AdamRed222
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Iwao Hakamada was a Japanese man falsely accused of murder. He was still convincted and, because of it, he spent 46 years on death row. He was released in March 2014.
On 30th June 1966, a fire broke out at the home of one of Hakamada's bosses. According to Hakamada himself, while trying to extinguish the fire, he found the stabbed bodies of his boss, his boss's wife and his boss's two children. 200,000 Yen was also stolen from the boss's home. In August 1966, he was arrested by the police based on his confession and a tiny amount of blood and gasoline found on a pair of pyjamas he owned. According to his lawyers, Hakamata was interrogated a total of 264 hours, for as many as 16 hours a session. Hakamada also claimed that police beat, kicked and clubbed him to force out a confession.
During the trial, prosecutors presented five pieces of bloody clothing that were found in a tank at the Miso factory in August 1967, 14 months after the crime. They argued that Hakamada murdered the victims in these clothes and then changed into his pyjamas to commit the arson. However, the clothes were too small for Hakamada, and his supporters argued that the alleged murder weapon, a fruit knife with a 12cm blade, could not have withstood the 40 stabbings given to the victims. On 11th September 1968, Hakamada was sentenced to death for the murders. However, in March 2014, he was finally released when a DNA test found that his blood did not belong to the bloody clothes found 14 months after the crime.
www.bbc.co.uk
deathpenaltyinfo.org
On 30th June 1966, a fire broke out at the home of one of Hakamada's bosses. According to Hakamada himself, while trying to extinguish the fire, he found the stabbed bodies of his boss, his boss's wife and his boss's two children. 200,000 Yen was also stolen from the boss's home. In August 1966, he was arrested by the police based on his confession and a tiny amount of blood and gasoline found on a pair of pyjamas he owned. According to his lawyers, Hakamata was interrogated a total of 264 hours, for as many as 16 hours a session. Hakamada also claimed that police beat, kicked and clubbed him to force out a confession.
During the trial, prosecutors presented five pieces of bloody clothing that were found in a tank at the Miso factory in August 1967, 14 months after the crime. They argued that Hakamada murdered the victims in these clothes and then changed into his pyjamas to commit the arson. However, the clothes were too small for Hakamada, and his supporters argued that the alleged murder weapon, a fruit knife with a 12cm blade, could not have withstood the 40 stabbings given to the victims. On 11th September 1968, Hakamada was sentenced to death for the murders. However, in March 2014, he was finally released when a DNA test found that his blood did not belong to the bloody clothes found 14 months after the crime.
Iwao Hakamada: World's longest-serving death row inmate acquitted in Japan
After almost half a century on death row Iwao Hakamada, 88, has been acquitted of murder.
www.bbc.co.uk
Japanese Exoneree Awarded $1.4 Million in Compensation After Spending 46 Years on Death Row | Death Penalty Information Center
On March 24, 2025, Iwao Hakamada was awarded just over $217 million yen ($1.4 million) in compensation after spending 46 years wrongfully...
