An 89-year-old former boxer from Japan, Iwao Hakamada, who spent 46 years in detention, including most of his time on death row, after being wrongly convicted in 1966 of a quadruple murder, has been awarded approximately $1.4 million in compensation. This compensation accounts for the precise daily rate of 12,500 yen ($83) he endured, facing the daily threat of execution throughout much of his incarceration. The Shizuoka District Court, in a landmark decision made on Monday, declared that Hakamada should be granted 217,362,500,000 yen in damages. This decision comes after a retrial in September, where the court determined Hakamada’s innocence, accusing the police of evidence tampering. Despite this compensation, which marks a record for this type of payout, Hakamada’s legal team has expressed their belief that the sum does not adequately account for the severe mental health trauma and years of suffering he underwent, describing him as having lived “in a world of fantasy” due to prolonged detention. Hakamada remains the fifth death row inmate in Japan’s postwar period to be granted a retrial; all previous retrials have similarly led to exonerations, highlighting ongoing discussions and familial efforts regarding the death penalty in Japan.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/25/iwao-hakamada-worlds-longest-death-row-prisoner-japan-compensation-after-release