Iwao Hakamata: The world's longest-serving death row inmate has been exonerated

Tokyo
CNN
—

A pair of blood-spattered pants in a miso tank top and an allegedly forced confession helped land Iwao Hakamata on death row in the 1960s.

Now, more than five decades later, the world's longest-serving death row prisoner has had his name cleared, according to public broadcaster NHK.

A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted 88-year-old Hakamata, who was wrongly sentenced to death in 1968 for murdering a family. This marked the end of a marathon legal saga that has placed Japan's criminal justice system under global scrutiny and fueled calls for the abolition of the death penalty in the country.

Judge Kunii Tsuneishi of the Shizuoka District Court ruled that the bloodstained clothing used to convict Hakamata was planted long after the murders. NHK reported.

“The court cannot accept the fact that the blood stain would remain reddish if it had been soaked in miso for more than a year. “The bloodstains were processed and hidden in the tank by investigative authorities after a significant period of time since the incident,” Tsuneishi said.

“Mr. Hakamata cannot be considered a criminal.”

Hakamata, once a professional boxer, retired in 1961 and got a job at a soybean processing plant in Shizuoka, central Japan – a decision that would shape the rest of his life.

When Hakamata's boss, his boss's wife and their two children were found stabbed to death in their home in June five years later, Hakamata, then a divorcee who also worked in a bar, became the police's prime suspect.

After days of relentless questioning, Hakamata initially admitted the allegations against him, but later changed his plea, arguing that police forced him to confess by beating and threatening him.

He was sentenced to death by judges in a 2-1 decision despite repeatedly claiming that police had falsified evidence. The sole dissenting judge resigned six months later, demoralized by his failure to prevent the conviction.

Hakamata, who has maintained his innocence ever since, spent more than half his life waiting to be hanged before new evidence led to his release a decade ago.

After a DNA test of the blood found on the pants failed to match Hakamata or the victims, the Shizuoka District Court ordered a retrial in 2014. Due to his age and fragile mental health, Hakamata was released while he awaited his day in court.

The Tokyo High Court initially rejected the request for a retrial for unknown reasons, but in 2023, following an order from the Supreme Court of Japan, it agreed to give Hakamata a second chance.

According to the Justice Ministry website, retrials are rare in Japan, where 99% of cases result in convictions.

Hideko, Hakamata's 91-year-old sister, said she “couldn't stop crying and the tears overflowed” when she heard the verdict.

“When the judge said the defendant was innocent, it sounded divine to me,” said Hideko, who has advocated for Hakamata’s innocence for more than half her life.

Hideyo Ogawa, Hakamata's lawyer, called the verdict “groundbreaking,” adding: “58 years was too long.”

Although his supporters cheered Hakamata's acquittal, the good news is unlikely to reach the man himself.

After decades in prison, Hakamata's mental health has deteriorated and he “lives in his own world,” said Hideko, who has long advocated for his innocence.

Hakamata rarely speaks and shows no interest in other people, Hideko told CNN.

“Sometimes he smiles happily, but then he's in his delusion,” Hideko said. “We didn’t even discuss the process with Iwao because he couldn’t see the reality.”

But in Hakamata's case, it was always about more than one man.

It has raised questions about whether Japan relies on confessions to secure convictions. And some say this is one of the reasons the country should abolish the death penalty.

“I am against the death penalty,” Hideko said. “Convicts are people too.”

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Japan is the only G7 country outside the United States that retains the death penalty, although it has not carried out any executions in 2023.

Hiroshi Ichikawa, a former prosecutor who was not involved in Hakamata's case, said that in the past, Japanese prosecutors were encouraged to obtain confessions before looking for supporting evidence, even if that meant threatening or manipulating defendants to get them to admit guilt.

The emphasis on confessions allows Japan to maintain such a high conviction rate, Ichikawa said, in a country where an acquittal can severely damage a prosecutor's career.

Hakamata was held behind bars for 46 years after being convicted because of the stained clothing and the confession he and his lawyers made under duress.

Ogawa, Hakamata's lawyer, told CNN that Hakamata was physically restrained and interrogated for more than 12 hours a day for 23 days without a defense attorney present.

“The Japanese justice system, especially at that time, was a system that allowed investigative authorities to exploit their insidiousness to commit illegal or investigative crimes,” Ogawa said.

Chiara Sangiorgio, death penalty adviser at Amnesty International, said Hakamata's case was “emblematic of the many problems with the criminal justice system in Japan.”

In Japan, death row inmates are typically kept in solitary confinement and have limited contact with the outside world, Sangiorgio said.

Executions are subject to “secrecy,” there is little to no warning, and families and attorneys are typically not notified until after the execution has taken place.

Hakamata has spent most of his life behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

Yet despite his poor mental health, Hakamata has been able to enjoy some of the small joys that come with a life of freedom over the past decade.

He adopted two cats in February. “Iwao started paying attention to the cats, worrying about them and caring for them, which was a big change,” Hideko said.

After the verdict was announced, the judge appeared to emotionally apologize to Hideko, NHK reported.

“The court very much regrets that it took so long.”

Hideko wiped her tears with a tissue.

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that Hakamata was acquitted and exonerated by the court and not found innocent.