In Japan, the man who was on death row for the longest time in the world was acquitted — for almost half a century

A Japanese court acquitted an 88-year-old man who spent the longest time on death row in the world. The court found that the evidence used against him was fabricated.

The BBC writes about it.

We are talking about the Japanese Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for almost half a century. In 1968, he was found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife and their two teenage children.

The man was in prison until 2014, when the case was sent for a new trial due to suspicions that investigators could plant evidence of his guilt.

Human rights organization Amnesty International welcomed the courtʼs decision.

"We are very happy with the courtʼs decision to acquit Ivao Khakamada. After nearly half a century of illegal imprisonment and another 10 years of waiting for a retrial, this sentence is an important recognition of the profound injustice he suffered for most of his life. He concludes the inspired fight to clear his name, led by his sister Hideko and all those who supported him," the statement said.

What business is it about?

The murder took place in 1966 when Hakamada, a former boxer, was working at a miso processing plant. The bodies of his employer, the bossʼs wife and their two children were found after a fire in their home in the city of Shizuoka, west of Tokyo. All four were killed.

Authorities accused Hakamada of murdering the family, setting their house on fire and stealing 200 000 yen ($138 at current exchange rates) in cash.

Khakamada initially denied the charges, but later confessed. He then claimed that he did this through beatings and interrogations that lasted up to 12 hours a day.

In 1968, he was convicted of murder and arson and sentenced to death.

The main piece of evidence against Hakamada was bloodstained clothing found in the miso tank shortly after the bodies were found. For years, Hakamadaʼs lawyers argued that the DNA recovered from the clothing did not match Hakamadaʼs. The lawyers also suggested that the police may have fabricated the evidence.

Their arguments were enough to convince Judge Hiroaki Murayama, who noted in 2014 that "the clothes did not belong to the defendant." After that, Hakamada was released from prison and allowed to review the case.

A retrial did not begin until 2023, with a judge eventually concluding that key prosecution evidence had been fabricated.