Japanese bishops overjoyed with acquittal of world’s longest-serving death row inmate

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ) expressed their joy with the acquittal of Iwao Hakamada, an 88-year-old Japanese man who spent the last 46 years on death row.

On September 26, the Shizuoka District Court found Hakamada not guilty of murder and arson.

“I want to express my deep respect for the anguish and suffering of Mr. Hakamada who continued to assert his innocence for many years, as well as for the solidarity and enthusiasm of his many supporters, including his family, who supported his appeal,” said Tokyo Archbishop Isao Kikuchi, CBCJ President.

Hakamada, a former professional boxer, was sentenced to hang in 1968 after being found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife, and their two teenage children.

He was also convicted of setting the family’s home ablaze two years earlier.

Hakamada was freed in 2014 and granted a retrial after suspicions that the police may have fabricated or planted evidence against him.

With his acquittal, the Japanese bishops reiterate the Church’s teachings on human dignity and echo their call on the government to reconsider the implementation of the death penalty.

“Once a person’s life and dignity are taken away by the death penalty they cannot be recovered even if it turns out that the conviction was wrong,” wrote Archbishop Kikuchi.

Japan and the United States are the only G7 countries that still impose capital punishment.

Moreover, Hakamada’s mental health was reported to have suffered so much due to his almost a decade of incarceration.

The Japanese bishops have extended their prayers for the betterment of his condition.

“We believe that our merciful God will extend a gentle hand to heal him, and we once again engrave on our hearts a determination to continue to raise our voice to protect human dignity,” the statement said.