Japanese man acquitted of 1966 murders seeks $5.1 million in damages from authorities
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Mr Iwao Hakamada, 89, spent nearly half a century on death row before he was acquitted in a retrial in 2024.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO - A Japanese man who was acquitted in 2024
The amount claimed by 89-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who spent nearly half a century on death row, is the largest for a state compensation lawsuit involving a retrial that resulted in an acquittal, according to the lawyers.
In the lawsuit filed with the Shizuoka District Court, his lawyers aim to examine how his wrongful conviction occurred and assign responsibility for it.
Mr Hakamada is not scheduled to make any statements during the trial as he suffers from post-incarceration syndrome and has difficulty communicating.
His sister Hideko, 92, who appeared in court hearings in his retrial on behalf of her brother, released a video message on Oct 8, saying “a path needs to be paved” for those fighting against unjust convictions.
In the ruling handed down on Sept 26, 2024, the district court said investigators had fabricated evidence, including five pieces of clothing Mr Hakamada allegedly wore during the incident. The ruling was finalised on Oct 9, 2024.
The former professional boxer was a live-in employee at a miso maker when he was arrested in 1966 for allegedly killing the firm’s senior managing director, his wife and two of their children.
They were found dead from stab wounds at their house in Shizuoka Prefecture, which had been burned down.
Indicted for murder, robbery and arson, his death sentence was finalised in 1980.
In the compensation lawsuit, his lawyers will argue unlawful interrogations, concealment of evidence and wrongful verdicts occurred in addition to fabrication of key evidence.
The amount of the claim made against the central and Shizuoka prefectural governments includes the income Mr Hakamada could have earned during the period of his imprisonment and compensation for the suffering caused by facing the fear of execution for many years.
It also includes damages for the distress following his release in 2014, as he continues to suffer from post-incarceration syndrome.
As he had received around 217 million yen in criminal compensation
