Latest news with #GordonCordeiro
Sky News
23-02-2025
- Sky News
'Everybody is looking at their phones,' says man freed after 30 years in prison
A man who has been released from prison after 30 years for a crime he says he never committed has been readjusting to life - and getting used to just how connected people are now. Gordon Cordeiro was jailed in 1994 over the murder of Timothy Blaisdell on the island of Maui, but due to new DNA evidence his conviction was overturned on Friday. Speaking about his first impression of the outside world following his release from Maui Community Correctional Center, Mr Cordeiro, who has always maintained his innocence, said he has been trying to get used to how connected people are. "Everybody is looking at their phones," he said, during his first Zoom interview since leaving prison. Mr Cordeiro also commented on the new DNA evidence which led to his release, telling the Associated Press news agency: "Thank God for new DNA. Technology is awesome." The first thing he did after he was freed was visit his mother's grave as he said he had constantly thought about her during his time behind bars. Mr Cordeiro's mother, Paulette, died aged 49 in September 1994 from ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's disease. Her son was arrested the following month. "Thanks for looking over me. Keeping me safe," Mr Cordeiro recalled saying at her grave. In a picture provided by his sister, he can be seen kneeling graveside, with a garland of flowers he was given upon release draped over the headstone. Speaking more about what he had got up to since regaining his freedom, Mr Cordeiro said he went for a steak dinner and celebrated with family at his father's house. The next day, he visited more relatives' graves and planned to go to Costco. "It feels normal," he said, but added Maui had changed as he pointed to the destruction caused in Lahaina by a wildfire in 2023. Announcing her decision to free him, Judge Kirstin Hamman ruled new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial. Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he plans to appeal against the decision and seek to have bail imposed on Mr Cordeiro's release. Mr 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.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
A man in Hawaii argued he spent 30 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. New DNA evidence helped free him
Gordon Cordeiro, who spent more than half his life in prison for a murder he denied committing, walked out of a Maui correctional center on what he called 'Freedom Friday' thanks to new DNA evidence. Hours after a judge ruled that the outcome of another potential murder trial against him would likely be altered by the new evidence, Cordeiro was met with cheers, hugs and Hawaiian lei greetings when he emerged from the correctional facility. 'I thank all these people,' he said, referring to relatives, friends and members of his legal team who greeted him outside, according to video from CNN affiliate KHNL. 'These are the people that got me out. Without them, I wouldn't have made it.' Cordeiro, now 51, was in his 20s when he was convicted of the 1994 murder of Timothy Blaisdell during a drug deal robbery in Maui, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project, which took up his case and argued that new evidence – including DNA test results – showed he was not at the crime scene at the time of the murder. Project lawyers also pointed to what they said was false testimony against him and misconduct by prosecutors. On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kirstin Hamman in Maui vacated Cordeiro's murder and robbery convictions and his sentence of life without parole, according to KHNL and The Associated Press. Cordeiro, sitting in court in a prison jumpsuit, wiped away tears as the ruling was delivered. His father, Dennis Cordeiro, fighting back tears, told KHNL he felt relief, joy and happiness 'that my son can finally do some family celebrations before I leave this world.' Cordeiro's first trial ended in a hung jury, with a single juror voting to convict, according to the Innocence Project. At a second trial, with the testimony of jailhouse informants looking to lessen their own sentences, prosecutors secured a conviction, Cordeiro's legal team said. 'This is a case that when you hear the facts of the case, you know somewhere deep in your heart there's been some fundamental unfairness going on,' Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, told reporters after Friday's ruling. The Innocence Project said on its website that 'additional DNA testing on multiple items from the crime scene' was conducted, and that it had new evidence showing that Cordeiro was 'not present anywhere at the crime scene.' It also obtained and compared DNA samples from potential suspects to DNA at the scene, the site said. Maui prosecutors could still refile charges against Cordeiro. Robert Rost, a deputy prosecuting attorney, told KHNL that while DNA evidence could be compelling in a decades-old cold case, he doesn't believe Cordeiro's lawyers 'met the standard to have this conviction set aside.' Gina Gormley, an attorney for Cordeiro, said: 'If they really sat down and took the time to look at evidence that came out, they should not re-try this case.' In a court filing, the Hawaii Innocence Project accused the state of relying on 'incentivized jailhouse informants and their fabricated evidence and testimony' about murder-for-hire plots – claims the judge rejected, according to The Associated Press. Cordeiro's lawyers maintain that on the day of the crime, he was building a shelving unit in the garage at his parents' house. The alibi, they said, was backed up by friends and others who saw him in the garage as well as receipts from where he purchased the shelving supplies. Cordeiro's legal team believes that another suspect, who the AP reported died in 2020, set up the victim to be robbed during a marijuana deal that ended in a fatal shooting.
