The family was found stabbed to death in their incinerated home in Shizuoka, central Japan. In 2014, in a rare reversal for Japan's rigid justice system, the Shizuoka District Court ordered a retrial and freed Hakamada on the grounds of his age and fragile mental state. But four years later, the Tokyo High Court scrapped the request for a retrial, for reasons it would not confirm to CNN. Tsunagoe added that Hakamada's case will return to the Tokyo High Court for fresh deliberation -- although a retrial is still not guaranteed, and the defense team is now awaiting the high court's response. Iwao Hakamada leaves a Tokyo detention center in 2014 after 48 years on death row.

Source: CNN December 24, 2020 04:30 UTC