Japanese man acquitted after 45 years in prison

On September 26, the Shizuoka District Court acquitted 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada in a retrial of the 1966 murder of four people in central Japan.

Hideko Hakamada, who fought for decades to clear her brother's name, said it was a relief to hear the verdict of "not guilty" in court. "When I heard that, I was so moved and happy that I couldn't stop crying," she said at a televised news conference.

Iwao Hakamada spent 45 years in prison on death row before a court ordered his release and retrial in 2014 amid doubts about the evidence against him.

The former boxer, who has been living with his sister since his release, is accused of stabbing his former boss and family to death and then setting fire to their home.

Although he briefly confessed to the murder, he retracted his confession and pleaded not guilty during his trial, but was sentenced to death in 1968, a sentence upheld by the Supreme Court of Japan in 1980.

Norimichi Kumamoto, one of three judges at the Shizuoka court that sentenced Mr. Hakamada to death, filed a petition with the Supreme Court for a retrial in 2008, but it was rejected.

Mr Hakamada's lawyer argued that DNA testing of blood on the victim's clothing did not show it was his.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)