JAPAN. DEATH SENTENCE FOR HOMELESS MAN COMMUTED TO LIFE

the Tokyo High Court commuted the death penalty of Yoshio Ando to life in prison for the 1999 murders of three homeless men in Tokyo, citing his ''diminished'' mental capacity at the time of the crime due to the influence of amphetamines.
Presiding Judge Masaru Suda said given that the acts of crime completely ignored law and order and were outrageous, capital punishment would have been an inevitable choice had Ando, 59, been fully competent at that time.