After decades of secrecy, the truth is finally on trial. In a stunning turn, Judge Kubota orders the release of long-hidden evidence, shaking the very foundation of the case against Ian and Shawn Schweitzer. But as the Hawai’i Innocence Project prepares to expose the full scope of this wrongful conviction, the prosecution fights back—taking their battle to the state’s highest court in a desperate attempt to keep the past buried.Will the pursuit of justice finally bring accountability, or will the system protect itself at all costs?The stakes have never been higher.__Please 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. To buy Amanda Knox’s new memoir, Free: My Search for Meaning, click HERE. Click HERE to view Dr. Saul Kassin's study on how judges respond to confession errors. This study is also referenced in Dr. Kassin’s book, DUPED.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]. You can also contact Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and the Hawai’i Police Department at (808) 961-2380 or visit their website Hawaiipolice.gov to submit a tip.
Chapter 1: Why did Judge Kubota order the release of evidence?
Judge Kubota's decision to have Hawaii PD release the information they have about Albert Laurel Jr. is a polarizing one. This is great news for the Hawaii Innocence Project and for Ian and Sean, Hawaii PD, however, aren't exactly thrilled that Judge Kubota has made this decision.
They want to take this issue all the way up to Hawaii's Supreme Court with the goal of blocking the judge from sharing anything about their investigation into the murder of Dana Ireland.
According to an article reported by Lynn Kawano for Hawaii News Now, the reason that the prosecutor's office is requesting this information remain private is because, quote, "...any premature disclosure of these records would absolutely jeopardize and or completely upend this investigation."
Chapter 2: What are the arguments against releasing investigation information?
They say that they aren't necessarily against the Hawaii Innocence Project having the information, but they want to make it so they aren't able to share any of the information publicly, which is why they're appealing to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
Because not only does Judge Kubota decide that Hawaii PD needs to turn over the evidence, but he also doesn't believe the Hawaii Innocence Project needs to keep whatever information they get private. The public deserves the visibility.
During his hearing, Judge Kubota questioned Elizabeth Britt Bailey, who is the Deputy Corporation Counsel of Hawaii County, wanting to better understand exactly what is going on behind the scenes with the Hawaii PD. What is their goal? Albert Laurel Jr. is dead. What possible ongoing investigation is there?
It seems like Hawaii County's goal is to delay Ian and Sean's civil case, which would finally accomplish what they have now spent years trying to prove, factual innocence. And with that, they would receive compensation from the state that they rightfully deserve.
Judge Kubota says during the hearing, quote, these guys were convicted 23 years ago, and they're seeking a determination of actual innocence. And in my view, justice delayed at your behest is justice denied. I'm Amanda Knox, and this is Three. Chapter 10, Justice.
When Shannon Kagawa stands in front of the Hawaii Supreme Court, she makes it clear that Ian and Sean Schweitzer are still considered suspects. While she believes the new DNA evidence is enough to justify overturning Ian and Sean's convictions, it doesn't necessarily mean they are innocent for all the reasons she has stated previously.
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Chapter 3: How does the Hawaii Innocence Project aim to prove innocence?
And this is terrifying for Ian and Sean, because even though their convictions have been overturned, until they are proven factually innocent, at any time, they can be charged again. The prosecution claims that is not part of their current game plan, but they haven't exactly earned a reputation for forthrightness and honesty here.
And during this hearing with the Hawaii Supreme Court, the higher judges are a little skeptical.
A murder has no statute of limitations. Are the Schweitzer's going to be suspects for the next 30 years?
I definitely hope not. But I think we do have to allow the police department the opportunity to do an investigation.
I don't think anyone's saying that the police department shouldn't do the investigation. You know, I'd be the first to admit that we want a thorough and complete investigation. But the question is, what is being investigated at this point? We're 30 plus years out. Somebody served 25 years of their life, prime of their life, and taken from them. And here we are.
At the end of the day, the Hawaii Innocence Project is committed to one thing here, proving once and for all, beyond a reasonable doubt, that their clients Ian and Sean Schweitzer are innocent and that they are compensated accordingly. As for the Hawaii Police Department, well, in our conversation with Chief Moskowitz, he says the one thing they're committed to is justice. Of course.
And any argument that there is some witch hunt and cover-up happening is absolutely, categorically false.
One of the most preposterous things that I've heard in my entire life. That the allegation that we wanted Laurel to kill himself in order to perpetuate this mistake that the Schweitzer's and Pauline acted alone. That is perhaps one of the most appalling things I've ever heard. That is one of the most baseless allegations. And it's really, I hate to use words like this because people...
It's scurrilous, right? It really is. It's abjectly false. It's without evidence. And it's basically just inflammatory to attempt to prove a point that is not true.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision?
All of their concern was just putting somebody away before the statute of limitations. That's it. That's all they cared about. They didn't care about finding the true guy. And he was probably still in her community. The justice system just was like, they just failed at their job.
The cops didn't do their job well, because they didn't do good detective work, so they failed her even getting a good case. So they had to make up a case, and then the prosecution, whatever, they failed because they knew what they were looking at. They did a messy job. They didn't take care of all, you know, what they needed to find the person legitimately. And there were other leads.
There were other leads that they did not follow up on. They did not follow up.
During our team's last trip to Hawaii, Ian and Sean welcome us back to their home in Volcano a few days after the hearing. Sean's wife, Treatie, greets us with a warm smile, grandkids running between rooms. The day feels different. The delays and the lack of resounding good news that will put this all to bed finally has taken their toll on the brothers. Their mood is more somber than usual.
