Hawaii Supreme Court weighs dual compensation claims in exonerees’ case

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s Supreme Court is considering whether wrongful conviction exonerees can collect compensation from the state and also seek damages in federal court.

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The case was filed by Albert Ian and Shawn Schweitzer, who were wrongfully convicted for the rape and murder of Dana Ireland in 1991.

Albert Ian Schweitzer was released from prison in 2023, 23 years after his conviction, but his court battles over compensation continue.

Albert Lauro Jr. was found to be the source of all the DNA at the scene, on Ireland’s body and her clothes. Lauro killed himself in 2024, before he could be charged with the crime.

Three questions before the court

The state’s high court is now being asked three questions to determine if the Schweitzer brothers can claim compensation owed from the state — $50,000 per year in prison — and still sue Hawaii County law enforcement for alleged federal constitutional violations.

Ken Lawson, of the Hawaii Innocence Project, described the federal case as “a civil rights action against those individual police officers who violated their civil rights by manufacturing evidence” and “sent them to prison knowing that they were innocent.”

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But attorneys for the state point to the compensation law which says “the exclusive remedy for any person seeking compensation of any kind or nature whatsoever”.

Megan Kau, a defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor, said the law’s language is unclear. “That’s pretty vague. And so now the Hawaii Supreme Court is going to have to decide, does it really mean any claim is barred or just a state claim?” Kau said. “It’s never been tested. In the law, we call it a case of first impression. It just means that the appellate courts have never decided this issue before.”

Cases on hold

While the legal wrangling continues, both the state and federal cases are on hold, and the Schweitzers have not received any financial assistance.

Albert Ian Schweitzer was 28 years old and working as a nurse when he was convicted. He was 51 years old when he was exonerated.

Lawson said, “We get one life, one. And how many of us is willing to give up 25 years of our life and sit in a prison for a crime we didn’t commit and then come out and be told, you know what, we still going to keep delaying.”

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The state Supreme Court is expected to release a decision in the coming weeks.