Japan prosecutors will not appeal acquittal of world’s longest death-row inmate in retrial

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors say they will not appeal the acquittal of the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial last month, bringing closure to the 1966 murder case after more than a half-century of legal battles. Prosecutor-general Naomi Unemoto said Tuesday the prosecution decided not to appeal the Shizuoka District Court decision that found Iwao Hakamada not guilty in a retrial 58 years after his arrest, saying: “We feel sorry for putting him in a legally unstable situation for an extremely long time.” Hakamada, an 88-year-old former boxer, was found not guilty on Oct. 26 by the Shizuoka court, which concluded that police and prosecutors collaborated in fabricating and planting evidence against him.