“Blaming Only the Defendant Would Be Too Harsh”: Chiba Father Given Suspended Sentence for Killing Disabled Son

On March 12th, the Chiba District Court delivered a verdict in the trial of a 78-year-old man accused of murdering his younger son, who had a severe intellectual disability, by strangling him in July last year in Chosei Village, Chiba Prefecture. The court sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended for five years (the prosecution had sought a five-year prison term). Presiding Judge Ryuta Asaka noted that “the defendant was in a highly pressured situation, and it would be too harsh to place all the blame on him,” justifying the suspended sentence. Episode Notes: ‘ “Blaming Only the Defendant Would Be Too Harsh”: Chiba Father Given Suspended Sentence for Killing Intellectually Disabled Son’: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/03/13/blaming-only-the-defendant-would-be-too-harsh-chiba-father-given-suspended-sentence-for-killing-intellectually-disabled-son/