Charges:
Kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault, burglary, terroristic threatening
Length of Sentence:
35 years
Conviction Date:
June 3, 1992​
Exoneration Date:
July 21, 2011​
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Causes of Wrongful Conviction:
Witness misidentification, inconclusive DNA testing
ALVIN JARDINE
On December 28th, 1990, a man broke into the home of a 25-year-old woman in Haiku, held a knife to her throat and raped her repeatedly. The woman identified 20-year-old Alvin Jardine as the man who raped her. Jardine denied having anything to do with the attack and was at home asleep when it occurred.
Jardine was convicted on June 3rd, 1992, by the third trial to hear his case after the first two trials ended with a hung jury. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Jardine maintained his innocence throughout his trial and after his conviction. In 2002, he missed his first chance for parole and instead spent nine more years in prison because he refused to enter a sex offender treatment program.
In 2009, the trial court granted Jardine’s motion for retesting the DNA of stains found on a tablecloth placed on a chair where the rape occurred. The test results excluded Jardine as the source of the bodily fluids and blood present in the stains. The stains had been tested before the 1992 trial, but the results of earlier testing were inconclusive as the more sensitive testing, which later proved Jardine’s innocence, was not available at the time.
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On January 21st, 2011, the trial court ordered a new trial based on the DNA evidence and released Jardine on bail. On July 21st, 2011, the court dismissed all charges against Jardine after the prosecutor decided not to proceed to a fourth trial of the case.
In January 2013, Jardine filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the state of Hawai'i, Mau'i County, and the Mau'i Police Department. The lawsuit was settled in 2016 for $7,500.