Regarding the Sept. 12 article "Life sentence upheld for fatal abuse of two kids": Just out of curiosity, how could the Hiroshima District Court rule that "there was no intent to murder because (Kenichi) Takao had confined the (6-year-old) boy in a plastic bag only to make him fear he would die"?

First, how do you "confine" someone to a plastic bag? Second, what kind of horrible person would put a child in a plastic bag "to make him fear he would die"? What other purpose could Takao have had for putting a child in a bag?

This whole thing is incomprehensible. It took two courts to convict this man of his crimes? And the mother pleaded "reduced mental competency"? Some people should not be parents; others should not sit on a judge's bench. Shame all around!

david chester