A Japanese man who spent half a century in prison for a murder he did not commit received $1.5 million in compensation and was included in the Guinness Book of Records (4 photos)

He achieved final justice only at the age of 89 - better late than never.





Iwao Hakamata was an active boxer and worked in a miso paste factory. But in 1966, he became involved in a crime that thundered throughout Japan.



Then the manager of the company where Hakamata worked was killed, as well as his wife and two children. The main suspect was Iwao, he was detained and interrogated for 20 days - after which he admitted his guilt.

In 1968, he was sentenced to death. But soon Hakamata stated that he did not kill anyone, and took the blame on himself because he was mercilessly beaten and tortured during interrogations. A re-investigation began, it lasted for years. In the end, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence, but postponed its execution indefinitely. And Khakamata spent all this time on death row - and spent 47 years there.





In 2014, an examination established that Khakamata's DNA did not match the material found at the crime scene. But all charges against him were dropped only in 2024 - when the man was 88 years old, and all those involved in his arrest had already died. The court established that during the investigation, evidence was falsified, and the suspect was "pressured" to confess to everything.

So Hakamatu "got justice": he was fully acquitted and awarded ¥217 million (about $1.44 million) in compensation.



He is now 89 years old and the man is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the prisoner who has spent the longest time on death row.