Hawaii man Gordon Cordeiro released after spending 30 years in prison for murder he didnt commit

A Hawaii man who spent 30 years in prison for a murder he long denied committing declared the day “Freedom Friday” and said he was eager to visit his mother after a judge ordered him released because of new DNA evidence.There were gasps and cries in the courtroom when Judge Kirstin Hamman said, “And the judgement and sentence is vacated and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody,” before a Zoom feed broadcasting the hearing suddenly turned off.She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.The case involves the 1994 killing of Timothy Blaisdell during a drug deal robbery on the island of Maui.Cordeiro’s first trial ended in a hung jury, with only one juror voting to convict him.But he was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of 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.”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.Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, 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 Frida...