Iwao Hakamata, who is being retried in a rare case over a 1966 murder case, will receive a verdict on September 26, the Shizuoka District Court said on Wednesday, which could ultimately see him exonerated more than five decades after he was sentenced to death . by the same court.
During the last hearing, prosecutors again demanded the death penalty for the 88-year-old. saying there is enough evidence to prove Hakamata is the perpetrator, while defense lawyers argued he is not guilty.
Hideyo Ogawa, one of Hakamata’s lawyers, said at a news conference after the trial that he spoke about how life in prison has changed Iwao Hakamata, who is believed to suffer from Ganser syndrome, a rare dissociative disorder that is common at prisoners, and how he is no longer interested in what is happening around him.