CNN
22-02-2025
- CNN
Hawaii man freed after 30 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit
Gordon Cordeiro, who spent more than half his life in prison for a murder he denied committing, walked out of a Maui correctional center on what he called 'Freedom Friday' thanks to new DNA evidence. Hours after a judge ruled that the outcome of another potential murder trial against him would likely be altered by the new evidence, Cordeiro was met with cheers, hugs and Hawaiian lei greetings when he emerged from the correctional facility. 'I thank all these people,' he said, referring to relatives, friends and members of his legal team who greeted him outside, according to video from CNN affiliate KHNL. 'These are the people that got me out. Without them, I wouldn't have made it.' Cordeiro, now 51, was in his 20s when he was convicted of the 1994 murder of Timothy Blaisdell during a drug deal robbery in Maui, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project, which took up his case and argued that new evidence – including DNA test results – showed he was not at the crime scene at the time of the murder. Project lawyers also pointed to what they said was false testimony against him and misconduct by prosecutors. On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kirstin Hamman in Maui vacated Cordeiro's murder and robbery convictions and his sentence of life without parole, according to KHNL and The Associated Press. Cordeiro, sitting in court in a prison jumpsuit, wiped away tears as the ruling was delivered. His father, Dennis Cordeiro, fighting back tears, told KHNL he felt relief, joy and happiness 'that my son can finally do some family celebrations before I leave this world.' Cordeiro's first trial ended in a hung jury, with a single juror voting to convict, according to the Innocence Project. At a second trial, with the testimony of jailhouse informants looking to lessen their own sentences, prosecutors secured a conviction, Cordeiro's legal team said. 'This is a case that when you hear the facts of the case, you know somewhere deep in your heart there's been some fundamental unfairness going on,' Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, told reporters after Friday's ruling. The Innocence Project said on its website that 'additional DNA testing on multiple items from the crime scene' was conducted, and that it had new evidence showing that Cordeiro was 'not present anywhere at the crime scene.' It also obtained and compared DNA samples from potential suspects to DNA at the scene, the site said. Maui prosecutors could still refile charges against Cordeiro. Robert Rost, a deputy prosecuting attorney, told KHNL that while DNA evidence could be compelling in a decades-old cold case, he doesn't believe Cordeiro's lawyers 'met the standard to have this conviction set aside.' Gina Gormley, an attorney for Cordeiro, said: 'If they really sat down and took the time to look at evidence that came out, they should not re-try this case.' In a court filing, the Hawaii Innocence Project accused the state of relying on 'incentivized jailhouse informants and their fabricated evidence and testimony' about murder-for-hire plots – claims the judge rejected, according to The Associated Press. Cordeiro's lawyers maintain that on the day of the crime, he was building a shelving unit in the garage at his parents' house. The alibi, they said, was backed up by friends and others who saw him in the garage as well as receipts from where he purchased the shelving supplies. Cordeiro's legal team believes that another suspect, who the AP reported died in 2020, set up the victim to be robbed during a marijuana deal that ended in a fatal shooting.
