Japan: ‘Record’ payout for world’s longest-serving death row inmate

A Japanese man who spent nearly 50 years on death row before being found innocent of murder will receive$ 217 million yen ($ 1.45 million ), according to his attorneys, which is the largest-ever settlement in a criminal case.

Iwao Hakamata, 89, was found guilty in 1968 of killing his boss, his boss’s wife and their two children, but was acquitted last year after a retrial.

Mr. Hakamata’s attorneys had argued that the 47 times in confinement, which made him the longest-serving death row inmate in the world, had had a burden on his mental health.

Judge Kunii Koshi acknowledged on Monday that he had experienced “extremely extreme” mental and physical problems.

According to local media reports, the Chinese government will pay Mr. Hakamata’s financial payment, which is the largest sum in the country’s story.

One of Japan’s longest and most well-known legitimate legends is Mr. Hakamata’s event.

In response to accusations that authorities may have planted data that led to his conviction, he was given a unique ruling and released from prison in 2014.

In Shizuoka, a town on Japan’s west coast, hundreds of people gathered last September to hear the indictment, to the applause of “banzai” or “hurray” in Chinese.

But, Mr. Hakamata was unable to attend the reading. Due to his deteriorating mental condition, he was exempt from all subsequent sessions.

Since being given a retrial and released from prison in 2014, he had resided with his 91-year-old girl Hideko. Hideko and her brother Hideko had engaged in decades-long battles to save his title.

When Mr. Hakamata’s body was discovered in a fire at his boss’s home in Shizuoka, north of Tokyo, in 1966, he was employed at a mud processing plant. His manager, his boss ‘ wife, and their two children were also found dead. All four of the victims had been fatally stabbed.

Authorities claimed Mr. Hakamata murdered the community, allegedly set their home on fire, and robbed 200, 000 yen in cash.

Following whippings and interrogations lasting up to 12 hours a day, Mr. Hakamata initially denied doing this, but eventually admitted to doing it in what he later described as a coerced statement.

He was given the death penalty in 1968.

The defenses of Mr. Hakamata’s attorneys have been fighting for years that the DNA from the victims ‘ clothes did not match his, and that the evidence was planted.

Although he was given a second trial in 2014, it took until past October for the second trial to start due to the length of the legal proceedings.

The lawsuit and the allegations of forced confessions have all raised questions about Japan’s fairness program.

Chika Nakayama, Gavin Butler, and Shaimaa Khalil provided further monitoring.