Kyoto Animation's attacker is at it again

Shinji Aoba, the man convicted of the devastating arson attack at Kyoto Animation Studios in 2019 that left 36 people dead , is at it again in a legal twist that has raised many questions. After being sentenced to death in January 2024, Aoba and his lawyer appealed the decision to the Osaka Court of Appeals. However, on January 27, Aoba filed a document saying he wanted to withdraw his appeal, which, in theory, would have made his death sentence official.

But just three days later Aoba's lawyer filed a petition to invalidate this document, claiming that Aoba was not fully aware of what he was doing by withdrawing his appeal. This has sparked many questions about whether it will be said that Aoba was somehow pressured into making this decision, or whether his lawyer really believes in him enough to continue fighting on his behalf.

In any case, this move is reminiscent of something that happened in Osaka in 2015, where a convicted man also withdrew his appeal, but his defense argued that he did not understand what that meant confirming his death sentence. At that time, the case was reopened and after several years of further trials, the death sentence for the accused was finally confirmed.

Aoba's case is therefore complicated, especially since he himself admitted to being responsible for the fire that killed 36 people and seriously injured 32 others, showing little remorse. During the trial, his defence argued that Aoba was not in his right mind, citing mental problems, although he himself suffered burns in the attack.

Now, the dilemma is whether this legal game is just a ploy to further delay his execution or whether he is genuinely seeking to give Aoba a fair trial. Many people are criticizing the situation, as there is a widespread feeling that this man should have been executed since he admitted the charges several years ago.

The court has not yet decided whether or not to accept Aoba's lawyer's request, and public opinion is divided. However, the case once again demonstrates that these cases are extremely delicate, but the benefits are still enjoyed by Aoba as he will be able to continue seeing the light of day for several years if they accept his lawyer's request and analyze everything through new trials.

Source: Yahoo!News Japan