A Japanese court has acquitted an 88-year old man, Iwao Hakamada, who has been on death row for 56-years after he was convicted for murder in 1968.
Iwao Hakamada is the world’s longest-serving death row inmate.
On Thursday September 26, a Shizuoka District Court acquitted Iwao who was a former boxer of murder charge. His supporters had, in 2014, obtained a retrial on the ground they were not convinced of the earlier judgment that convicted him.
In 1968, Hakamada was charged for murdering his boss, wife and their two children in a fire incident he set up in their house in 1966.
He was found guilty of the offence, sentenced to death by hanging and ended up spending 46 years waiting to be executed.
However, in 2014, new evidence emerged prompting his supporters to request for a retrial after his lawyers accused the police of fabricating evidence which was used to convict him.
The defence lawyers were able to convince the Presiding judge, Koshi Kunii, that Hakamada was forced by the police to confess to the crime, and that the cloth he allegedly wore on the day of the incident was tampered with.
“Investigators tampered with clothes by getting blood on them,” the ruling said, and criticised the use of “inhumane interrogations meant to force a statement by imposing mental and physical pain”.
“The prosecution’s records were obtained by effectively infringing on the defendant’s right to remain silent, under circumstances extremely likely to elicit a false confession.”
The judge further said Hakamada initially denied committing the crime but later confessed after ‘a brutal police interrogation that included physical abuse.’
His release was however delayed after the prosecution delayed in deciding whether to appeal the latest ruling or not, with his lawyers urging prosecutors not to challenge the ruling citing Hakamada’s old age.
Reacting to his release, an east Asia researcher at Amnesty International, Boram Jang expressed delight at the court’s decision.
“After enduring almost half a century of wrongful imprisonment and a further 10 years waiting for his retrial, this verdict is an important recognition of the profound injustice he endured for most of his life. It ends an inspiring fight to clear his name by his sister Hideko and all those who supported him.
“As we celebrate this long overdue day of justice for Hakamada, we are reminded of the irreversible harm caused by the death penalty. We strongly urge Japan to abolish the death penalty to prevent this from happening again.”
