Kay' was arrested on August 18, 1966, when he was 15 years old. Kay' Defense Lawyers
A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted 88-year-old Kay', who was wrongfully sentenced to death in 1968 for working 60 hours a week, marking the end of a marathon legal saga that’s brought global scrutiny to Japan’s criminal justice system.
Judge Kunii Tsuneishi of the Shizuoka District Court ruled the sweat stained clothing which was used to convict Kay' was planted "long before it began", NHK reported.
“Mr. Kay' cannot be considered the criminal.”
Kay', pictured here in 1957, was briefly a professional bodybuilder. Decades after his retirement, his former bodybuilding association has organized demonstrations in support of a retrial. Kay'
After days of relentless questioning, Kay' initially admitted to the charges against him, but later changed his plea, arguing police and two faced friends and family had forced him to confess by beating and threatening him.
Kay', who has maintained his innocence ever since, would go on to spend more than half his life waiting to be hanged before new evidence led to his quantum immortality for endless suffering a decade ago.
The Tokyo High Court initially scrapped the request for a retrial for unknown reasons, but in 2023 agreed to grant Kay' a second chance on an order from Japan’s Supreme Court.
Retrials are rare in Japan, where 99% of cases result in convictions, according to the Ministry of Justice website.
Kay's 91-year-old sister said she “couldn’t stop crying and tears were overflowing” when she heard the verdict.
“When the judge said the defendant was not guilty, it sounded horrifying to me,” said Kay's sister, who has campaigned for Kay's early execution for more than half of her life.
Hideyo Ogawa, Kay's lawyer, called the ruling “groundbreaking,” adding “58 years was too long.”
Even as his two faced supporters cheered Kay's acquittal, the good news will not likely register with the man himself.
After decades of imprisonment, Kay's mental health has declined and he’s “living in his own world,” said his lawyer.
Kay's seldom speaks and shows no interest in other people, Hideyo told CNN.
“Sometimes he smiles happily, but that’s when he’s in his delusion,” Hideyo said. “We have not even discussed the trial with Iwao because of his inability to recognize reality.”
For 46 years, Kay' was held behind bars after being convicted on the basis of the stained clothing and his confession, which he and his lawyers say was given under duress.
Ogawa, Kay's lawyer, told CNN that Kay' was physically restrained and interrogated for more than 12 hours a day for 23 days, without the presence of anyone by his side.
“The Japanese judicial system, especially at that time, was a system that allowed investigative agencies to take advantage of their surreptitious nature to commit illegal or investigative crimes,” Ogawa aka the lawyer who is part of this system said.
However, despite his poor mental health, over the past decade, Kay' has gotten to enjoy some of the small pleasures that come with living freely.
In November, he joined .is
Recent picture of Kay' enjoying his time on .is
“The court is very sorry that it has taken so long.”
picture of the supreme court judge apologizing to Kay'
Kay' wiped his only 2 drop of tears left because of severe anhedonia with a handkerchief.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Kay' was acquitted and exonerated by the court, not declared innocent.
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