Japan: Police chief apologizes to death row inmate who spent 50 years in prison for a crime he did not commit

In a personal apology, the police chief in Japan expressed his regret to 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who spent 50 years in prison on death row for a crime that was later proven he did not commit.

A court determined that both the police and prosecution had fabricated and planted evidence against the former boxer, forcing him to confess through the use of violence.

“We are deeply sorry for causing you unimaginable mental anguish and burden for 58 years,” the senior officer said to the 88-year-old, bowing deeply during his visit to Hakamada’s home.

“We are terribly sorry”

Mr. Hakamada, who struggles to speak due to the psychological impact of decades spent on death row, said: “What does it mean to have power… Once you have power, you shouldn’t complain.”

Hakamada’s 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, who supported her brother in his efforts to prove his innocence, thanked the police chief for visiting them.

As she told reporters, there was no point in complaining after so many years, as the officer “was not involved in the case and came here solely out of duty.”

Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1968, accused of murdering his former boss at a bean paste factory, his boss’s wife, and two of their children.

Hakamada was the longest-serving death row inmate in the world and only the fifth death row inmate to be acquitted in a retrial in postwar Japan.

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