Kobe School Killer

Fast forward to March 10, 2004, the day the so-called "Kobe Killer" was released from a juvenile medical reformatory on probation until the end of December 2004. Now 21-years-old, the man was just 14-years-old when he was arrested for the brutal slayings of a 10-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy, and non-lethal attacks on three other children. The murdered girl was struck on the head with a hammer, and the killer placed the decapitated head of the boy outside the gate of the boy's elementary school. The killer also taunted police with notes daring them to catch him.

At the time of his arrest, the accused boy was diagnosed as suffering from sexual sadism, and according to a March 14, 2004 Japan Times article claimed that "fighting and destruction" are hallmarks of human society, adding that "the strong are allowed to kill the weak."

Despite the almost incomprehensibly horrible crimes he committed at such an early age, the Kanto Regional Parole Board apparently based its decision to release the killer on probation on reports by reformatory officials who noted that the man "is now capable of communicating smoothly" with others, and successfully completed training that involved growing plants and penning a personal history. In a statement to journalists on the day of the man's release, the chief of the parole board even stated that "society's understanding and cooperation are indispensable".

Not so fast. How do you reassure parents of the murdered children and people who live in the local community that the man who committed such vile crimes just seven years earlier is now "truly rehabilitated"? The Japan Times article mentioned above also reports the man's recent claim that he now "wants to live in society in the company of warm-hearted people". This would sound like a joke if it were not so serious. Signs of atonement are perhaps important for parents of the murdered children, but should not cloud the atrocious facts of the case. Is it enough to apologize for the murder and beheading of a child? Authorities and citizens should recognize that such obvious mental illness is not easily apologized away without proper medical treatment, and even with drug therapy or other interventions there are always serious questions about the possibility of relapse. Assuming that tending plants alone does not quality as medical treatment, citizens should demand to know exactly what treatment the man has undergone and on what specific factors the probation decision was based. Expressions of remorse by the murderer should count for little when public safety is so clearly at risk.