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Letter to the Editor| Volume 16, e5-e6, May 2015

DNA analysis overturns the death sentence of a condemned criminal held in custody for 48 years

Published:November 13, 2014DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsigen.2014.11.003
      In 1966, a murder and arson occurred in Shimizu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Soon after, Mr. Iwao Hakamada was arrested as a suspect. Following his trial, the Supreme Court sentenced him to the death penalty in 1980. Mr. Hakamada continued to plead his innocence and, 48 years after his arrest, a retrial was granted using new DNA analysis. The original conviction was overturned on March 27, 2014. Mr. Hakamada was 78 years old when released.
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