A Hawaii man was freed after spending 30 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit, and some of the first things he did after his release was enjoy a steak dinner and visit his mother’s grave.

Gordon Cordeiro had his freedom secured on Friday after a judge ordered him released in light of new DNA evidence that led to the overturning of his conviction in the 1994 fatal shooting of Timothy Blaisdell on the island of Maui.

Cordeiro’s mother, Paulette, died in September 1994, a month before her son was arrested. She died at the age of 49 from ALS, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Cordeiro and his sisters had taken turns caring for her before her passing.

“Thanks for looking over me,” Cordeiro recalled saying at her grave just hours after his release on Friday, he told The Associated Press. “Keeping me safe.”

Gordon Cordeiro was freed after a judge ordered him released in light of new DNA evidence that led to the overturning of his conviction in the 1994 fatal shooting of Timothy Blaisdell. (iStock)

After his conviction, new testing on physical evidence from the scene excluded him as the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body and other crime scene evidence, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project. A DNA profile of an unidentified person was also found on the inside pockets of Blaisdell’s jeans.

“Thank God for new DNA,” Cordeiro said Saturday. “Technology is awesome.”

Cordeiro said his immediate plans include fixing cars, helping with his dad’s house and “maybe giving back to the community a little bit.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.