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Denver, 2:33 AM
Tue Nov 10
52 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/09/09
Death is what he wants, thus it is not what he should get. The bastard should rot in prison for the rest of his life. #crime
11/09/09
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11/09/09
He's not even human in my eyes, just a rabid animal that needs to be put down before he kills someone else. #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
Killing him quickly: too easy for that scum
Letting him live: too expensive
Letting him rot and go insane: better and cheap (1mx1m concrete room and that's it) #crime
11/09/09
No person has the right to take the life of another. Why justify his power trip by dishing out the same punishment for his crime?
Humanity shouldn't be ashamed of life imprisonment.
Even moreso, justifying torture...?
Worse than killing people straight out, in my book. #crime
11/09/09
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11/09/09
whatever they decide to do to this guy, i'm sure it'll be decided upon rightly and justly. I just don't think you guys are being fair by clamoring for or against he death. either way nothing is accomplished. those 7 aren't coming back, their families are still going to miss them and the killer's family is still going to wonder what happened to their son. #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
I most strongly feel this way against people who molest children. I think they should be burned alive as an example to any other sick minded bastard out there.
I honestly do not believe that someone who practically destroys the rest of a young one's life, the chance to be forgiven. #crime
11/09/09
The penalties for crimes against children have reason and yet so have the numbers for perps. It's not a deterrent and we keep raising the bar on what we consider a child in this day and age.
Then there's the argument that whether it's a completely conscious decision to prey on children or if someone is born with the attraction as a sort of mental sickness. i.e., does someone choose a sexual orientation? If so, can they be faulted the same as someone who becomes a serial murderer, who was decidedly not born with their problem?
My point is, in this country, we don't take enough time to plot and communicate with the people in order to find ways to prevent crime, and when we do, we kill those programs because they cost so much. And we don't take mental health seriously in this country. And we let tweenagers run rampant without parental supervision and pretty much let them raise themselves. We simultaneously let them grow up too fast while stripping them of character building responsibilities and rewards that were the norm decades ago.
So I still don't think killing people outright solves anything. If anything it just gives immature people more reason to lie in order to off the people they don't like. #crime
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11/09/09
Someone has to keep the bloodlusters compromising! #crime
11/09/09
There's no such thing.
It's like too much money.
It's like a girl too pretty.
It's like too much class.
Being too lucky.
A car too fast.
There's an old Franklin saying, "Love thy neighbor, yet don't pull down your hedge." Show mercy, show forgiveness, while still showing authority, still showing justice.
Worst punishment imaginable? Then I'll imagine "life imprisonment with no parole". I'll file anything that keeps him from breathing as "unfathomable". #crime
01:40 AM
But you're right, we should try to understand these people to be able to stop it from happening, and I'm in no way defending those idiotic sexed up hannah montanniacs. I'm just talking about a normal bleeding child lol. It's parents, culture and Disney to blame for the ridiculous clothing of some young kids these days.
I of course cite the Jonas Brothers South Park episode in that case. #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
Separate the criminals by tiers. You put all the "death row" inmates together. Rapists together. Assault/battery/robbery together. Non-violent together. You put child molesters in with the "death row" inmates.
Problem solves itself. #crime
11/09/09
[www.deathpenaltyinfo.org]
Noah #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
We shouldn't let murderious nutcases go, but we also have to be concerned with killing innocents. the system isn't perfect, nor can it ever be. #crime
11/09/09
Helps keep the peace, and generates revanue.
I say bring back chain gangs for non-violent crimes, and throw the animials into solitary for life. #crime
11/09/09
The Hammurabi's law is outdated. You can't punish a killer by killing him. There's a problem with the principle of that... It hinders the credibility of the justice system if you sentence a killer to death 'cause then you'd basically be punishing him with the same crime that he's convicted of.
And it's not justice that people don't have the right to kill, but the law does. If killing is a crime then you can't make an exception about it. And death can't be a punishment dealt by the justice system since killing is illegal. Otherwise you're just kind of making the law seem empty and meaningless - contradictory. #crime
11/09/09
While I admit you have a point I think the main difference between the public killing and the law killing is when the public does in the form of murder it is seen in an unjust manner. If the law sentences someone to death for their crimes it is to remove the problem. Which may sound cruel but without the death penalty people can murder and then go into a prison system and continue to kill. Now the tolls have gathered.
