New DNA evidence frees Hawaii man after 30 years in prison for murder
A Hawaiian man who spent 30 years in jail for murder has long denied the announcement as “Free Friday” and said he was eager to visit his mother after a judge ordered his release due to new DNA evidence.
When Judge Kirstin Hanman said, “there was gasping and crying in the court, “the judgment and judgment were evacuated and the defendant was ordered to be released from custody,” the Zoom Feed broadcast hearing was suddenly closed.
She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, could change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Codyro.
The case involved the 1994 killing of Timothy Blaisdell in a drug deal on Maui.
Cordeiro’s first trial ended with a pending jury, with only one juror voting to convict. But he was later convicted of murder, robbery and attempted murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Hawaii Innocence Project filed his case, and at a hearing this week, Codyro had to be released on new evidence, which proved his innocence, his former lawyers and the ineffectiveness of prosecuting misconduct.
Maui County Attorney Andrew Martin said he was disappointed with the ruling, “none of the judge’s findings drove him in any way.”
Martin added that his office intends to appeal and file a motion to impose bail on Codyro’s release, saying there is a risk of flying due to the crime of murder.
Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocent Project, said it was a very exciting time.
“He cried, we all cried,” Lawson said. “He thought he would be exempted…but after two trials, you lost confidence in the judicial system. Finally, you heard the judge say, ‘I’m evacuating Your belief is when you hit him.
Cordeiro’s beliefs and release reactions
After he released Cordeiro, now 51, he stood outside the Maui Community Correctional Center and spoke to reporters, calling it “Friday Freedom.” The Associated Press listens via Honolulu phone.
He said he felt grateful. He thanked his supporters, judges and even prosecutors who prescribed certain facts in the case.
“I want to see my mom,” Codyro said. “It will be very good.”
When asked about adapting to the life of a free man after falling behind in prison for 30 years, he said: “I have great support.”
He was wrongly convicted, according to court documents filed by Cordiro’s lawyers, in part because police relied on four prison informants who were motivated to reduce sentences and commit to forgery of murder.
“Unfortunately, for Codyro, the state’s use of informants in the jail and their fabricated evidence and testimony for murder is enough to convince him of the evidence of the jury that guilty him in the second trial and testimony,” Hawaiian innocent said in court. Filing.
However, the judge ruled that there was not enough evidence that the state intended to use false testimony and rejected the claim to prosecute misconduct.
His lawyer said Cordeiro had several Alibis on the day Blaisdell was killed: 22 years old at the time in his sister’s car – the hair from the murder Near the so-called gliding area of Ishima.
According to court documents, Blaisdell went on the skiing with a man named Michael Freitas and planned to buy a pound of marijuana for $800 in cash. His body was found at the bottom of the ravine.
Freitas keeps changing his story, Cordeiro’s lawyer says he blames their clients, who wrongly believes he “sneakyly” against him in an unrelated drug case “Stealed” against him.
Hawaii Innocence Project says new tests of physical evidence on the scene do not include the source of DNA that he is Brycedel’s body and other crime scene evidence after Cordiro’s conviction, Hawaii Innocence Project says in Bryce A separate human DNA profile was found on Del’s internal pocket. jeans.
The judge agreed that new DNA evidence and new information about the shooting would change the outcome of the subsequent trial.
Cordeiro’s lawyer believes Freitas died in 2020 and he robbed Blaisdell and participated in his killings.
“Police harassed the case from the very beginning and turned the suspect’s first place into a star witness in the state, leading to more than 30 years of nightmares and justice for Gordon and his family,” Lawson said. .”
