Tokyo – Japan hanged two inmates this Thursday September 27th 2012, two months after the last executions took place on August 3rd.
Sachiko Eto, 65, a faith healer and self-professed
exorcist, was convicted for murder after the deaths of six believers in
Fukushima Prefecture between 1994 and 1995.
According to Japanese media reports and The Associated
Press, Sachiko Eto, her daughter and another accomplice had beaten their
victims to death, using thick drumsticks designed for the Japanese 太鼓
(Taiko) and other blunt instruments. The beating were to “drive out
demons hiding in their bodies” and conducted in her home. At
least one of the exorcism (悪魔払い）was apparently motivated by Ms. Eto’s
decision that the the victim was sleeping with Ms. Eto’s lover.
Another victim was “exorcised” after refusing to loan Ms. Eto money.
There were also questions as to the vanishing of her husband in 1992,
before she became a spiritual leader.
She was convicted on four counts of murder, and two
counts of assault resulting in death. She was hanged this Thursday
morning in Sendai detention center. At this point in the time, while Ms.
Eto was blessed with magical powers, she has not successfully
resurrected herself. Sachiko Eto is reportedly the first female in Japan
to be executed in more than 15 years. Her daughter and the other
accomplice have both been sentenced to life in prison.
Sometimes, you can’t beat the demons out of someone without killing them in the process.
Yukinori Matsuda, 39, was convicted for the murder of a
man and a woman during a robbery in Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture in 2003. He
also died by hanging the same morning in Fukuoka detention center.
Nikkansports reported it was found that Matsuda had written a letter,
dated from September 19th, to the families of those he
killed, where he wrote that he would donate his organs after his
execution and that “there would be no regrets.” In the letter, he also
expressed that he deeply regretted having committed the “irreparable
act,” and that he was “praying for the souls of his victims.” In the
letter, he also said that he would have preferred to receive a lethal
injection rather than be hung.
