Getty ImagesThe world’s longest-serving death row inmate, an 88-year-old man, has been acquitted by a Japanese court.
Iwao Hakamada, who had been on death row for more than half a century, was convicted in 1968 of murdering his boss, his wife, and their two teenage children.
He was recently granted a retrial amid allegations that investigators tampered with evidence that led to his conviction on a quadruple murder charge.
The ruling ends one of Japan’s longest and most famous legal sagas.
In 2014, Hakamada was released from prison and granted a retrial by a Japanese court after defense lawyers showed that DNA found in blood on clothing believed to have been worn by the killer did not match his.
Since then, his mental condition has deteriorated and he has been living under the care of his older sister.
A drawn-out legal process took until last year for a retrial to begin, and it took until Thursday morning for the court to declare whether Hakamada was not guilty or sentenced to death.
Hakamada is only the fifth death row inmate in Japan’s postwar history to be granted a retrial.
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