fresh crime while serving a suspended sentence are in principle subject to a combined punishment: the earlier penalty plus the additional one for the new offense.

The woman was expected to be sent to prison after the second crime. But she was again spared time behind bars after her lawyer made an unusual plea that he himself would help the defendant rehabilitate in society.

The lawyer also had the defendant explain in detail the circumstances that led to her kleptomania.

With tears welling in her eyes, the defendant told the court that her husband’s physical abuse triggered her compulsive stealing.

“When did you first shoplift?” the lawyer asked his client in court.

“My husband changed into a different person when he was drunk,” the defendant said. “It was on one such occasion that I stole for the first time. I could not tell anybody. I felt so lonely. And I went out for no particular purpose and shoplifted.”

When asked if she was physically abused by her husband, she replied: “Yes. He was a really good husband as long as he was sober.”

She also explained what happened when her husband found out that she committed a theft. “I will become a bar-hopper if you are a shoplifter,” she quoted him as saying.

His cold words led her to steal more often, she said.

She developed a desire to snatch anything she saw, for no particular purpose, even though she could afford the items.

Her husband died in 2006, but her urges to steal continued, especially when she was irritated or deep in thought, the woman said.

After her first conviction, she attended rehabilitation meetings for kleptomaniacs, where they shared their experiences.

The sessions, however, were suspended because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The defendant did not attend a meeting in the several months before she committed the latest offense.

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During the trial, the defense counsel explained the measures the defendant was taking to prevent recidivism after she was released on bail, including working three days a week at the lawyer’s office.

The lawyer had proposed that measure to help the defendant realize her strong desire to treat her mental health disorder.

“We had never earlier received a proposal like that,” the defendant’s daughter said, weeping.

The woman’s duties at the office include photocopying documents and addressing mail. She has told young workers at the office about her criminal conviction.

“It is such a saving grace that my colleagues do not make awkward faces when they work with me,” she said.

In the latest case, the defendant reached a nonfinancial out-of-court settlement with the operator of the gardening shop. She promised that she will be accompanied by a third party, such as a family member, when she leaves home.

She also received counseling from a doctor and told the judge that she would never go shopping by herself.

The prosecution’s closing statement noted that the offense was committed during a suspended sentence, indicating a decline in her sense of respect for social norms.

Even if the defendant’s rehabilitation efforts are taken into account, she still deserves thorough corrective education at a criminal institution, the prosecutors said, seeking an 18-month prison term.

The defense’s closing argument called for another stay of execution.

“Something has changed in the defendant’s state of mind after she went out into the real world,” her lawyer said.

“Her mental health problems have been treated 90 percent,” he continued. “She is determined to cope with the remaining 10 percent with her efforts so she will never do the same thing again, this time for sure.”

The lawyer also cited a doctor’s diagnosis saying there was no recognizable urge to steal in the defendant.

Judge Koichi Nozawa accepted most of the defense counsel’s arguments, and took into account the circumstances, including the out-of-court settlement and the remorse shown by the defendant.

In a rare “double” stay of execution, he sentenced the woman to one year in prison, suspended for four years, in July last year.

“There will never be another stay of execution,” Nozawa told the defendant. “This is the last opportunity you are given. Please be sure never to forget what you have told the court.”

The defendant wiped away tears and took two deep bows.

The ruling was finalized, as it was not appealed by either the prosecution or the defense.

The woman has since been working at the lawyer's office to this day.