Expectations are growing that Pope Francis will meet with an 83-year-old man whose death sentence was recently suspended after a 48-year stint on death row, to send a clear signal about his opposition to capital punishment. It was reported in mid-September that the Vatican is ...
Pope may meet Japanese man seeking retrial over death sentence
Pope Francis may meet Iwao Hakamada, who is seeking a retrial for his conviction in a 1966 quadruple homicide, during his visit to Japan in late November.
Story of Iwao Hakamada, boxer who spent 48 years on death row, to become manga series
The story of Iwao Hakamada, a former professional boxer and death-row inmate, 82, who continues to battle to clear his name over a 1966 quadruple murder, will be adapted into a manga series, supporters of the convict announced Wednesday. Hakamada was sentenced to hang in ...
A man convicted in a 1966 quadruple murder case filed an appeal Monday with the Supreme Court to seek a retrial, his lawyers said, even though he was freed in 2014 after spending nearly half a century on death row. Former professional boxer Iwao Hakamada, ...
High court rejects decision to reopen 1966 Hakamada quadruple murder case
The Tokyo High Court on Monday overturned the Shizuoka District Court's decision to reopen the 1966 murder case involving former professional boxer Iwao Hakamada, who was convicted of killing four people, despite recent DNA evidence that undermined his prosecution. The case, often cited as an ...
Once falsely convicted in Japan, rarely exonerated
A lot of eating goes on in the new documentary "Gokutomo" ("Friends in Prison"), which is about five men, all convicted of murder, who spent many years in prison. Watching one of them casually buy a sweet bean bun at a convenience store, you ...
Having spent 48 years in prison for a crime he likely didn't commit, 81-year-old Iwao Hakamada deserves a timely retrial.
Travesty of justice: legal reform unlikely despite erroneous convictions
Two elderly men fighting for decades to clear their names are poised to receive high-profile retrials in 2016 and yet their ordeals are unlikely to trigger wide-ranging reform to the country’s justice system, experts say.
Documentary examines death-row inmate's new life after 48-year wait for hangman
A new documentary movie portrays the new daily ordeal of a man who lived for almost half a century in solitary confinement and in fear of the gallows. "Freedom Moon" depicts the daily life of Iwao Hakamada, a former boxer who served 48 years in ...
A Japanese high court plans to conduct an experiment to see if it is possible to replicate DNA test results that were the basis of a lower court's decision to reopen a 1966 murder case and free Iwao Hakamada, who spent decades on death ...
Amnesty hopes Hakamada's release will spur death penalty reform in Japan
A prominent human rights group hopes the decision to release the world's longest serving death row inmate will spur greater debate in Japan about capital punishment and spur domestic reforms. Chiara Sangiorgio, spokeswoman for Amnesty International, said Wednesday she is happy with last year's decision ...
Prosecutors concealed evidence that could have cleared Hakamada, lawyers allege
Iwao Hakamada spent more than 40 years on death row, a fate that might have been avoided if prosecutors had not concealed key evidence, his lawyers allege.
