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John Ireland HILO -- John Ireland, who devoted much of his life to justice for crime victims following the 1991 murder of his daughter Dana in Puna, died yesterday in Virginia. He was 76.
leaves legacy of
tough crime
laws in Hawaii
His death in Virginia recalls
his struggle to bring
killers to justiceOBITUARIES
By Rod Thompson
Star-BulletinCharlene Iboshi, who prosecuted three suspects in Dana Ireland's death, said John Ireland had suffered heart problems and a stroke a few months ago.
"He was going on a downhill slide. At least he saw the conclusion of the case. I'm happy for that," she said.
His daughter, Sandy, said by telephone from Virginia, "He went peaceably."
"He gave everything he had for justice for Dana, and then he let go and died," she said.
His wife, Louise, said she knows her husband felt satisfied by the outcome of the case. But when Louise visited him at the nursing home recently and mentioned the case, he had a tear in his eye, she said.
Dana Ireland, 23, was run over by a car while riding her bicycle to her family's rented vacation home on the Big Island on Christmas Eve, 1991.
She was taken to a remote area of the Puna coast, raped, beaten and left to die.
The case became notorious because of the delay in getting help for the young woman -- mostly due to the remoteness of the location, but also due to mistakes by authorities, and due to the passage of nearly three years between the attack and identification of the suspects.
It took five more years before the suspects were brought to trial. Police got the break they needed in 1994 when Frank Pauline Jr., already serving time for an unrelated case, told authorities he participated with brothers Albert Ian and Shawn Schweitzer in the attack.
Pauline and Albert Ian Schweitzer were convicted last year for the crimes. Pauline is serving a minimum term of 180 years. Albert Ian Schweitzer's minimum term was set at 130 years.
Shawn Schweitzer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and kidnapping. He was sentenced to a year in jail, which he had already spent waiting for trial, and is now serving five years' probation.
During the multi-year delay, John Ireland pushed police relentlessly for a solution.
He also pushed the state Legislature to write tougher laws -- "almost single-handedly, to his credit," Iboshi said.
Among his legislative accomplishments is a provision that allows a murder suspect to be sentenced to life without parole if a jury finds that a murder was especially "heinous."
The law could not be applied retroactively to Dana Ireland's case, but it has been used in several subsequent cases, Iboshi said.
Another new law assures relatives and surviving victims of crime the right to speak at a suspect's sentencing, a practice that had previously been optional with Hawaii judges.
Ireland succeeded in getting the statute of limitations on manslaughter extended from three years to six.
"He's done a lot for this community and this state," Iboshi said.
Dana Ireland Archive