This is Hakamada Iawo as a young man. He is now 77 years old and is the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner. He has spent 45 years in prison since his trial in 1968 and always maintained his innocence.
The main evidence used to convict Hakamada was a confession, allegedly obtained under torture and later retracted. One of the trial judges, Kumamoto Norimichi, maintains that Hakamada is innocent and believes that he should not have sentenced Hakamada to death on such limited evidence.
Despite such grave doubts, Hakamada continues to await execution every day. New DNA evidence could finally prove his claim of innocence right. Click here to ask Japan to grant him a retrial.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 
Comment on this post