I arrived in Hawaii the day Ian Schweitzer was released from prison. I remember the first time I met other exoneries through the Innocence Network, and it changed my life. I suddenly realized I wasn't alone in going through an extraordinary injustice. These were people that I didn't have to explain myself to.

So when I heard that Ian was being exonerated, I was thrilled to pay that energy forward

by welcoming him into freedom and into our community of wrongly convicted brothers and sisters.

But it takes time to adjust.

It took me years to wrap my mind around everything that happened to me.

And so it wasn't until July of 2023 that our team went back to the Big Island and to Fern

Forest, a small community of a thousand or so, about 45 minutes

south of Hilo, to talk in depth with Ian and his brother Sean.

The drive from Hilo to Fern Forest is full of tall greenery. The houses are set back off the road, each with a privacy gate, or no trespassing sign.

Occasionally, we spot one of the residents on foot on the road, and they offer up a friendly

wave or smile back at us.

When we pull up to Sean Schweitzer's house, the gate is open, and the yard has a scattering

of cars and tracks. Ian Schweitzer is standing outside waiting to greet our team. At 52, he has short,

graying hair, but he looks like he's in the best shape of his life.

He says he is often up at the crack of dawn to work out.

Ian's a soft-spoken kind of guy, his voice warm and welcoming.

Next to Ian is his younger brother Sean.

He's taller than Ian, with a goatee and long hair tied back.

He's initially a little closed off.

His arms are crossed at first, and he's quiet.

But he eventually warms up and is every bit as kind and welcoming as Ian is.

This is actually kind of far from where we grew up. We actually grew up in Pahua.

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