WORLD : Freed After 30 Years on Death Row
TOKYO — A Japanese man who spent 30 years on death row wrongly convicted of murdering a 6-year-old girl was awarded nearly $1-million compensation today.
A district court at Shizuoka awarded 59-year-old Masao Akahori $74 for each of his 12,668 days in custody. “Speaking frankly, I bear a deep grudge and hatred,†he told reporters. Akahori was arrested in 1954 and confessed to the murder after three days of police questioning, but he was acquitted last month. Scholars say that during Japan’s chaotic postwar period confessions were often forced from suspected criminals and police coerced people to offer false testimony against others.
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