Court Acquits Hakamada

Shizuoka District Court acquit Iwao Hakamada, the defendant who had been in a death row, in a retrial on September 26, finding he was innocent in a case of murder in Shimizu City in 1966. The court decided that the evidence submitted to the court had been fabricated by investigation authority, causing extremely long detention of Hakamada based on false accusation. Hakamada’s case highlighted serious violation of human rights and problem of difficulty of filing a retrial.

 

Hakamada was arrested with suspicion of murder, robbery and arson, as committing murder of four families of senior manager of a miso paste factory, whom he was working for, in 1966. Hakamada admitted his commitment to the police and Shizuoka District Court sentenced death penalty to Hakamada in 1968 and it was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1980.

 

Later, Hakamada filed retrial twice from 1981, arguing false accusation by police. When Shizuoka District Court decided retrial in 2014, Hakamada was released from jail and the retrial started in October 2023. It took forty-two years for Hakamada to have a retrial.

 

In the sentence, the court found that the stain on the clothes found in a miso tank, which had been submitted as an evidence of murder, was not blood, and stated that it cannot help regard the evidence as fabricated by someone. “Because there were only a few evidence to determine Hakamada as a criminal, it is imaginable that the investigation authority fabricated the evidence,” said the court.

 

The Chief Judge, Koushi Kunii, apologized Hakamada’s sister Hideko that it took extremely long time to prove Hakamada’s innocence. The trial was prolonged with discussion over what was the stain on the clothes. It was possible for the court to shorten the process by focusing on important points. Hakamada’s health was severely damaged by long detention with fear of death penalty.

 

The process for retrial has not been determined in detail in the law. The decision of retrial depends on arbitrarity of the courts. The prosecutors sometimes reject submission of additional evidence, or oppose court decision of retrial. Japan Bar Association requires revision of Criminal Procedure Law to make retrial easier. Multi-partisan lawmakers discuss the way to revise the law. However, Ministry of Justice is reluctant to determine the process for retrial.

 

In the case of Hakamada, his life was ruined in detention for most of his lifetime. When he heard the court decision of innocence from Hideko, he did not respond to it and just listened to, being suffered from mental disease. In the other cases of false accusation, the prosecutors did not appeal to the higher court. Considering the significance of violation on Hakamada’s human rights, it would be reasonable for the prosecutors not to appeal it to the high court. 

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