Sadamichi Hirasawa

Sadamichi Hirasawa (平沢 貞通, Hirasawa Sadamichi, February 18, 1892 – May 10, 1987) was a Japanese tempera painter. He was convicted of mass poisoning and sentenced to death, though he is suspected to have been falsely charged and no justice minister signed his death warrant. On January 26, 1948 a man calling himself an epidemiologist arrived in a branch of the Teikoku Bank (aka Teigin) at Shiinamachi, suburb of Toshima, Tokyo, before closing time. He explained that he was a public health official sent by US occupation authorities who had orders to inoculate the staff against a sudden outbreak of dysentery. He gave all sixteen people present a pill and a few drops of liquid. Those present drank the liquid he gave, which was a cyanide...