Two Hawaiian brothers say police framed them in 1991 murder

Two brothers who were convicted of raping and murdering a tourist in Hawaii in 1991 filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, saying police framed them and then botched an investigation that could have brought the real killer to justice.

Albert Schweitzer, who goes by his middle name Ian, served 23 years in prison for a life sentence before newly discovered DNA evidence cleared his name and he was released in 2023.

His brother, Shawn Schweitzer, took a deal to plead guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping in 2000 and spent a year in prison. After Ian’s convictions were overturned and he was released in 2023, Shawn Schweitzer filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and his conviction was quickly overturned.

The brothers argued in the retrial that they “had nothing to do with the crime.” Evidence suggests an unknown person may be responsible.

Dana Ireland, a 23-year-old white woman, was riding her bike in a remote area of ​​the Big Island when she was raped and murdered. Investigators searched for clues for years before charging the Schweitzers. The brothers, who are part Native Hawaiian and were 20 and 16 at the time of the killing, claimed in the lawsuit that they were targeted after police were “under immense pressure to solve this murder highly publicized.

In 2023, Kenneth L. Lawson, co-director of the Hawai’i Innocence Project, which represented Mr. Schweitzer in his criminal trial alongside the Innocence Project, told the Times that the racial dynamics of the case had fueled media interest for the investigation. and put additional pressure on authorities to secure convictions.