This debate is always tough to make a decision on. In my honest opinion if nobody killed anyone then who would care about the punishment. So what is the point anyhow. #crime
11/09/09
The death penalty is not punishment, rehabilitation, justice or anything. It is simply a way to attempt to remove problems from society. That doesn't work, it's never been proven to even stop any crime, why is it even there?
Let me ask you this, would you rather remove all the pimples from your face as they come, or try to attempt the pours from never clogging so you never have a problem.
Society is a huge face of some teenage kid, and he's going about his pimple problem all wrong. He picks at them, burst them, and squeezes them to try to get rid of them. If he would just use some medicine (figurative), let them slowly regress, and become normal pours again, he would have much less of a problem, and leave no scars on his face.
So instead of scaring our face and not fixing the root problem of this ugly acne infected face, hows about we cleanse the pours to stop the pimples from coming up period. #crime
11/09/09
Really? You can't think of any other way to stop him from doing that again? And you think that he'll kill more people once/if he gets out of prison, for sure?
Are you serious?
How about keeping him in lock-up and letting him out when he's - say - pushing 70?
Also, I don't wanna hear anything about the taxpayers' money here. In a debate like this someone always throws in the tax money argument... Which is ridiculous 'cause usually the person who gives that comment hasn't really thought about A) how much tax income the state gets per year B) what kind of percent of that money is used on maintaining prisons C) how much money does it cost to maintain a single criminal.
How big a portion of a tax payer's money goes to keeping this guy in prison? How big a portion of Japan's yearly tax income is spent to keep this one person in prison?
I can tell you it's not much. In fact it's nearly nothing. And this man's life, even though he did what he did is surely worth more than "nearly nothing".
To him, his life is all he has. And you have to understand that as well.
In real life there is no such thing as evil people. Sure, people do awful, unforgivable things. But it's not as black and white as good and evil and life and death.
That'd be just plain ignorance talking.
The bottom line in what I'm trying to say is that nobody has the right to decide wether or not somebody lives or dies. This man took that right into his own hands and that's why he's in prison. That's his punishment. He's been put into quarantene outside the society because he's not fit to live within the society.
But the law, that's supposed to set an example of how the society is supposed to work, can't make the decision that this man's life can be erased. It's jut justice. It's hypocrisy. #crime
11/09/09
That'd be just plain ignorance talking."
The irony of that statement is delicious. #crime
11/09/09
Although I shouldn't be, I didn't expect this to turn into a discussion of the death penalty so quickly.
Let me just say this:
I was there. Across the street. I saw it all. I heard it all. The crash, the truck, the stabbing, the people, the aftermath....
I never really understood PTSD until then. (Thankfully I suppose.)
One of my questions for the concierge when we got back to the hotel hours later was "Do you have the death penalty?" I had never been really been supportive of its use until then.
Also, I would say, I'm not as supportive now as I was then, but at some level, shouldn't the punishment fit the crime? That's the underlying premise. It's not necessarily the deterrence of crime, but the balancing of justice (scales, etc). If you take a life, why should you keep yours? It's not just that the law has the authority to kill (and people don't), its that they are balancing the crime against the victim. (In some law codes this actually was the responsibility of a closest relative, Judiac - 'Avenger of Blood'.)
I'm all for trying to treat the root cause of the problem, as it is a better solution, but to lock someone up and throw away the key presents two issues to me.
1. The criminal still has life, and the victims do not. He can eat, sleep, and probably read and exercise. All of which are aspects of life I really enjoy. Why can he decide that the victims' lives can be erased when his will not be?
2. If your intent is to have him be as miserable as possible in prison for the rest of his life, it sounds like you wish upon him the intent of 'hell'. Hell doesn't exist, but the idea of locking someone up so they can be in torment for as long as possible is the premise. (Interestingly the connotation of word for 'torment' in the original language was related to that of a jailer.)
All that being said. I would say that I cannot judge Kato. I have neither the ability nor the desire to truly determine what he deserves. I cannot tell in his heart if he is truly repentant. I cannot decide if he deserves to die; ('Judge not, lest ye be judged'.) And ultimately I don't have to. Japan's government has the authority, and the law of Japan allows for the death penalty. I'm not going to get upset if he is put to death. I saw his crimes, but I also know, for me, that if it is the wrong decision, there is someone who can correct it. #crime
11/09/09
I am a big believer in pro choice. But on this subject I think it isn't something that can be clear cut like that. I have been close to people and had them taken away by murder and it is not something that you can explain. The idea that someone robbed someone you know of their life astounds you and it makes a deep change in your outlook. I would say that it is mostly revenge acting out. And while revenge is a big cause of murder not everyone acts on it. I would have to say that if I wanted the person that comited the crime to be killed for punishment I am as guilty as he. But not in the sense that I comitted the act but I had wanted the same result. Before I was in that situation I had always been on the fence about the subject. Afterward I was wanting him to be executed. But now I feel that people should be given a bit more time to reflect on their deeds.
