Innocent man who spent 30 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit notices one thing about people after being released

Gordon Cordeiro, a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 30 years for a murder he didn’t commit, recently walked free and shared his thoughts about how the world has changed since he was locked away.

His story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, showing how the justice system can fail but also how perseverance and new technology can bring hope.

Cordeiro was convicted in 1994 for the murder of Timothy Blaisdell, who was killed during a drug deal robbery in Maui, Hawaii. Despite insisting he was innocent, Cordeiro was found guilty of robbery, attempted murder, and murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

For years, he fought to prove his innocence, and his case was eventually taken up by the Hawaii Innocence Project, a group dedicated to helping wrongfully convicted people.

The Hawaii Innocence Project argued that Cordeiro’s original lawyer didn’t do a good job defending him and that there had been misconduct during the trial.

They also presented new DNA evidence that proved Cordeiro was not the source of DNA found on Blaisdell’s body or at the crime scene. Instead, the DNA belonged to an unknown person. This new evidence was crucial in convincing a judge to overturn Cordeiro’s conviction and set him free.

After spending more than 30 years in prison, Cordeiro was released on February 21. When he stepped out of the Maui Community Correctional Center, he was struck by how different the world had become.

One of the first things he noticed was how everyone seemed to be glued to their phones. He told the Associated Press, “Everybody is looking at their phones. It keeps beeping and messages coming in, and it’s different.” For someone who had been cut off from society for so long, this was a big change to take in.

While it was a bit overwhelming for him, Cordeiro also recognized how amazing technology can be. After all, it was advancements in DNA testing that helped prove his innocence and secure his release. He said, “Thank God for new DNA. Technology is awesome.”

Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, described the moment of Cordeiro’s release as incredibly emotional. “He cried, we all cried,” Lawson said. “He believed that he was going to be exonerated … but having gone through two trials, you lose faith in the justice system. To finally hear a judge say, ‘I’m vacating your convictions,’ that’s when it hit him.”

After his release, Cordeiro visited his mother’s gravesite to pay his respects. He then enjoyed a steak dinner—a simple pleasure he had been denied for decades—and celebrated with his family. For Cordeiro, this was the beginning of a new life, one where he could finally live as a free man.

Cordeiro’s story is a powerful reminder of how the justice system can sometimes get things wrong, but it also shows how determination and advances in technology can help correct those mistakes. His experience highlights the importance of never giving up, even in the face of overwhelming odds, and the incredible impact that new evidence can have in bringing about justice.