BBC Online :
A man who has been on death row for more than four decades has been granted a retrial by a Japanese court.
Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1968
for killing his boss, the man’s wife and their two children.
Hakamada, now 78, confessed after 20 days of interrogation during which he says he was beaten. He later retracted the confession in court.
Japan’s police traditionally rely on confessions to prosecute but critics say they are often obtained by force.
In a statement, Amnesty International said Hakamada was believed to be the world’s longest-serving death row inmate.
“If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it.
