88-Year-Old Boxer Acquitted in 1966 Quadruple Murder Case

An 88-year-old former boxer, Iwao Hakamada, has been acquitted in a retrial by a Japanese court for a 1966 quadruple murder case. Hakamada, who spent decades on death row, was wrongfully convicted of the crime involving the murder of a company manager and his family.

A Japanese court ruled on Thursday that an 88-year-old former boxer, Iwao Hakamada, was not guilty in a retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder case, reversing an earlier wrongful conviction after decades on death row, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

Hakamada's acquittal by the Shizuoka District Court marks the fifth time a death-row convict has been found not guilty in a retrial in postwar Japanese criminal justice.

He was initially convicted of the 1966 murder of a company manager and three of his family members, as well as setting a fire to their home in central Japan. Although sentenced to death in 1968, he was spared execution due to prolonged appeals and the retrial process.

(With inputs from agencies.)