SHIZOUKA, Japan: The world’s longest-serving death row prisoner was acquitted by a Japanese court on Thursday ( Sep 26 ), more than half a century after his 1968 murder conviction.
Iwao Hakamada, 88, was found not guilty in a lawsuit by the former wrestler and his followers a decade ago, according to the Shizuoka District Court.
” The court finds the defendant innocent”, determine Koshi Kunii said.
Hakamada’s wellness is fragile and he was not present in court, but his 91-year-old girlfriend Hideko, who usually speaks for him, bowed profoundly to Kunii many times.
Until he was freed in 2014 pending lawsuit, Hakamada had been on suicide column for 46 years after being convicted of killing his employer, the man’s wife and their two young children.
But over the years, queries arose over fabricated evidence and coerced statements, sparking investigation of Japan’s fairness program, which critics say holds suspects “hostage”.
In the morning, hundreds of people had waited at the Shizuoka District Court to get a chair so they could hear the verdict in the death trial that had gripped the country.
” For so much, we have fought a war that has felt endless”, Hideko had told reporters in July.
” But this time, I believe it will be settled”.