In response to the prosecution's policy of proving that the prosecution would prove guilt in the retrial = retrial of Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to death in the case of the murder of four members of his family in Shizuoka Prefecture 57 years ago, defense lawyers and others held a press conference on the 4th and appealed, "I want Mr. Hakamada to be acquitted as soon as possible."
Japan Foreign Correspondents' Club met with Iwao Hakamada's lawyers and his sister Hideko, who were retried for the murder of four members of a family in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City 57 years ago in 1966.
In preparation for Hakamada's retrial, the prosecution indicated to the court in July that it would prove his guilt, and the trial is expected to be prolonged.
At the press conference, Hideyo Ogawa, secretary general of the defense team, said, "The prosecution is trying to come up with new evidence, but I would like to urge the prosecution and the court to give up and hear Mr. Hakamada's acquittal as soon as possible."
In Hakamada's case, it took more than 40 years from the time the death sentence was finalized until a retrial was decided.
Sister Hideko: "Don't waste my hard work and revise the Retrial Law"
Her older sister, Hideko, said she had doubts about the current legal system, which takes a long time before a retrial begins, saying, "Iwao is still on death row. I hope that the Retrial Act will not be wasted and that the Retrial Law will be amended."