Sean, normally the more reserved of the two brothers, is worried about finances. He carries a heavy burden supporting his growing family, including newer grandkids, and he must balance these constant court appearances with the need to have take-home money each week. Ian is still steadfast. He's ready to fight. But he can't go back to work. He's not ready for that.
He was a nurse on the islands before all this happened, with dreams of early retirement. He's worked since he was a little boy, always hustling. But today is about trying to get back to normal. Each new day is a blessing to Ian, a new chance at life. Ian often recalls what Judge Peter Kubota shared with him that day, that he has more of his life to live.
Ian must decide if he will live with bitterness or with hope. I think about that too whenever I'm looking into a wrongful conviction case. Hope is complicated. It can be a source of suffering, the thing that prevents you from accepting your reality as it is. But it can also sustain you through the darkness.
And it's not just the personal hope of finding peace or growing through your trauma, but hope for the truth to finally come out, for justice to be served. And truth and justice, they're for everyone. Not just the Schweitzer family. Dana Ireland's family deserves the truth. So does the Pauline family. So does the whole Big Island community.
Justice also means that those who've caused harm or delayed the truth from coming out should be held accountable, especially when they've been empowered to protect and serve the community. And that's something that even the Hawaii Supreme Court recognizes when they come back with their decision in October 2024.
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Chapter 5: How has the wrongful conviction impacted Ian and Sean Schweitzer?
They're telling not just the Swises, but everybody else henceforth, if you come out of prison and the judge has overturned your conviction, You can demonstrate actual innocence. Here's the process you follow. And so they really did clarify for all of us in this state, how do you go about getting compensated for serving time in prison when you're actually innocent?
As of the time of this hearing, police say they are waiting for the results of Albert Laurel Jr. 's autopsy and are still in the process of trying to interview his loved ones, including his wife, who they say hasn't spoken to them yet, almost four months after his death.
And as of today, this is where things sit, with the Hawaii Innocence Project in the midst of filing their civil lawsuit against Hawaii County. This series has been about a lot of things. Justice for Dana Ireland and her family. Justice for Sean and Ian Schweitzer and their family. And as complicated as it may be, justice for Frank Pauline and his family.
Whatever you may think about Frank, it became a lot harder to carry around the name Pauline in Hawaii after Ian, Sean, and Frank were wrongly convicted for the murder of Dana Ireland. And that's not just due to Frank's lies, but to the incompetence and perhaps willful blindness of law enforcement. Here's his attorney, Miles Briner.
The fact that Frank implicated the Schweitzer's and still was convicted, he's still a victim of this whole process. The fact that he did these things and implicated the Schweitzer's, I suspect, you know, when you're under investigation as a possible rapist and murderer, you say a lot of things. And people make promises or imply that if you help them, they'll help you and so forth.
I've no doubt that Frank was trying to play all the angles possible. The sons have paid the price for the father's sins. What was his sin? His sin was that he was a liar. Does that mean that he deserved to be murdered in prison? He deserved to be incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit? It's terrible for the Ireland family and for the whole community.
And I'm thinking about my clients, the surviving sons of Frank Pauline. Frank, for all intents and purposes, was murdered in New Mexico out in the wreckyard because of this case. That's what our belief is. I'm not going to go into the details of it, but our belief is that there was information that was disclosed that became public knowledge. It shouldn't have been.
And there was a possibility that Frank was going to get released. And what happens very often in the prison system when someone's a lifer or has a long sentence and they're about to be released, let's say by the sudden discovery of the exculpatory evidence, there's retaliation by other inmates.
The question that rings throughout every case where there is a potential wrongful conviction at the center of it is, how can something like this happen? How can authorities get it so wrong? In Ian and Sean's case, there was fortunately DNA, but in many cases, there isn't.
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Chapter 6: What role does bias play in wrongful convictions?
While you've got your earbuds in, while you fold laundry or cook dinner or drive to work as this podcast plays, know that there are tens of thousands of innocent people, perhaps more than 100,000, trapped in prison, wishing they had the opportunity to perform those daily chores. to work for an annoying boss, or to see that ex-lover at a party across the room.
That's what I found myself missing most in prison. The birthdays, the adventures, the joy of family time during the holidays. I missed those too, obviously. But the longer I was inside, the more it was the daily stuff of a regular life, those unremarkable and even awkward moments that I began to yearn for.
And it's not just those innocents locked inside, but their families on the outside, whose lives get consumed fighting to save them. As you've seen throughout the last 10 chapters, Dana Ireland's death impacted so many people. Dana's parents, Louise and John, spent the last years of their lives with the pain of the death of their daughter.
Hopefully, you know, this will be solved someday. If it's not, it's going to happen again. These things aren't just an isolated incident.
They took everything. It's not going away, never. I mean, you've got it for the rest of your life.
I mean, everything. And her sister, Sandy.
The community, there are some bad people here, but there's a lot of good people. And they've showed a lot of aloha to my family. And it's, we really, it helped us get through this, all the really good people and the good aloha we experienced from everybody here.
and three men. There's Frank Pauline Jr. and his family, who is still trying to pick up the pieces, like his aunt Lori.
I always said, I pray real hard, I say, God, you ain't blind, ain't deaf, ain't dumb. I pray to God I'm still alive to see your boys, all these boys, their names all clear because they're all innocent. Innocent lives taken for what? The system here really screwed up. Until today, we still have police force are corrupt. We still do. Innocent lives were taken.
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