Hiromoto Haruyama, a death row inmate who spent more...

Hiromoto Haruyama, a death row inmate who spent more than a decade fighting his conviction for the brutal rape, murder or injury inflicting of three women, died from in Sapporo Prison, police said. He was 70. Haruyama made a name for himself by continuing to plead his innocence despite exhausting nearly all forms of legal recourse available to him. Though the Supreme Court, Japan's highest court, had confirmed Hareyama's death sentence, he filed a lawsuit in September 1992 claiming he had been framed and demanding a retrial. However, his demand was rejected in February 2001 and a formal objection against the ruling was dismissed in March 2003, prompting Haruyama to file a protest with the Supreme Court.