Japan: the oldest death row inmate in the world will be entitled to a new trial

A Japanese court on Monday ordered a review of the trial of an 87-year-old man believed to be the world's longest-serving death row inmate, nearly 60 years after he was convicted of murder

Japan: the oldest death row inmate in the world will be entitled to a new trial

A Japanese court on Monday ordered a review of the trial of an 87-year-old man believed to be the world's longest-serving death row inmate, nearly 60 years after he was convicted of murder.

Iwao Hakamada's lawyers walked out of the Tokyo High Court on Monday after a short hearing, waving banners demanding a new trial, while his supporters shouted: "Free Hakamada, now."

"I have waited 57 years for this day and it has come," said Hideko Hakamada, Hakamada's sister and main supporter.

"It's a weight that has finally been lifted off my shoulders," added Ms Hakamada, 90.

His brother spent more than four decades on death row after he was sentenced to death in 1968 for the quadruple murder of his boss and three of his family members.

Mr. Hakamada had confessed to the crime after weeks of interrogations in detention, before recanting. He has since maintained his innocence, but the sentence was confirmed in 1980.

The former boxer was released in 2014 after a court admitted doubts about his guilt based on DNA tests and decided to offer him a new trial.

But in 2018, a new twist: on appeal from the prosecution, the Tokyo High Court questioned the reliability of DNA tests and canceled the 2014 decision, without Mr. Hakamada being sent back to prison.

The Japanese Supreme Court then overturned the decision at the end of 2020 which prevented Mr. Hakamada from being tried again in an attempt to obtain his acquittal, news that his sister Hideko then welcomed as a "Christmas present".

The prosecution case relied heavily on bloodied clothing, which emerged more than a year after the crime. But the DNA found on these clothes was not that of Mr. Hakamada.

Furthermore, according to Mr. Hakamada's supporters, these clothes did not fit him and the bloodstains were too recent to be linked to the murders.

"There is no evidence other than the clothing to identify Mr. Hakamada as the perpetrator of the crime, and it is clear that there is a reasonable doubt" of his guilt, the president of the ministry said on Monday. the Tokyo High Court, Fumio Daizen, quoted by the public television channel NHK.

Japan is, with the United States, one of the last industrialized and democratic countries to still resort to the death penalty, to which the Japanese public opinion is largely favourable.

Those close to Mr. Hakamada highlight the psychological scars left on him by more than four decades in a cell, fearing his execution by hanging every day.

His sister Hideko explained Monday during a press conference that she never mentioned the trials with her brother. "I'm just telling him to take comfort, because we got a good decision," she said.

"I just need to make sure I can see the new trial begin."

The process, however, could take several years if a special appeal is filed, a system that lawyers are protesting against.

The Japan Bar Association welcomed Monday's decision, "urging prosecutors to initiate proceedings for a retrial without appealing to the Supreme Court."

Amnesty International hailed Monday's decision as a "long overdue opportunity to deliver justice".

"Mr. Hakamada's conviction was based on confessions obtained by force and the other evidence against him raises serious doubts," said Hideaki Nakagawa, director of the Japanese branch of this NGO.

13/03/2023 10:54:24 -         Tokyo (AFP)  -         © 2023 AFP