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Japan acquits man who spent half a century on death row
26.09.2024 12:30
In Japan, 88-year-old former professional boxer Iwao Hakamata has been acquitted.
He is known for holding the record for the longest time spent on death row.
He had been there for the last half century, or 46 years to be exact. He was arrested in 1966 on charges of robbing and murdering his boss, his wife and two children.
Statement of Torture
Recently, the Shizuoka District Court acquitted the man following a retrial.
The eventwas reported by MIA "Russia Today" with reference to the local agency "Kyodo".
As for the arrest in 1966, then, after 20 days of interrogation, the man confessed to the crimes he was accused of.
However, at the trial, Khakamat stated that he had given his confession under torture.
The defense insisted that the evidence in the case was fabricated.
This did not convince the court: in 1968, the accused was sentenced to death, but it was not until 1980 that the verdict was finalized.
Record
In 2011, a Japanese man was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the person who spent the longest time on death row.
Three years later, it was determined that Hakamata's DNA did not match the DNA obtained from the genetic material in the blood found at the murder scene.
The man was then released. But last year, Japan's Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions to hold a retrial.
And so, following the results of this hearing, the citizen who had spent half a century on death row was finally acquitted.
By the way, Khakamat was not present at the court hearing due to his health condition. His interests were represented by his sister.
