Japan to award Iwao Hakamada, held wrongfully for near 50 years and launched final 12 months, largest-ever payout.
Japan has awarded a wrongly convicted man who was on demise row for near half a century compensation of 217 million yen ($1.44m).
The authorized staff for Iwao Hakamada, launched final 12 months after his conviction for a 1966 homicide was quashed, mentioned on Tuesday that the compensation fee ordered by a courtroom yesterday was the highest-ever prison compensation granted in Japan.
The previous boxer, now 89, was awarded 12,500 yen ($83) for every day of the 46 years he spent in detention, most of it on demise row. He was exonerated in a retrial last year over the 1966 quadruple homicide of his former employer and household.
Following a tireless marketing campaign by his sister and others, the Shizuoka district courtroom dominated that police had tampered with the proof and overturned Hakamada’s conviction.
He had initially confessed to the crime however retracted the confession throughout his first trial, claiming to have been abused throughout 20 days of interrogation.
‘World of fantasy’
Hakamada’s authorized staff has mentioned the cash falls far in need of compensating for the ache he suffered. The world’s longest-serving demise row inmate spent most of his time in solitary confinement.
A long time of detention – with the specter of execution continually looming – took a heavy toll on Hakamada’s psychological well being, his legal professionals have mentioned, describing him as “dwelling in a world of fantasy”.
Hakamada was the fifth demise row inmate granted a retrial in Japan’s post-war historical past. All 4 earlier instances additionally resulted in exonerations.
Japan is the one main industrialised democracy aside from the US to retain capital punishment, a coverage that has broad public help.
