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4w ago

Japan Awards Record $1.4 Million to Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate

Iwao Hakamada, exonerated after nearly 50 years on death row, receives historic compensation as calls for legal reform grow.

This photo taken on September 29, 2024 shows Iwao Hakamada (C) entering the venue during a judgement report session held by supporters in the city of Shizuoka, Shizuoka prefecture, two days after he was acquitted, more than half a century after his murder conviction, when a Japanese court ruled that evidence had been fabricated. Hakamada, now 88 years old, spent 46 years on death row after being convicted in 1968 of robbing and killing his boss, the man's wife and their two teenage children.
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This photo taken in September 2024 shows Iwao Hakamada (L) speaking as his 91-year-old sister Hideko holds the microphone
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Overview

  • Iwao Hakamada, 89, spent 46 years in detention, most of it on death row, after a wrongful conviction for a 1966 quadruple murder.
  • The Shizuoka District Court awarded him $1.4 million in compensation, the largest criminal compensation in Japan's history.
  • Hakamada's conviction was overturned in 2024 after the court found police had tampered with evidence and coerced his confession.
  • Decades of solitary confinement and the constant threat of execution severely impacted Hakamada's mental health, described by his lawyers as 'living in a world of fantasy.'
  • His case highlights systemic flaws in Japan's justice system, including coerced confessions and a 99% conviction rate, renewing debates over capital punishment and legal reforms.