No timeline for Hawaii Supreme Court to rule on evidence in Dana Ireland murder case

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – There is no set schedule for when the Hawaii Supreme Court will decide if newly acquired evidence in the 1991 Dana Ireland murder case should be turned over to the Hawaii Innocence Project.

The state’s high court could take up to a year to issue a ruling, but Brian Black, executive director of the Public First Law Center, said the events have been moving at a faster pace than usual.

“If they agreed on what the outcome could be, they could enter an order that says, courts do this and we’ll give you a better explanation at a later date,” Black said.

“It’s always going to take time for that final opinion to come out and really explain their rationale.”

The delays have been devastating for Albert Ian Schweitzer, whose conviction was vacated last year after he had already spent 23 years in prison for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Ireland.

In order to collect money for the wrongful conviction, $50,000 for every year in prison, HIP said he needs to be declared innocent by a lower court judge.

The legal team believes the investigative file on newly identified suspect, Albert Lauro, Jr., will move that process forward.

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Circuit Court judge Peter Kubota ordered the evidence to be turned over to HIP in August, but Hawaii County police and prosecutors objected then appealed to the high court.

Meanwhile, Schweitzer said it’s been a struggle financially. He had no job training for the past two decades and prison has taken a toll.

“He was in his 20s when he went in, he’s now in his 50s,” said Ken Lawson, of the Hawaii Innocence Project.

Lawson said people who are guilty and released on parole are provided services to help them transition back into society but when you are innocent, you get released with none of those benefits.

Schweitzer’s brother Shawn was also wrongfully convicted of the crime but didn’t spend much time behind bars. Still, he lived with the stigma from the high profile case.

Attorneys for the county told the justices that the evidence against Lauro, who killed himself in July, needs to be kept secret because the Ireland murder case is still under investigation.

The prosecutor’s office said the Schweitzers are still considered suspects in the Ireland case, despite DNA and other evidence that point away from the brothers.

Lawson said he understands why the justices need time to rule, but hopes it won’t take as long as other cases.

“Our clients understand that the court is going to take some time to really clarify the law in this area which needs to be clarified, especially on the actual innocence statute.”

Black agreed that this decision could lay the foundation for other cases of innocence as people try to get compensation for wrongful convictions.

“There is a very interesting question as to how exactly these types of proceedings for actual innocence should move forward, and it seems like the court is going to have to grapple with that,” said Black.

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