In Japan, a man spent 39 years proving that he is not a murderer (5 photos)

And he proved it. Let's start the day with some good news.





This story began in March 1986 in the city of Fukui. That's when a 15-year-old schoolgirl was murdered. Naturally, an investigation began, during which it turned out that 21-year-old Shoji Maekawa was seen at the crime scene, and in bloody clothes, too.

Maekawa was arrested in 1987 and sentenced to seven years in prison. At that time, the prosecution did not have any physical evidence linking Maekawa to the crime. Instead, the prosecution relied on the often contradictory testimony of six witnesses. The young man tried for a long time to convince the court that he was innocent, but who would listen to him. It seemed that the case was closed, the criminal was imprisoned for 7 years, everyone was happy.



But Shoji decided not to give up, all these years he denied his guilt. In 1990, the Fukui Magistrates' Court released him, recognizing the witness's testimony as false. However, the prosecutor's office appealed the decision. The Supreme Court again found him guilty in 1997, and although he had served his time by then, the case was not closed, and the punishment continued to be in effect. Even despite the formal release from prison, his sentence remained in force.

Maekawa remained under administrative control as a murderer. In other words, he was effectively under "house arrest": he could not get a normal job, it was difficult to rent an apartment, he was forbidden to leave the prefecture, he was not given loans, and he was despised by the public.





Maekawa began seeking a review of the case again in 2004, but his request was rejected. In 2011, the court agreed to review the case for the first time, but the prosecutor's office managed to overturn this decision. It was not until 2022 that a second request was filed, which ultimately proved decisive. At the new stage of the trial, the defense presented almost 300 pieces of evidence, and the court found that there were no longer any grounds for the charge.



Ultimately, on July 18, 2025, the Kanazawa High Court overturned the charge and found Maekawa not guilty. The judge apologized to him for the injustice and gave prosecutors until August 1 to appeal. The judge expressed doubt about the veracity of the original testimony and laments the fact that 39 years of a man's life were stolen



Now the man is 60 years old and he has spent almost his entire life proving his innocence.