The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the death sentence...

The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of murdering and robbing two people in separate incidents in Shiga Prefecture 15 years ago. Masaharu Nakamura, 57, who was unemployed at the time, suffocated to death his former colleague, 52, after feeding him sandwiches containing sleeping pills in December 1989, according to the ruling. Nakamura then stole money, dismembered the body and disposed of it, the ruling said.
He also killed another man in a similar manner in October that year.
''The crime was brutal, cold-blooded and very vicious,'' Presiding Justice Niro Shimada said. ''The defendant's personality disorder is not significant enough to justify a reduction of the sentence.''
Defense attorneys had demanded lighter punishment during the appeal, arguing that Nakamura suffered from a severe personality disorder and could not be fully held criminally liable for his actions.