UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. (Kyodo) The Utsunomiya District Court on Thursday told acquitted child-killer Toshikazu Sugaya that he will receive about ¥80 million in compensation for the 17 1/2 years he spent in prison.
Sugaya, 64, who had been convicted of a 1990 child slaying and cleared by a 2009 DNA test, had requested the amount in September as redress for the mental duress he suffered behind bars.
"I think the amount is appropriate," he said after receiving the note from the court. "The 17 1/2 years were long, but today marks closure."
Sugaya filed a claim under the Criminal Compensation Law after the court exonerated him during a retrial last March in the murder of a 4-year-old girl in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture.
Sugaya was arrested in 1991 and his life sentence was finalized in 2000. He filed a petition for a retrial in 2002. Although the Utsunomiya court dismissed the petition in 2008, the Tokyo High Court, which received an appeal from his lawyers, presented fresh DNA test results in May 2009 that proved his innocence. Sugaya was freed the following month.