World's longest-serving death row inmate, 88, is acquitted 56 years after he was sentenced to be hanged for murder

Thursday, September 26, 2024 - The world's longest-serving death row prisoner has been acquitted by a Japanese court, more than half a century after his 1968 murder conviction.

The Shizuoka District Court ruled on Thursday, September 26, that 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada was not guilty in a retrial obtained by the former boxer and his supporters a decade ago.

'The court finds the defendant innocent,' judge Koshi Kunii said.

Hakamada was sentenced to hang in 1968 after being found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife and their two teenage children, and setting fire to their home two years earlier.

The former professional boxer spent 46 years on death row – believed to be the longest time spent on death row of any prisoner worldwide, until he was freed in 2014 when new evidence emerged and a retrial was ordered.

Hakamada has consistently protested his innocence and said investigators forced him to confess, while his lawyers alleged police had fabricated evidence.

There was no immediate decision on whether prosecutors would appeal against the verdict, which was reported by Kyodo news agency and other Japanese media outlets. Hakamada’s defence lawyers have urged prosecutors not to challenge the ruling, given his age.

The presiding judge at Shizuoka district court, Koshi Kunii, acknowledged that three pieces of evidence had been fabricated, including Hakamada’s “confession” and items of clothing that prosecutors claimed he had been wearing at the time of the murders.

“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”.

It said: “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.”

Hakamada’s 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, who has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of her brother, told reporters before Thursday’s verdict: “For so long we have fought a battle that has felt endless. But this time, I believe it will be settled.”

Hakamada initially denied robbing and fatally stabbing the victims but confessed after what he later described as a brutal police interrogation that included physical abuse.

Campaigners said his ordeal had exposed flaws in Japan’s criminal justice system and the cruelty of capital punishment.

“We are overjoyed by the court’s decision to exonerate Iwao Hakamada,” said Boram Jang, an east Asia researcher at Amnesty International.

“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.”