Innocent spent 46 of his 88 years in prison: he was on the verge of being executed

A man in Japan was acquitted at the age of 88 after spending 46 of them in prison, sentenced to capital punishment for murder. He is the convict who has spent the longest time on so-called death row. His sister assures that it has, naturally, been a very long wait.

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Iwao Hakamada had been sent to the oblivion of a cell, with the threat of execution, by the alleged murder of his boss, his wife and his two children.

Hakamada was a boxer and spent 46 of his 88 years of life in the death row.

Due to his advanced age, Hakamada did not go to the Shizuoka District Court, where The ruling was announced in which he was declared innocent. Representing him was his sister Hideko Hakamada.

“We have won acquittal, all thanks to your support. Thank you for so much time. Thank you all very much,” said Hideko.

Indicted in 1966, Hakamada initially acknowledged the murders, but later recanted and claimed that his confession was forced by brutal interrogations.

But in 2014, a court admitted doubts about the sentence. His lawyers also argued that Some evidence used in the trial, such as bloody clothing found a year later, was fabricated by the police or investigators. and the DNA found did not correspond to the accused.

What did Hakamada’s lawyer say after his client’s acquittal?

“The court clearly said that this important evidence had been fabricated, so now Prosecutors no longer have any means to prove the conviction. The court also said that other evidence presented is not strong enough to prove that Mr. Hakamada was the criminal, so it does not have much validity,” argued Hideyo Ogawa, Hakamada’s lawyer.

The case has become a symbol for supporters of eliminating the death penalty in Japan, a practice that has broad support in society and that political leaders do not seem to have any intention of abolishing.

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