In Japan, the world’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted

Iwao Hakamata, a Japanese man who spent 45 years on death row for the 1966 murders of four people, was cleared of all charges in a retrial. He was originally convicted based on a confession that he later retracted, and was sentenced to death in 1968. After spending decades behind bars, doubts about the evidence led to a retrial in 2014. Hakamata’s sister, Hideko Hakamata, expressed relief and joy at the verdict, thanking everyone involved in the case. The judge’s declaration of “not guilty” was described as divine by her. Hakamata’s lawyers had argued that DNA tests showed the blood found on clothing at the crime scene was not his. The exoneration was praised by Amnesty International as a pivotal moment for justice and a recognition of the profound injustice Hakamata endured. The organization called for Japan to abolish the death penalty in light of this case. Hakamata, now 88, has been living with his sister since his release in 2014. His lead lawyer, Hideyo Ogawa, expressed gratitude for the verdict and praised it as groundbreaking. This case marks the end of a long and emotional battle to clear his name and seek justice for the wrongful conviction that kept him on death row for most of his life.

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