John,

Yesterday, Judge Peter K. Kubota vacated Albert “Ian” Schweitzer’s conviction for the 1991 rape and murder of Dana Ireland in Hawaii. Ian was exonerated based on new DNA testing that excluded him and his co-defendants, and identified a single unknown male suspect.

Ian spent 25 years incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit based on false jailhouse informant testimony.

“After 25 years of incarceration for a crime Mr. Schweitzer did not commit, he is eager to have his name cleared and return home to his family. From the beginning, the DNA in this case provided powerful evidence that these three men are innocent,” said Susan Friedman, one of Ian’s Innocence Project attorneys. “Yet, the State built its case on false informant testimony and misapplied forensic evidence. We are grateful to the Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney for their collaboration during this re-investigation. The new scientific evidence is clear — Mr. Schweitzer did not commit this crime.”

Take a moment to read more about Ian’s story and then share this good news with your friends and family online. And if you’d like to support Ian while he rebuilds his life after decades of wrongful incarceration, you can help fulfill items on his Amazon Wish List.

On Dec. 24, 1991, Dana Ireland was struck by a vehicle while cycling home and transported to a fishing trail a few miles away and had been sexually assaulted. She died from severe blood loss the following day at the hospital.

Nearly three years later, John Gonsalves — an incentivized jailhouse informant facing significant time in prison — claimed to police that his half-brother Frank Pauline, Jr. had information on Ms. Ireland’s murder. A month later, Frank, who was incarcerated on unrelated charges, falsely confessed to being in a car with Ian and his brother Shawn when they committed the crime.

Frank gave multiple statements to police, which were riddled with inconsistencies, in an attempt to gain favor for himself and John. Frank later recanted his confession on July 6, 1996. A year later, DNA testing on the rape kit excluded all three of the men, and the indictments against the Schweitzer brothers were dismissed. Frank’s indictment was not dismissed because he presumably confessed.

They thought this was behind them, but in 1999, the brothers were re-indicted based on new allegations from another jailhouse informant, Michael Ortiz, who claimed that Ian confessed to him while they were both incarcerated. Ian was wrongly convicted in February 2000 and sentenced to life for second-degree murder, and given two additional consecutive sentences of 20 years for kidnapping and 20 years for sexual assault.

“Injustice is at the core of this case — historically one of the most high profile cases Hawaii has ever seen. The growing public pressure to hold someone accountable for this horrific crime — combined with the incessant media attention — outweighed the tainted false testimony used to wrongly convict the Schweitzer brothers and Mr. Pauline, as well as the clear DNA evidence that proved their innocence,” said Ken Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project.

Please, read more about Ian’s case and learn how faulty forensic science and unregulated informant testimony perpetuates injustice.

Thank you for your support,

The Innocence Project Team

P.S. If you’d like to help Ian rebuild his life after 25 years of wrongful incarceration, you can do so by fulfilling items on his Amazon Wish List.