A Japanese court on Thursday ruled that an 88-year-old man was not guilty in a retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder, overturning an earlier verdict that made him the world’s longest serving prisoner.
Iwao Hakamada’s acquittal by the Shizuoka District Court makes him the fifth death row convict to be acquitted in Japan’s post-war judicial retrial. The case could reignite the debate over the abolition of the death penalty in Japan.
The judge in charge of the court, Koshi Kunii, said that the court accepts that there is a lot of evidence and that Hakamada is not guilty, said Hakamada’s lawyer.
After a full two-hour explanation of the decision that followed the capital sentence, the 91-year-old sister of Hideko Hakamada left the courtroom with a big smile, greeted by an explosion of joy and two large flowers to celebrate the verdict. his brother after a 58-year legal battle.
“Thank you very much for supporting us for such a long time,” he said.
Hakamada was convicted of murder for killing a company manager and three members of his family in 1966, and setting fire to their home in central Japan. He was sentenced to death in 1968, but was not convicted because of lengthy appeals and a retrial process in Japan’s slow justice system where prosecutors have a 99 percent conviction rate.
He spent 48 years in prison – more than 45 of which were on death row – making him the longest serving prisoner in the world, according to Amnesty International.
“Having endured almost 50 years of unlawful imprisonment and 10 years of waiting for his retrial, this verdict is a significant recognition of the injustice he endured throughout his life,” Amnesty said in a statement.
Struggling to adjust to life outside of prison
It took 27 years for the high court to deny his first request for a retrial. His second request for a retrial was filed in 2008 by his sister. Hakamada was released from prison in 2014 when a court ordered a retrial based on evidence that his conviction was based on false accusations by investigators.
He was allowed to await the retrial at home because his poor health and age made him a low risk of flight.
“I have nothing to do with this case — I am innocent,” he wrote in a letter to his mother during the 1967 trial. He apologized for bothering family and relatives, but expressed confidence in proving his innocence.
Supporters say Hakamada’s nearly half-century in prison took a toll on his mental health. In the first two months after Hakamada’s release, he kept wandering around the apartment, without even trying to go outside, his sister said. Most of his 48 years in prison he was in solitary confinement, in fear of being killed.
One day, Hakamada’s sister asked him to help her with groceries so he would agree to leave the house. Going for a walk became his daily routine, although today he has no strength and goes out in a car, helped by his supporters.
In the final hearing at the Shizuoka court in May before Thursday’s verdict, prosecutors again sought the death penalty, prompting criticism from rights groups as prosecutors tried to extend the case.
The high hurdles to trial have also prompted legal experts to call for an overhaul of the system.
During the investigation that followed his arrest, Hakamada first denied it, then admitted it. Later he said he was forced to confess to the crime and was interrogated by the police for days.
The judge rejects the blood evidence
The main point of contention were five bloody pieces of clothing that investigators say Hakamada wore during the crime and hid in a tank of fermented soybeans, or miso. These clothes were found more than a year after he was incarcerated.
A decision by the Tokyo High Court in 2023 accepted a scientific test that clothes soaked in miso for more than a year turned too dark for blood spots to be seen, indicating that it could be done by investigators.
Defense attorneys and earlier rulings in the trial said blood samples did not match Hakamada’s DNA, and the pants prosecutors submitted as evidence were too small for Hakamada and did not fit when he tried them on.
On Thursday, a Shizuoka district court judge ruled that clothes soaked in miso for more than a year would never show blood-red stains, agreeing with tests brought by defense lawyers and calling it an “inhumane investigation” that led to a forced confession.
Hakamada is said to have worked in production after his career as a professional boxer ended in 1961.
Japan and the United States are the only two countries among the G7 countries that retain the death penalty. A study conducted by the Japanese government showed that most of the people killed were supported by the public.
The executions were carried out in secret in Japan and the prisoners were not informed of their fate until the morning of the hanging.