A guilty verdict. A plea deal. A family shattered. Ian Schweitzer is sentenced to life, and his brother Shawn faces an impossible choice—fight for the truth or admit to a crime he didn’t commit. But with missing evidence and a system eager to close the case, the truth remains just out of reach. What if justice was never the goal?__You can view the materials referenced in this episode at https://threepodcast.com/chapter-3-family-feudPlease consider donating to Ian’s GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ian-schweitzer-after-wrongful-conviction. You can visit www.hawaiiinnocenceproject.org and click the donate button to support them, their work and their clients. Amanda Knox’s new memoir, Free: My Search for Meaning is available at www.amandaknox.com. If you have any information about the abduction and murder of Dana Ireland, we encourage you to contact the Hawai’i Innocence Project at [email protected].
What led to Ian Schweitzer's conviction?
After over three weeks, somehow, someway, Ian is found guilty of sexual assault in the first, guilty of murder in the second, and guilty of kidnapping. He is sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction and two 20-year sentences for kidnapping and sexual assault to run consecutively. Sean is up next.
As Ian and Frank have both now been convicted of Dana's murder, Sean's fate seems almost predestined. Freedom often comes at a steep cost. For Sean, the idea of pleading guilty to a crime he didn't commit is a bitter pill to swallow. And his attorney, Keith Shigatomi, is committed to doing whatever he can to help Sean.
You don't really believe it's going to happen because it's so fucking ridiculous. That's how I felt. I felt it was fucking ridiculous that they even came after us. It's fucking ridiculous.
You know, people talk about the defense, the defendant being presumed innocent. That doesn't change unless and until the prosecution can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But in reality, people think that if you're arrested, you're guilty.
And so we deal with that in every case, regardless of if it's on the front page news or it's something that nobody has ever heard of before and nobody really gives a shit about. So that's just the reality.
ian is convicted even faster than frank and you know that obviously the the family's devastated that ian has been convicted he's going to be serving a life sentence unless something changes at some point in the future that's his fate he's got a life sentence Now, at that point, Sean is in his early 20s. He has two young children.
The thought of him going to prison has got to be a scary thought, especially for something that we didn't do. And my position throughout the entire case was always, you know, Sean, I believe in you. I believe in me. I think we can win this. I don't give a shit what happened to Frank. I don't give a shit what happened to Ian. You want to fight? We'll go down.
We'll go down that alley together and we'll give them the fight of their life. And, you know, Sean's appreciative. And I said, but at the same time, if you want to not go to prison, you tell me and I'll see what I can do. And that's when, you know, the decision is made, OK, well, let's see what we can try to do to prevent Sean from going to prison.
Like Ian, Sean is offered a deal. But unlike Ian, for the sake of his children's well-being, Sean accepts, with Ian's support.
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