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Hakamata, 89, was found guilty in 1968 to have killed his boss, his boss’s wife and their two children, but was acquitted last year after a new trial
A Japanese man who spent almost 50 years in the death corridor before being acquitted from the murder will be compensated for 217 million yen (1.45 million dollars), which his lawyers say they are the greatest payment in the country in a criminal case.
Iwao Hakamata, 89, was found guilty in 1968 to have killed his boss, the wife of his boss and their two children, but was acquitted last year after a new trial.
The lawyers of Mr. Hakamata had requested the greatest possible remuneration, arguing that the 47 years of detention – who made him the oldest death in the world – has wreaked havoc on his mental health.
Judge Kunii Koshi, who granted the request on Monday, agreed that he had suffered from “extremely serious” mental and physical pain.
The Japanese government will pay the financial remuneration of Mr. Hakamata, in what local media largely pays the greatest payment for a criminal case in the country’s history.
The case of Mr. Hakamata is one of the longest and most famous legal sagas in Japan.
He obtained a new rare trial and released from prison in 2014, in the midst of suspicions that investigators may have planted evidence that led to his conviction.
Last September, hundreds of people gathered in a court in Shizuoka, a city on the southern coast of Japan, where a judge transmitted the acquittal – to the noisy acclamations of “Banzai”, or “Hurray” in Japanese.
Mr. Hakamata, however, was not able to attend the hearing. He was exempt from all previous hearings due to his deteriorated mental state.
He had lived under the care of his 91 -year -old Hideko sister since he had obtained a new trial and released from prison in 2014. Hideko had fought for decades to erase the name of his brother.
Mr. Hakamata worked in a Miso transformation factory in 1966 when his boss’ bodies, the wife of his boss and their two children were recovered from a fire at their home in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo. The four had been stabbed to death.
The authorities accused Hakamata of having murdered the family, set fire to their homes and steal 200,000 yen in cash.
Mr. Hakamata first denied having done it, but then gave what came to describe as a forced confession, after blows and interrogations that lasted up to 12 hours a day.
In 1968, he was sentenced to death.
For years, Mr. Hakamata’s lawyers had argued that DNA had recovered victims’ clothes did not correspond to his and alleged that the evidence had been planted.
Although he obtained a new trial in 2014, prolonged legal proceedings noted that it took until last October for the new trial to begin.
The case has raised questions about the Japanese judicial system, including the time taken for a new trial and the allegations of forced confessions.
Additional report by Chika Nakayama, Gavin Butler and Shaimaa Khalil
