After 30 Years in Prison Hawaii Man Freed Following New DNA Evidence- wna24
After 30 Years in Prison Hawaii Man Freed Following New DNA Evidence | Image:
AP
Honolulu: A Hawaii man, Gordon Cordeiro, freed after 30 years in prison for a murder he denied committing, called it “Freedom Friday” and expressed excitement to visit his mother after a judge’s decision based on new DNA evidence.
Gasps and cries filled the courtroom as Judge Kirstin Hamman declared, “The judgment and sentence is vacated, and the defendant is ordered released,”
Judge Overturns Verdict Based on New DNA Evidence
The judge ruled that the new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.
The case centers on the 1994 killing of Timothy Blaisdell during a drug deal robbery on Maui.
Cordeiro’s first trial ended in a hung jury, with just one juror voting for conviction. However, he was later found guilty of murder, robbery, and attempted murder, receiving a life sentence without parole.
The Hawaii Innocence Project took up his case, and during a hearing this week it argued that Cordeiro must be released on the grounds of new evidence proving his innocence, ineffectiveness of his previous attorney and prosecutorial misconduct.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he was disappointed in the ruling and “None of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way.”
Prosecution Plans to Seek Bail Motion for Cordeiro
His office intends to appeal and file a motion seeking to impose bail on Cordeiro’s release, Martin added, saying there is a flight risk because a murder charge is involved.
Co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, Kenneth Lawson, said it was a very emotional moment.
“He cried, we all cried,” Lawson said. “He believed that he was going to be exonerated … but having gone through two trials, you lose faith in the justice system. To finally hear a judge say, ‘I’m vacating your convictions,’ that’s when it hit him.”
Following his release Cordeiro, now 51, stood outside the Maui Community Correctional Center and talked to reporters, calling it “Freedom Friday.” The Associated Press listened by phone from Honolulu.
Cordeiro said he felt thankful. He thanked his supporters, the judge and even prosecutors who stipulated to certain facts in the case.