Gordon Cordeiro, a Hawaii man wrongfully convicted of murder, was released after 30 years in prison due to new DNA evidence. Celebrating “Freedom Friday,” he expressed eagerness to reunite with his mother. The ruling came from Judge Kirstin Hamman, who stated that new evidence could alter the trial’s outcome. Cordeiro’s conviction stemmed from a 1994 murder during a drug deal, but he maintained his innocence. The Hawaii Innocence Project argued prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective legal representation. Despite disappointment from the Maui County Prosecuting Attorney, who plans to appeal, Cordeiro’s release marks a significant moment in a long quest for justice.
Honolulu:
A man from Hawaii, who spent three decades in prison for a murder he consistently denied committing, proclaimed the day as “Freedom Friday” and expressed his eagerness to visit his mother after a judge ordered his release due to new DNA evidence.
Gasps and cries filled the courtroom as Judge Kirstin Hamman announced, “And the judgment and sentence is vacated, and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody,” just before the Zoom feed broadcasting the hearing abruptly cut off.
Judge Hamman determined that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely alter the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.
The case concerns the 1994 murder of Timothy Blaisdell, who was killed during a drug deal robbery on Maui.
Cordeiro’s first trial resulted in a hung jury, with only one juror favoring his conviction. However, he was subsequently convicted of murder, robbery, and attempted murder, receiving a life sentence without the option of parole.
The Hawaii Innocence Project took on Cordeiro’s case and argued in a recent hearing that he should be released due to new evidence demonstrating his innocence, ineffective assistance from his previous attorney, and prosecutorial misconduct.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin expressed his disappointment with the ruling, stating that “none of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way.”
Martin’s office plans to appeal and file a motion to impose bail on Cordeiro’s release, citing a perceived flight risk because of the murder charge.
Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, described the moment as highly emotional.
“He cried, we all cried,” Lawson recounted. “He believed he would be exonerated … but after enduring two trials, you start to lose faith in the justice system. Hearing a judge say, ‘I’m vacating your convictions,’ was when it truly hit him.”
After his release, Cordeiro, now 51, spoke to reporters outside the Maui Community Correctional Center, calling it “Freedom Friday.” The Associated Press was on the line from Honolulu.
He expressed gratitude, thanking his supporters, the judge, and even the prosecutors who conceded certain facts in the case.
“I’d like to go see my mom,” Cordeiro said. “That would be nice.”
When asked about adapting to life as a free man after three decades in prison, he replied, “I got good support.”
Cordeiro’s attorneys claimed in court documents that he was wrongfully convicted partly because police relied on four jailhouse informants motivated by promises of reduced sentences and concocted murder-for-hire plots.
“Unfortunately for Cordeiro, the State’s use of incentivized jailhouse informants and their fabricated evidence and testimony regarding the murder-for-hire plots was enough to convince a jury of his guilt in his second trial,” the Hawaii Innocence Project stated in a court filing.
However, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the state intentionally used false testimony and dismissed a claim of prosecutorial misconduct.
Cordeiro had multiple alibis for the day Blaisdell was murdered, according to his attorneys: The then-22-year-old was at home with family, spending time building a shelving unit in their open-air garage and installing a stereo in his sister’s car, nowhere near the so-called Skid Row area in Maui where the crime took place.
Blaisdell had traveled to Skid Row with Michael Freitas, intending to purchase a pound of marijuana with $800 in cash, as per court documents. His body was discovered at the bottom of a ravine.
Freitas continually altered his story, according to Cordeiro’s attorneys, and shifted the blame onto Cordeiro, a friend whom he mistakenly believed “snitched” on him in a separate drug case.
Following Cordeiro’s conviction, new testing of physical evidence from the crime scene identified him as not the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body and other evidence from the scene, the Hawaii Innocence Project reported. Additionally, a DNA profile of an unidentified individual was discovered inside the pockets of Blaisdell’s jeans.
The judge concurred that the new DNA evidence and additional information regarding gunshot residue would influence the results of a subsequent trial.
Cordeiro’s attorneys believe that Freitas, who passed away in 2020, orchestrated a robbery against Blaisdell and was involved in his murder.
“The police mishandled this case from the outset, turning the primary suspect into the state’s star witness, leading to a 30-plus-year ordeal and miscarriage of justice for Gordon and his family,” Lawson stated.
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