Justice at Last: Men Released after 39 years of wrongfully Jailed

I think this is life wasted. Ehen!! A whole 39 years can never be regained. The government better compensate them. This is truly sad however, good they are acquitted.

Wiley Bridgeman, 60 (pictured right) and Ricky Jackson, 57 (left) were convicted of murdering Harry Franks, a businessman in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975.

These two were jailed  on the testimony of a 12-year-old who said he saw the murder.They originally faced the death penalty, which was then commuted to life in prison.

Their convictions were overturned Friday after the witness, now 52, recanted and said his testimony is 'all lies'.

The two, along with Bridgeman's brother Ronnie (pictured above) was also given death sentences but released earlier.

 

The dramatic release came after Edward Vernon (the testifier), now 52, recanted his testimony, saying that police officers forced him into testifying and gave him details of the case.

 

Changing his account in 2013, he said: 'All the information was fed to me - I don't have any knowledge about what happened at the scene of the crime', Cleveland.com reported.

Bridgeman  said he never lost hope that he would be freed for good.

'You keep struggling, you keep trying,' he said. All he could say was that he is unsure what the future holds other than a celebratory fish dinner.

 

Ronnie told him: 'Stick with me. You'll be all right. I ain't never going to let you go.'

Jackson and his lawyers planned to celebrate Friday at a hotel.

 

Asked where he was going to live, Jackson replied: 'It's ironic. For 39 years, I've had a place to stay. Now, you know, that's precarious.'