Iwao Hakamada, an 89-year-old Japanese man who spent nearly 47 years in prison awaiting the death penalty, has been found not guilty and awarded monetary compensation, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.
A district court in Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture awarded him a record 217 million yen (about $1.44 million) cash payment.
According to journalists, Hakamada was arrested in 1966 on suspicion of robbing and killing his boss, his wife and two children. In 1968, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
Justice was restored thanks to the persistence of the convict’s sister, who appealed and sought a review of the case.
In the end, an expert examination, conducted only in 2014, found that the man’s DNA did not match the genetic material of the killer’s blood found at the scene of the crime. And the confession, according to Hakamada, was made under torture.
The court eventually found that investigators had fabricated evidence in Hakamada’s case.
It took several more years for Hakamada’s lawyers to prove that their client “suffered extreme mental and physical pain” while awaiting the death penalty, and to seek monetary compensation on that basis. According to the lawyers, 217 million yen is not enough to correct this injustice.
