There were gasps and cries in the courtroom when Judge Kirstin Hamman said, “And the judgement and sentence is vacated and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody,” before a Zoom feed broadcasting the hearing suddenly turned off.
She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial against Gordon Cordeiro.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he was disappointed in the ruling and “None of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way.”
His office intends to appeal and file a motion seeking to impose bail on Cordeiro’s release, Martin added, saying there is a flight risk because a murder charge is involved.
There’s pros and cons to both systems. With so many positions being elected, it is supposed to make it more difficult for unilateral, systemic corruption to take root. In theory, anyway. But, hardly anyone pays attention to local politics and local journalism is virtually dead in all but larger metro areas nowadays. As such, propaganda is much easier to spread and corruption goes unnoticed in all but the most egregious scenarios in many smaller areas.