I say that with caution though. I think there are always special conditions to decisions like this. If someone gets wrongly accused and charged for murder then get the death penalty there is no way to take that back after they flip the switch. It happens often. But in the case of serial murderers and rapists, cannibals and kidnappers, I think the death penalty should be withheld for those select. Not as an act of punishment but as a form of relief. the people that perform those acts are clinically insane and it would not do any good to keep them in a cage until the commit suicide. Release is not an option for those people.
It is a subject that people can spend days on end discussing but sadly it is a lengthy process to change and not enough people are willing to put the time forth.
@(Zombie) D Mitsuki, Gotta have guts kid!: I agree with you 100% on this. It is a perfect metaphor.
But the problem with that approach is when you take something as vast as death and categorize it into types then take the situations that constitute murder and accident and other profiles it becomes blurry. Something as complex as murder is not clean cut every time. In fact it very rarely is. Some people consider neglect murder. Some say that certain circumstances such as self defense and fear or insanity can make murder OK. But asking for murder to be stopped all together is a big task.
People have been killing since it all began. It would be a great world if it all stopped but assuming that it can actually happen is somewhat vain. If you were to ask all of humanity to come together as one and understand that murder gets us nowhere and the fact that it is a pointless act, while it is a hopeful accomplishment, it is near impossible. People comit more crime than ever and it starts small. From speeding and littering to piracy and theft. While it is the perfect answer to the problem there is no work to show proof.
Like in school when your math teacher made you show your work. It wasn't to make you do more work. It was to show you knew how to get to the end result. Anyone can go copy the answers but if you just have a question and an answer with no knowledge of how to traverse that gap, have you learned anything? #crime
11/09/09
But you know we can go on about this forever and the last one to post their comment on the irony of the previous poster's comment has the right to feel that, "I'm better" #crime
11/09/09
I wish not to partake in your senseless argument with others. It would serve no purpose. I just couldn't resist pointing out that delicious morsel.
You don't have to be combative and attack anyone who replies to you. #crime
11/09/09
If a person takes the life of another person, should the punishment to be taking their life? What have we accomplished? What has been done? Instead of one person dead, we have two people dead.
Make that persons life worth something, and worth the lives of the people he killed. Don't just simply write him off as a life for a life. Make his life improve the lives of others, let his life foster more life, but taking a life as a solution to taking a life is a absurd cycle that leaves only death. #crime
11/09/09
Let me just say it like this. If somebody were to, in cold blood, and the most vicious way murder my littlest brother, I would wish him death. I may even be tempted to stoop to his level and kill him, and the hate and rage I get from even thinking about is immense. But it's all empty. My brother is dead, and now he is dead, wheres the justice? Where's the opportunities my brother had, the chances he had, everything. It's all gone, and now so is the man. It's nothing but a pointless emptiness. Now, lets say this man isn't just killed, but instead is rehabilitated, and his whole life is devoted to helping the lives of others. At least now, my brothers life was not taken in vain, at least his death made something, it meant something. There is meaning, and while I will still never probably forgive this man, I can know my brothers death wasn't just some pointless occurrence that ended with "one less criminal in the world".
There are a multitude of ways we can get closer to achieving that. And while we aim for this perfect world that we will never have, that should never stop us from attempting to make it. #crime
01:03 AM
11/09/09
There are many other animals out there that I personally believe truly deserve to be erased form society, a fine example being the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs.
Google "3 guys 1 hammer" and prepare to lose all faith in humanity (and some nations' legal systems). #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
Living with remorse is a far harsher punishment than being killed for it. #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
He's had time to reflect, accept, and change... and everyone can change. Everyone. However, our penal system (USA, I won't speak for other countries) is set up very, very poorly for any true rehabilitation. It is society's burden to bear their incarceration costs until such time as they can serve a fair sentence because their crime is a reflection of society on them (especially so in the young).
The problem, as I see it, is that the sheer amount of societal problems these days has led to a crime-rate that is too high. This has lead to prison overcrowding and the revolving door effect, because the system is not working how it was intended.
