16 hours ago
Lawsuit to seek 600 million yen in state redress for Hakamata
Iwao Hakamata, with his sister, Hideko, thanks supporters in Shizuoka a few days after the Shizuoka District Court handed down a not-guilty verdict in his retiral on Sept. 26. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
SHIZUOKA--Lawyers for former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata plan to sue the government for about 600 million yen ($4 million) in compensation, likely the largest amount ever sought following a retrial.
Hakamata, 89, who was wrongly convicted of murdering four family members in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1966, was acquitted in a retrial last year after spending decades on death row.
The lawsuit, which is based on the State Redress Law, will be filed against the prefectural police and prosecutors on Sept. 26, the anniversary of the day when the Shizuoka District Court handed down the not-guilty verdict in the retrial, the defense team said Aug. 18.
The amount of damages was calculated based on the many years that Hakamata lived under constant fear of execution, as well as his mental illness symptoms, including communication difficulties, that developed during his prolonged incarceration.
The defense team also said it is considering filing a separate lawsuit against the district court, which had convicted Hakamata, a former professional boxer. The lawyers are discussing whether such an action is legally feasible.
In addition, the defense team plans to file a damages lawsuit specifically targeting prosecutors with the Shizuoka District Court as early as Sept. 11.
In a statement to announce the prosecutors' decision not to appeal Hakamata's acquittal in October, Prosecutor-General Naomi Unemoto said the Shizuoka District Court ruling was 'utterly unacceptable.'
The lawyers said the statement constitutes defamation because it effectively portrays Hakamata as the perpetrator.
His retrial was ordered after a court said bloodstained clothing used as evidence to gain the murder conviction was likely fabricated by law enforcement authorities.
In March this year, the Shizuoka District Court ordered the government to pay around 217 million yen to Hakamata, the largest amount awarded under the wrongful incarceration compensation system.
The court recognized the 'extremely severe mental and physical suffering' Hakamata endured behind bars. It awarded the maximum available compensation of 12,500 yen per day incarcerated as requested.
