Norio Nagayama

Born June 27, 1949 in Hokkaido. Died August 1, 1997. Nagayama was sentenced to death for four murders he committed in 1968/1969. While on death row he became an acclaimed novelist and poet, winning the Shin Nihon Bungaku prize in 1983. His case was a cause celebre for many radicals and intellectuals in Japan.