Instead of these people who act violently getting the help and time they need to repent and change, they're being thrown into a vicious cycle of violence. So then, what? They've fucked up in life and we're actively failing them, so they need to be put down like animals? I'll hold myself to a higher standard than that, even if the rest of the world falls into such moral corruption as would allow it.
11/09/09
11/09/09
That video makes me angry. It gives me pure genuine rage. Not even just at the idiots who did it, but at everything. It makes you want to change something, it makes you want to DO something.
Humans are quick to seperate themselves from animals, but look at the atrocities only we can commit. If we aren't animals, we are far worse. #crime
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[www.techzonez.com] #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
Yeah, sounds absurd, but anything can happen when you die. We can control what happens here though, so lets keep him in the realm of the living, so we know what is happening to him for the actions he took. #crime
11/09/09
11/09/09
No really, I'm genuinely curious, because there have been a number of articles that aren't game-related at all. In fact, some are just casual emails between staffers about movies or kids or other everyday stuff. And I quite like it.
There's always the good ol' "If it doesn't interest you, don't read it!" argument, but surely you were aware of that. You just wanted to stir up a bit of excitement, you sly dog you! #crime
11/09/09
Wrong. This is actually related to both games and japan (the two themes of this blog!), as Akihabara is in Japan (gasp!) and is a major center for otaku (WTF!) activities like video games (O-M-G!).
Consider this a follow up, pretty sure Kotaku has posted news on this before. #crime
11/09/09
@Kicken: Except... It's just a killing that happened to occur in Akihabara? The district itself is well known for video games, yes, but it's not like it has a direct connection to vidya gaems. He didn't actually kill a bunch of dudes because Ninja Gaiden came out. I took a shit after playing Ballad of Gay Tony earlier, want me to write an article about it?
@Jehuty: I remember when it actually happened, so I'm not unfamiliar with the circumstances, dipshit. "In light of the tragic circumstances"? It happened a year ago and this is about one sentence in a letter he wrote to some guy. You have to admit this isn't newsworthy to begin with, let alone on a "game" blog. #crime
11/09/09
While I don't think your criticism is irrational, we have to remember that Kotaku is free. As readers we have the freedom to read what we want, and in turn the editors have the freedom to report on what they want. I'm sure Kotaku staff are open to constructive criticism but I'm thinking they'll probably tell you the same thing--if you don't like it, don't read it. It's a free country. #crime
11/09/09
There's always follow-ups. Even in the news.
Edit:
"God damn it! I know it's going to be sunny today! I've heard about it since last week in the 7 day forecast!"
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toaster - bathtub full of water... over and done with. #crime
11/09/09
11/06/09
P.S: Before somebody says, yeah. I have played a few isos on my PSP, but only to check them out, to see if they're worth getting. Sometimes you can't tell from a review.
11/07/09
Sorry but the lines of avg and tech people able to modify consoles (minus PS3) is pretty blurry since almost anyone can do it but for the people who pay for others to do it either are too cautious or believe that they can't do it.
Now I'm not saying everyone should do it (to mod it and frankly while I was guilty of it don't see a good reason to do so besides personal research and to NOT make a profit out of it) but the misnomer of thinking it's too hard or complicated doesn't cut it these days.
Congrats XB360 as your popularity is about to be the new PS2 of your era (for home console), with a big library of games and the easy use to mod it. #modernwarfare2
11/07/09
Last time I checked, you had to have a certain model of Xbox 360, and you needed certain special tools to flash/hack it.
I'd say, at the end of the day, it'll cost you quite a bit after you've brought all the things you need.
DVD Burner - £30/$40
Recordable DVD's - £20/$30
And the tools you need to flash the 360, and the different drives you need to install, plus the modchip makes the price quite high. Add in the fact that downloading 360 iso's takes a long time, and some people are too impatient to wait.
I know what you mean about average people being able to mod 360's now, but even then, they're still in the minority. #modernwarfare2
11/07/09
@PoweredByHentai: I just recently soft modded my PS2 so I can beat Ar Tonelico II by getting a patch for my US version (as in I own the original game) but the only way to play it is by modified PS2. I later got a Undubbed version which all the sounds were actually Dolby Digital when I found out that the US version didn't have a DD track (which they advertised). I can totally understand why you modded yours. It's true once you unlock your system, you have a certain responsibility to not to abuse it. #modernwarfare2
11/06/09