the Fukuoka High Court in Japan upheld the death penalty of a 38 year old man

the Fukuoka High Court in Japan upheld the death penalty of a 38 year old man convicted of robbing and killing three women in separate murder-robbery cases in the Fukuoka Prefecture. Yasunori Suzuki said he had no intention of killing or robbing the victims, while his defence counsel had argued he was not mentally competent at the time of the crimes. Suzuki targeted women walking alone and strangled Nana Kubota, 18, in Iizuka on Dec 12, 2004, and Toshiko Onaka, 62, in Kitakyushu on Dec 31, 2004. He stabbed Keiko Fukushima, 23, in Fukuoka on Jan 18, 2005, according to the November 2006 Fukuoka District Court ruling upheld by the appeals court. Suzuki was also convicted of stealing their belongings. The district court sentenced Suzuki to death on a murder-robbery charge for each case after ruling out the possibility of the defendant's rehabilitation.