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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.

Japan | Iwao Hakamada death row acquittal finalized; Prosecutors won't appeal court's ruling

TOKYO — 
Japanese prosecutors said on Tuesday they will not appeal against last month's acquittal of the world's longest-serving death row prisoner, Iwao Hakamada.

After a long fight for justice led by his sister, a court declared last month that Hakamada, 88, was innocent of the quadruple murder for which he spent 46 years waiting to be executed, mostly in solitary confinement.

The court in Shizuoka, outside Tokyo, ruled that police tampered with evidence and said the ex-boxer had suffered "inhumane interrogations meant to force a statement" that he later withdrew.

Hakamada was first convicted in 1968 of robbing and killing his boss, the man's wife and their two teenage children.


Japan's top prosecutor Naomi Unemoto said in a statement a decision had been made not to appeal against the Shizuoka court's decision because Hakamada had been "put in legal limbo for such a long time".

"We have decided, after thorough consideration, that it is not appropriate to prolong this situation," Unemoto said.

However, she also said prosecutors were "deeply dissatisfied" that the Shizuoka tribunal had found that evidence had been fabricated, calling the conclusion logically flawed.

The court found that police had daubed blood on clothes that were then planted to be found at the crime scene.

"The ruling is absolutely unacceptable and should be considered worthy of an appeal," Unemoto said.

Hakamada's sister Hideko rejoiced at the news, smiling broadly at a news conference in Shizuoka.

"I am so happy that Iwao finally stops being a death-row prisoner," the 91-year-old said. "I want him to attain true freedom going forward."

She added that she hopes her aging brother will "live a bit longer" now that he is exonerated. "We just wish we can live an ordinary, quiet life."

Japan and the United States are the only two major industrialized countries that still use capital punishment. It has strong public support in Japan, where scrapping it is rarely discussed.

Hakamada was granted a retrial in 2014 and was released from prison, although legal wrangling meant the proceedings only began last year.

He is the fifth death row inmate granted a retrial in Japan's postwar history. All four previous cases also resulted in exonerations.

Decades of detention, mostly in solitary confinement with the threat of execution constantly looming over him, took a toll on Hakamada's mental health.

His lawyer and supporters have described him as "living in a world of fantasy".

The way capital punishment is carried out in Japan has also been criticized, with prisoners often informed of their impending death in the early morning just a few hours before they are hanged.

However, Japan's new Justice Minister Hideki Makihara said last week that abolishing the death penalty would be "inappropriate".

Amnesty International called on Japan after last month's ruling to abolish capital punishment, saying that 115 people were on death row there in December 2023.

Source: japantoday.com, AFP, October 9, 2024

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



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