On December 7, prosecutors sought the death penalty...

On December 7, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Toru Toyoda, 31, and Kenichi Hirose, 35, two doomsday cult leaders accused of spraying nerve gas in a deadly attack on Tokyo's subways, an official said. They are on trial along with Aum Shinri Kyo guru Shoko Asahara and other cult members involved in the rush-hour assault on a subway station in Tokyo's government district in March 1995. The sarin attack killed 12 people and sickened thousands. Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for the cult's driver in the attack, Shigeo Sugimoto, 40. They said Toyoda and Hirose deserved death because they participated directly, while Sugimoto had a lesser role. The first death verdict handed out in connection with the attack came in September, when Masato Yokoyama was sentenced to hang. Two other cult members involved in the gassing received life in prison. Prosecutors said they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty for Asahara.