A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted Iwao Hakamada, the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner, closing a nearly six decades-long chapter.
After spending nearly half a century in solitary confinement, Hakamada was finally declared innocent of the 1968 murders that led to his conviction.
At 88, the former professional boxer was not present in the courtroom due to fragile health, but his 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, stood in his place, bowing deeply to the judge as the verdict was read. “The court finds the defendant innocent,” declared Judge Koshi Kunii at the Shizuoka District Court, according to AFP.
Once a professional boxer, Hakamata retired in 1961 and got a job at a soybean processing plant in Shizuoka, central Japan – a choice that would mar the rest of his life.
When Hakamata’s boss, his boss’s wife, and their two children were found stabbed to death in their home in June five years later, Hakamata, then a divorcée who also worked at a bar, became the police’s prime suspect.
After days of relentless questioning, Hakamata initially admitted to the charges against him, but later changed his plea, arguing police had forced him to confess by beating and threatening him.
READ ALSO: Ivorian President pardons 51 prisoners
He was sentenced to death in a 2-1 decision by judges, despite repeatedly alleging that the police had fabricated evidence. The one dissenting judge stepped down from the bar six months later, demoralized by his inability to stop the sentencing.
Hakamata, who has maintained his innocence ever since, would go on to spend more than half his life waiting to be hanged before new evidence led to his release a decade ago.
After a DNA test on blood found on the trousers disclosed no match to Hakamata or the victims, the Shizuoka District Court ordered a retrial in 2014. Because of his age and fragile mental state, Hakamata was released as he awaited his day in court.
The Tokyo High Court initially scrapped the request for a retrial for unknown reasons, but in 2023 agreed to grant Hakamata a second chance on an order from Japan’s Supreme Court.
Retrials are rare in Japan, where 99% of cases result in convictions, according to the Ministry of Justice website.
Credible News.ng
