Japanese Man Acquitted After Over 45 Years on Death Row
A Japanese court found an 88-year-old former boxer not guilty on September 26 after a retrial for a 1966 murder case, reversing a decision that made him the world's longest-serving death row prisoner.
The Shizuoka District Court found that evidence was fabricated and planted by investigators and that Iwao Hakamada was not guilty, his lawyer Hideyo Ogawa said. Ogawa has asked prosecutors not to appeal the acquittal, but was told they have not yet decided what to do.
The defense team is also considering filing a lawsuit against the government, in part to learn more about the troubled investigation. Hakamada could be entitled to seek compensation.
Hakamada spent 48 years behind bars — more than 45 of them on death row. The years spent in prison have taken a heavy toll on his mental health and he was not able to attend the latest hearing himself.
After the ruling was read out, his 91-year-old sister Hideko Hakamada left the courthouse and was welcomed by cheers from supporters celebrating the acquittal after a 58-year legal battle. She said she could not stop crying with joy when she heard the ruling.
Hakamada was convicted of murder in the 1966 killing of an executive and three of his family members, and setting fire to their home in central Japan. Following his arrest, Hakamada at first denied the accusations, but then confessed. He later said his confession was forced during a violent interrogation by police.
He was sentenced to death in 1968, but was not executed due to the lengthy appeal and retrial process in Japan's slow-paced criminal justice system.
In 2014, he was released from prison and allowed to wait at home for retrial after a court ruled there was evidence he was wrongly accused. But continued legal proceedings meant the retrial didn't begin until last year.
After the acquittal, Japan Bar Association Chairperson Reiko Fuchigami called for an end to the death penalty and the reduction of obstacles for retrials.
"The Hakamada case clearly shows the cruelty of the wrongful death penalty, and the tragedy should never be repeated," she said.
However, a Japanese government survey has shown an overwhelming majority of the public support the death penalty.
