A Hawaii man, Gordon Cordeiro, who has maintained his innocence for three decades, was granted release by a judge on Friday. The decision came after new evidence, including DNA test results, surfaced, potentially altering the outcome of a retrial against Cordeiro. The judge's ruling to vacate his convictions and life sentence was met with emotional reactions in the courtroom, with Cordeiro set to be freed from custody.
In 1994, Cordeiro was convicted of murder, robbery, and attempted murder in connection with a fatal incident during a drug deal robbery on Maui. The Hawaii Innocence Project took on his case, arguing for his release based on new evidence pointing to his innocence, as well as citing issues with his legal representation and alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
The Maui County Prosecuting Attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the judge's decision. Cordeiro's co-director at the Hawaii Innocence Project described the moment of the judge's ruling as highly emotional, with Cordeiro reportedly shedding tears upon hearing the news of his convictions being vacated.
Cordeiro's attorneys contended that his wrongful conviction was influenced by the use of incentivized jailhouse informants who provided fabricated evidence linking him to the crime. They argued that Cordeiro had alibis for the time of the murder and that new DNA testing excluded him as the source of DNA found at the crime scene.
The case involved shifting narratives from a key witness, Michael Freitas, who allegedly implicated Cordeiro due to a personal vendetta. With Freitas passing away in 2020, the focus turned to the new DNA evidence and gunshot residue findings that could impact any future legal proceedings.
Cordeiro's legal team emphasized that the police mishandled the investigation from the start, leading to a prolonged miscarriage of justice. The judge's acknowledgment of the significance of the new evidence marks a potential turning point in Cordeiro's decades-long battle to clear his name.
