The opinions of Japanese society, especially doctors, were divided between supporters and opponents of the ruling of an Alzheimer’s patient who killed his granddaughter.
Recently, Japan witnessed a strange murder of a 16-year-old girl, at the hands of her 88-year-old grandfather, who had Alzheimer’s disease.
Last month, Susumu Tomizawa admitted in a court in western Japan to the murder of his granddaughter Tomomi two years ago, and confirmed that he did not remember committing the crime, according to Sky News.
During the trial, Tomizawa’s lawyers requested that he be acquitted of the murder because he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, but they did not succeed in convincing the court, which issued a sentence of 4 and a half years in prison, for premeditated murder.
The court heard that Tomizawa, who was living with Tomomi in his home in Fukui City.
On the night of September 9, 2020, the grandfather and his granddaughter got into an argument that ended with the teenage being stabbed to death, and as soon as the crime was finished, the grandfather called the victim’s brother and told him that he had found her body covered in blood.
Tomizawa’s mental state sparked controversy in court, with the team representing the dead man asserting that he was conscious when he committed the crime, and that he did so intentionally.
Doctors who subjected Tomizawa to evaluation issued a report in which they confirmed that he is able to control his actions, and has the ability to judge right and wrong, according to the American “CNN” news network.
After the assessment, Judge Yoshinobu Kawamura issued his verdict, which determined that Tomizawa had Alzheimer’s, but that he was able to assess his actions, and therefore was responsible for them.
After the verdict was issued, the opinions of Japanese society, especially doctors, were divided between supporters and opponents, with one group asserting that Tomizawa was responsible for his actions, while others considered the verdict unfair given the killer’s mental illness.
Commenting on the controversial ruling, Jacob Rajesh, chief forensic psychiatrist at Promise Healthcare in Singapore, said: “In advanced cases of Alzheimer’s patients, it is difficult to say they are responsible for their actions. The crimes in which dementia patients are involved are very complex.”
Rajesh added: “An important question is also, does compassion for a convicted person with dementia conflict with society’s perception of justice?”
“Japan’s prisons are full of elderly inmates who suffer from dementia. Their number is increasing and we have to take various measures to address this,” said Koichi Hamae, a criminal justice expert and professor of law at Japan’s Ryokoku University in Kyoto.
Japan has the largest elderly population in the world, with more than 20 percent of the country’s population over the age of 65.
Government figures indicate that there are more than 4.6 million people in Japan suffering from dementia.
Violent crimes committed by Japanese with dementia are rare, but in 2014 a 72-year-old man with dementia strangled an 82-year-old woman and was sentenced to a reduced three-year prison term because of his health.