Will Get Nearly $1 Million : Japanese Acquitted of Crime After 30 Years on Death Row

TOKYO — A 59-year-old man who spent 30 years on Japan’s death row for allegedly killing a 6-year-old girl, was found innocent of the crime Tuesday after a retrial. He was freed and given nearly $1 million in compensation.

Masao Akabori had been in custody since May, 1954, in connection with the death two months earlier of the girl, Hisako Sano, who was found strangled near a river in Shimada, about 125 miles southwest of Tokyo.

“Thank you, thank you,” said the gray-haired Akabori as he boarded a bus after his release. Dozens of banner-waving supporters cheered the decision, and the event was broadcast live across Japan.

At the time of his arrest, Akabori confessed to the crime under police questioning. But he later withdrew the confession, contending that he was coerced by police, and maintained his innocence when the case went to trial in July, 1954.

He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1958, and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court two years later.

His retrial began in October, 1987, after four appeals, and extended over 12 hearings.

In his verdict overturning the conviction, Chief Judge Toshinobu Ozaki of the Shizuoka District Court ruled that Akabori’s original confession “lacked full credibility” and no other evidence had been found linking him to the crime.

Akabori’s case is the fourth in recent years in which a prisoner has been declared innocent after spending long periods on death row following murder convictions.