Sentenced to death for a quadruple murder in 1968, Iwao Hakamada was exonerated this Thursday, September 26, 2024 after spending nearly half a century in prison awaiting his execution.
Sentenced to death in 1968 and exonerated on Thursday, September 26, 2024: this is the story of Iwao Hakamada. The man, now 88, learned of the decision at his home, not far from the Shizuoka court in Japan, which was ruling on this retrial. The verdict is a relief for Iwao Hakamada and his loved ones, but it does not take away from the years spent being considered guilty and the half-century that the Japanese man spent in prison.
This incredible case began in 1966 when Iwao Hakama, a former boxer who had become an employee in a miso manufacturing company, was accused of murdering his boss and three members of his family. Prosecuted by the courts, the man, then aged 32, was sentenced to death in 1968. He then spent 46 years behind bars awaiting execution until, in 2014, the courts cast doubt on his guilt after DNA tests were carried out. The tests indicated that the DNA found on bloody clothing included in the evidence did not match that of Iwao Hakamada. The former boxer was released the same year with a view to a new trial.
Doubts about the Japanese man’s guilt were swept away in 2018 by the Japanese High Court, which questioned the reliability of the 2014 DNA tests and overturned the new judgment replacing the guilty label on Iwao Hakamada’s forehead. A decision overturned by the Japanese Supreme Court in 2020, which allowed a retrial to be held on the quadruple murder case, the verdict of which was delivered this Thursday, September 26.
Confessions and a retraction
“The court determined that three pieces of evidence had been fabricated suggesting that the defendant was the perpetrator of the crime. By excluding these pieces of evidence, the other incriminating evidence is not sufficient to establish that he is the perpetrator” of the murders, the judge concluded. The same specified that “the investigators altered the clothes by putting blood on them”. Since this evidence could no longer be taken into account, only Iwao Hakamada’s confession could still be considered as proof of his guilt. During the investigation of the case, the Japanese had indeed admitted to being the perpetrator of the crimes before retracting his confession, explaining that he had given in to the interrogation methods so that they would stop. The judge returned to this point on Thursday by referring to “inhumane” interrogation methods that were intended to inflict “physical and mental pain” and to “coerce” [le suspect] to make statements.” Iwao Hakamada’s lawyers have always supported this theory during the various trials.
Exonerated by the courts, Iwao Hakamada appeared before the media with his relatives after the verdict was announced. But while there is reason to rejoice for the man and his family, the psychological after-effects of the 46 years spent on death row continue to weigh on the Japanese man. In the Land of the Rising Sun, death row inmates are incarcerated in a 5 m² cell that is lit and monitored at all times and are deprived of any contact with the outside world.
While the court decision was welcomed by Iwao Hakamada’s supporters, the spectre of an appeal trial still hangs over the former death row inmate. A possibility that the family and supporters of the Japanese man fear and against which they intend to fight if necessary.
