Man Who Was Sentenced To 130 Years In Prison Gains Freedom After A New DNA Test

A guy who spent more than 20 years in prison after being accused of kidnapping, assaulting sexually, and killing a lady visiting Hawaii was freed after his attorneys presented new evidence and claimed he was innocent following a DNA test result.

Judge Peter Kubota ordered that Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, who was convicted in 2000—the year following the murder—and given a 130-year jail term, should be “free from his shackles right away.”

Hugs and cheers followed in the Hilo courtroom as Mr. Schweitzer, who had been flown to the Big Island for the hearing from the Arizona prison where he was serving his time, finished his sentence.

The instant Mr. Schweitzer was released, he remarked, “My feelings were all over the place.”

“Nerves, anxiety, scared.”

He referred to the legal system as “flawed,” saying that he was one of many people who had been put in jail for crimes they had not committed. He previously told reporters he is “grateful” the judge did the “honorable thing.”

One of Hawaii’s largest murders, which occurred on the Big Island on Christmas Eve in 1991, was the subject of a petition that was submitted late on Monday.

Dana Ireland, 23, was discovered in critical condition in some bushes next to a fishing trail in Puna, a remote area of the island. She had been beaten and subjected to sexual abuse before passing away at the Hilo Medical Center.

She had been riding a bicycle when it was discovered many miles away, badly damaged and looking as though it had been struck by a car.

The Virginia visitor with blonde hair and blue eyes whose murder received national attention.

“Whenever you have a white, female victim … it gets a lot more attention than people of color and Native Hawaiians,” said Kenneth Lawson; co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project.

“The parents, understandably, were becoming more and more infuriated. There was insurmountable pressure to solve this case. And when that happens, mistakes are made. Some intentional and some unintentional.”

It was impossible to reach Ms. Ireland’s family members very away to get their opinions on the petition and Mr. Schweitzer’s release. The release of Mr. Schweitzer was not immediately addressed by the prosecution.

Mr. Schweitzer, the final of three Native Hawaiian males convicted in connection with Ms. Ireland’s death who is still in jail, was defended by Mr. Lawson’s team with assistance from the Innocence Project in New York, the case’s co-counsel.

All three condemned males were disqualified as sources since the DNA evidence that had previously been provided in the case belonged to an unidentified guy.

A Jimmy Z brand T-shirt discovered close to Ms. Ireland and covered in her blood was discovered to belong to the same unidentified man, not one of the three individuals as claimed by the prosecution, according to the appeal.

New tyre tread research also revealed that neither of the locations where Ms. Ireland and her bike were discovered bore any evidence of Mr. Schweitzer’s Volkswagen Beetle vehicle leaving tyre impressions.

According to the petition, a forensic odontologist also determined that a wound on her left breast was not a bite mark as was originally thought.

The petition stated that a jury today would not find Mr. Schweitzer guilty of murdering and sexually assaulting Ms. Ireland.

A prosecutor might not even detain Mr. Schweitzer for this offense, according to the statement. The likelihood all three men participated in a sexual attack and left no trace of biological evidence — including a lack of evidence uncovered with advanced forensic testing — is “extraordinarily improbable”, the petition said.

In 2019, Mr. Schweitzer’s lawyers and Hawaii County prosecutors entered into a “conviction integrity agreement” to reinvestigate the case.

It was the first time in Hawaii there has been this type of agreement, Mr. Lawson said, which is increasingly being used to reexamine questionable convictions and guard against future errors.