Official statements, major news outlets like NHK

Japanese Court Acquits Iwao Hakamada in 1966 Murder Case

Sep 26, 2024, 05:34 AM

In a landmark decision, the Shizuoka District Court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, an 88-year-old former professional boxer, in a retrial for the 1966 quadruple murder of a family of four in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hakamada, who has been on death row for over 50 years, was previously sentenced to death for the crime in 1968. The court ruled that investigators had fabricated evidence against him, leading to his wrongful conviction. This ruling makes Hakamada the world's longest-serving death row inmate to be acquitted. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Hakamada spent 46 years on death row.