By Here is an update on the punk kid who seriously injured a Japanese moped rider by tying a rope across the road:
There is no doubt that the son of an American airman strung a rope across a street near Yokota Air Base, Japan, last year, causing serious injury to a Japanese woman on a scooter. So on the opening day of the youth’s trial in Japanese criminal court on Wednesday, defense attorneys asserted that he was unfairly being tried as an adult for the incident.
The 19-year-old confessed to the August, 2009, crime months ago and made a “gomen nasai” — or “I’m sorry” — payment to the victim, customary in the Japanese legal system. The teen, whose name was withheld from testimony because he is still considered a minor under Japanese law, is charged with causing bodily injury and obstruction of traffic and faces a maximum 15-year sentence if convicted. He was 18 at the time of the incident and would be subject to a more lenient punishment in family court. [Stars & Stripes]
The victim in this case is of course not feeling very lenient considering she was nearly killed:
Prosecutors responded by telling the three-judge panel that they were focused on holding the teen accountable for his actions, not his intentions. They also emphasized the victim’s anger in the wake of the incident.The woman, who was 23 at the time, suffered a fractured skull, spent 17 days in the hospital and was out of work for two months. “I honestly even think I want them to die,” for their crimes, the woman said in a statement read by prosecutors.
“I could never think of forgiving them. I want the four to spend the rest of their lives paying for the crime.”
She hasn’t seen...
11:27 pm on July 25th, 2010 1
Ship him off to Singapore for a good caning. Vandalizing cars gets you four whacks, so this should be worth about 12.
12:46 am on July 26th, 2010 2
That guy needs to spend a long time in jail. I don't care how old he is or his state of mind at the time. And forget the "I'm sorry" crap – he's only sorry he got caught. How many other acts similar to this had the guy done and how many would he continue to do if not caught? Remove him from society
1:27 am on July 26th, 2010 3
'unfairly being tried as an adult'? He was 18 at the time, not 8. If he couldn't comprehend that his little stunt could kill someone, then he's just too dumb to be out in society. 7-10 years in prison should be long enough to drain out the excess stupidity.
1:30 am on July 26th, 2010 4
GI's….
So typical..
Is the US Human Rights media getting involved to free this young man who's suffering from Japanese racism?
2:04 am on July 26th, 2010 5
The guy deserves the same sentence that somebody would normally receive for doing a similar crime in Japan. The reason why the human rights violations come into play is because he is being treated differently. By him being tried as an adult which is almost unheard of in Japan. There are several recent cases here in Japan where teenage murder suspects were tried as children. In the family court!! It is obvious they are trying to make an example out of this kid, and you really can't blame them after what he did.
4:01 am on July 26th, 2010 6
Idiots like Tom who think every American overseas in Japan or Korea is a GI…so typical.
8:13 am on July 26th, 2010 7
If I were in charge (and thank god I'm not) I would make that little bastard ride full speed into a rope on a scooter. And if he recovers from that make him keep doing it again until he doesn't. As a two-wheeled vehicle rider myself, I can't begin to imagine the rage I would feel if somebody did this to me or somebody I cared about.
11:41 am on July 26th, 2010 8
He very easily could have killed her and almost did.
At 18, he knew what he was doing and did it anyway.
If he really didn't comprehend the consequences, then there is some mental problem there.
He deserves a serious charge as an adult and definitely deserves jail/prison time.
I have no problem with someone like this "being made an example of"!
11:44 am on July 26th, 2010 9
PS- as for the "rage" expressed by the victim, well, no sh*t!
This idiot nearly killed her by pulling some moronically malicious 'prank' in which he knew someone would get hurt.
I would want his a$$ thrown off a cliff, too!