Gordon Cordeiro, an innocent Hawaiian man, was let out of prison after 30 years when new DNA evidence came to light. His conviction was reversed by a judge and he was ordered to be freed. Cordeiro, who protested for 30 years that he did not murder Timothy Blaisdell in 1994, referred to the day as ‘Freedom Friday’ and said he couldn’t wait to hug his mother.
Details of the Conviction
The conviction was based on a robbery of a drug deal on Maui, for which Cordeiro was first tried and ended in a hung jury. He was subsequently convicted in a second trial and sentenced to life without parole. But the Hawaii Innocence Project pursued his case, claiming his innocence based on new evidence, ineffective counsel, and prosecutorial misconduct.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin expressed dismay, saying that the ruling did not acquit Cordeiro. The office plans to appeal on grounds of flight risk because of the murder charge.
Hawaii Innocence Project co-director Kenneth Lawson remembered the emotional moment, recounting that Cordeiro, who had near-total loss of faith in the justice system, wept when the judge vacated his conviction.
After his release, Cordeiro, now 51, expressed his gratitude to his supporters and the judge, saying, “I’d like to go see my mom.” He also acknowledged the support system he had in place as he adjusted to life outside of prison.
New Evidence
Cordeiro’s conviction was influenced by jailhouse informants whose testimonies were later proven to be fabricated. His defense team presented alibis that showed he was at home during the murder. New DNA evidence ruled him out as the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body, prompting the judge to concur that this would have changed the result of a new trial.Cordeiro’s attorneys think that the true offender, Michael Freitas, who died in 2020, orchestrated the robbery and was an active participant in the killing.
The cops blew this case from day one and made the No. 1 suspect the state’s star witness,” Lawson said, observing the decades of miscarriage of justice.
