A district court in central Japan has ruled that a man who was convicted of a 1966 killing of a family of four is not guilty.
The Shizuoka District Court handed down the ruling on Thursday in the retrial of Hakamada Iwao, now 88.
Hakamada was accused of killing his boss and the man’s family at a miso soybean paste factory where he worked.
Hakamada maintained his innocence even after his death sentence was finalized in 1980.
A court gave the go-ahead to a retrial in 2014, but the decision was annulled after the prosecution lodged a complaint.
The retrial of Hakamada began in October last year. A total of 15 hearings have been held since.
The main point of contention in the retrial was the color of bloodstains on five pieces of clothing found in a miso tank 14 months after the incident.
The items served as crucial evidence that led to Hakamada’s conviction.
Defense lawyers said experts who conducted forensic analysis found the clothes would not retain a red hue after being buried under miso paste for more than one year.
With the acquittal, Hakamada’s name was cleared 58 years after the incident.
This is the fifth time in postwar Japan for a court to rule in a retrial of a defendant whose death sentence has been finalized. The last such ruling was made 35 years ago.