Waited for Execution for 46 Years… Acquittal of a Japanese Man Who Spent Half His Life in Prison

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A Japanese court has acquitted a man who spent nearly half a century awaiting execution for multiple murders, in a trial that garnered significant attention and raised questions about Japan’s use of the death penalty, according to The Guardian.

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Iwao Hakamada, now 88 years old, was sentenced to death by hanging in 1968 after being convicted of murdering his employer, the employer’s wife, and their two teenage children, and setting their house on fire in 1966.

The former professional boxer spent 46 years on death row, believed to be the longest time anyone has ever spent awaiting execution worldwide. He was released in 2014 when new evidence emerged, leading to a retrial order.

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Hakamada has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that investigators forced him to confess, while his lawyers alleged that the police had fabricated evidence.

No immediate decision was made on whether prosecutors would appeal the verdict, as reported by Kyodo News and other Japanese media outlets.

Hakamada’s defense attorneys urged prosecutors not to appeal, given his advanced age, now 88 years old.

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Shizuoka District Court’s chief judge, Koichi Kuni, acknowledged that three pieces of evidence had been fabricated, including Hakamada’s “confession” and the clothes prosecutors claimed he was wearing at the time of the murders.

His 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, who tirelessly fought for his release, told reporters before Thursday’s verdict, “We have fought a long battle that seemed endless, but this time, I believe it will be resolved.”

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Prosecutors had again sought the death penalty, but legal experts emphasized Hakamada’s acquittal, referencing four other post-World War II cases in Japan where death row inmates had their convictions overturned.

Hakamada, whose physical and mental health deteriorated during his long imprisonment, was not present at Thursday’s ruling, with his sister representing him during the retrial.

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It is worth noting that the court’s decision relied on the reliability of the bloodstained clothes prosecutors claimed Hakamada wore at the time of the crime at a miso factory in central Japan where he worked and resided.

When the retrial was ordered in March 2023 after years of legal wrangling, Tokyo’s High Court stated there was a strong possibility that investigators had planted the clothes in a miso locker. Defense lawyers revealed that DNA tests on the clothing showed the blood did not belong to Hakamada.