World’s Longest Death Row Inmate Awarded $1.4 Million Compensation

Quick Summary

• Iwao Hakamada, an 89-year-old japanese man, was wrongfully imprisoned for over four decades on death row.
• He was convicted of a quadruple murder in 1966 but acquitted in 2022 after a retrial revealed evidence tampering and coercion.
• Hakamada has been awarded $1.4 million in compensation; each day of his detention valued at approximately $83.
• His case highlights severe flaws in Japan’s justice system, including teh use of duress too extract confessions and prolonged psychological trauma faced by death row inmates.
• Defense attorneys argue the settlement is insufficient compared to the immense suffering endured by Hakamada during his wrongful imprisonment.
• International criticism has mounted against Japan’s justice system and its continued use of the death penalty, with prisoners reportedly notified only hours before executions.

World’s longest-serving death row prisoner receives $1.4 million