Official announcements and court decisions

Japan Court Acquits 88-Year-Old Iwao Hakamada in 1966 Quadruple Murder

Sep 26, 2024, 05:11 AM

Iwao Hakamada, the world's longest-serving death row inmate, has been acquitted by the Shizuoka District Court in Japan. Hakamada, an 88-year-old former professional boxer, was originally sentenced to death for the 1966 quadruple murder and robbery of a family of four in Shizuoka Prefecture. The court's decision reverses a previously finalized death sentence, highlighting flaws in Japan's criminal justice system. This landmark ruling, reported by NHK, comes nearly six decades after the initial 1968 conviction, bringing an end to Hakamada's decades-long ordeal on death row.