Man exonerated after 46 years in prison thanks to this unexpected discovery

Sentenced to death for a quadruple murder in 1968, Iwao Hakamada was exonerated this Thursday, September 26, 2024, after spending nearly half a century in prison awaiting execution.

Sentenced to death in 1968 and exonerated on Thursday, September 26, 2024: this is the story of Iwao Hakamada. The man, now 88, learned of the decision at his home, not far from the Shizuoka court in Japan, which was ruling on this retrial. The verdict is a relief for Iwao Hakamada and his family, but it does not take away from the years spent being considered guilty and the half-century that the Japanese man spent in prison.

This incredible case began in 1966 when Iwao Hakama, a former boxer turned employee in a miso manufacturing company, was accused of murdering his boss and three members of his family. Prosecuted by the courts, the man who was then 32 years old was sentenced to death in 1968. He then spent 46 years behind bars awaiting execution until until in 2014 the courts cast doubt on his guilt after DNA tests were carried out. These tests indicated that the DNA found on the bloody clothes included in the evidence did not match that of Iwao Hakamada. The former boxer was released the same year for a new trial.

Doubts about the Japanese man's guilt were swept away in 2018 by the Japanese High Court, which questioned the reliability of the 2014 DNA tests and overturned the new judgment replacing the guilty label on Iwao Hakamada's forehead. A decision overturned by the Japanese Supreme Court in 2020, which allowed a review trial to be held on the quadruple murder case, the verdict of which was delivered this Thursday, September 26.

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A confession and a retraction

“The court found that three pieces of evidence were fabricated to suggest that the accused was the perpetrator of the crime. Excluding these pieces of evidence, the other incriminating evidence is not sufficient to establish that he is the perpetrator,” the judge concluded. The same person specified that “the investigators altered the clothes by putting blood on them”. Since this evidence could no longer be taken into account, only Iwao Hakamada's confession could still be considered as proof of his guilt. During the investigation of the case, the Japanese had actually admitted to being the perpetrator of the crimes before retracting, explaining that he had given in under the interrogation methods so that they stop. The judge returned to this point on Thursday by referring to “inhumane” interrogation methods that were supposedly intended to inflict “physical and mental pain” and to “force [the suspect] to make statements.” Iwao Hakamada's lawyers have consistently supported this theory during the various trials.

Innocent&eacute by the courts, Iwao Hakamada appeared before the media with his relatives after the verdict was announced. But while there is reason to rejoice for the man and his family, the psychological after-effects of the 46 years spent on death row continue to weigh on the Japanese. In the Land of the Rising Sun, those sentenced to death are incarcerated in a 5 m² cell élit&ée;and constantly monitored and deprived of all contact with the outside world.

While the court decision was welcomed by Iwao Hakamada's supporters, the specter of an appeal trial still hangs over the former death row inmate. A possibility that the family and supporters of the Japanese man dread and against which they intend to fight if necessary.