Petition seeks to free Hawaiian man convicted of ’91 murder

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A petition outlining new evidence in one of Hawaii’s biggest criminal cases asks a judge to release a Native Hawaiian man who has spent more than 20 years in prison for the sexual assault, kidnapping and murder of a white woman on the Big Island. The 1991 attack of 23-year-old Dana Ireland remained unsolved for years, despite gaining major national attention. The Innocence Project in New York and Hawaii are petitioning for the release of the last of three Native Hawaiian men convicted in Ireland’s death. Lawyers for Albert “Ian” Schweitzer say new DNA, forensic and vehicle analysis prove his innocence.