Japan court acquits longest-serving death row inmate

SHIZUOKA: The world's longest-serving death row prisoner was acquitted, more than half a century after his murder conviction, when a Japanese court ruled that evidence had been fabricated. Ailing health prevented 88-year-old former boxer Iwao Hakamada from being in the court to learn the outcome of his retrial, which was granted a decade ago after a long campaign by supporters. But his 91-year-old sister Hideko, who often speaks for him, bowed deeply to the judge who declared Hakamada innocent. "Everyone — we won the acquittal, it's all thanks to your support," she said outside the Shizuoka District Court, close to tears with her voice cracking. — AFP