Today, the court in Japan declared the 88-year-old former boxer innocent at the retrial for the quadruple murder in 1966 and annulled the decision by which he was sentenced to death.
Shizuoka District Court's acquittal of Iwao Hakamada, who was the longest-serving death row inmate, makes him the fifth such inmate to be acquitted in a retrial since World War II in Japan, where prosecutors have more than a 99 percent conviction rate. convictions.
The case could reignite the debate on the abolition of the death penalty in Japan.
The court found that the investigators' evidence was fabricated and planted against Hakamada, who is not guilty, said his lawyer Hidejo Ogawa.
After the verdict and explanation were read, his 91-year-old sister Hideko Hakamada left the courthouse with a broad smile, greeted with cheers and two large bouquets of flowers to celebrate her brother's acquittal after decades of legal battle.
"Thank you everyone, we got an acquittal. When I heard the verdict, it was almost divine. I was so touched and I couldn't stop crying from joy," she said at a televised press conference.
Hakamada was convicted in 1966 of murdering a family of four and setting fire to their house in central Japan.
He was sentenced to death in 1968 but was not executed due to a lengthy appeals and retrial process in Japan's slow criminal justice system.
He spent 48 years behind bars, making him the longest-serving death row inmate in the world, according to Amnesty International.
Ogawa's lawyer said he asked prosecutors not to appeal the verdict if possible, but was told they had not yet decided what to do.
The lawyer also said the defense team is considering filing a lawsuit against the state, in part to learn more about the troubled original investigation.
If prosecutors do not appeal and the acquittal becomes final, Hakamada would be entitled to seek damages.
It took the High Court 27 years to reject his first appeal for a retrial.
His second appeal for a retrial was filed in 2008 by his sister.
That request was granted in 2014, when the court concluded that there was evidence to suggest that Hakamada had been falsely accused.
He was not acquitted, but was released from prison and allowed to await the retrial at home because he is not a risk of escape due to his poor health and age.
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