Man Without Qualities


Saturday, February 28, 2004


Asahara To Hang

Death penalty foes in this country and Europe often try to create the impression that the United States is the only developed nation now employing the death penalty. That impression, of course, is false, as this FT report demonstrates:

Shoko Asahara, the half-blind guru of Japan's Aum sect, was on Friday sentenced to death by hanging, nearly nine years after followers of his religious cult terrorised Tokyo by spraying deadly gas on the city's subway. ... On Friday, more than 4,000 people drew lots for the 38 seats in the court's public viewing gallery. Several people handed out anti-death penalty leaflets, though a majority of Japanese support the death penalty in this case.

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