Freedom And Justice Came After 39 Years.

"Ricky Jackson, 57, looks skyward in a Cleveland courtroom after being released from his life sentence for a 1975 murder".

As incredible as this may sound, two wrongly accused men who have been behind bars for the past 39 years have just had the charges against them dropped. They were innocent after all these years and would regain their freedom officially this Friday. Ricky Jackson, 57 and Wiley Bridgeman, 60, were very young when they were convicted of the robbery and shooting to death of Harold Franks, a money order salesman. At the times, a 13-year-old child’s testimony led a jury to convict these two men and Wiley’s brother. It was not until last year that the witness, now 53 years old, recanted his testimony while saying that he was pressured by detectives back then to testify falsely.

As a matter of fact, Ricky Jackson was initially sentenced to death but due to a paperwork error, the sentencing was vacated. The brothers on the other hand were on death row until 1978 when the State of Ohio declared the death penalty unconstitutional.

"Source: WKYC, Wiley Bridgeman freed from prison after witness admitted to lying decades after testimony".

I cannot imagine the anguish these men and their families would have gone through all of these years, I mean after 39 years behind bar for a crime one did not commit, where exactly does one start from? I sincerely hope they get rehabilitated, counseled and properly compensated for the injustice meted out to them by the justice system. It makes me wonder how many people in such similar positions have died for crimes they did not commit. 

 This life is very often a rotten barrel of tomatoes.

Source: http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/27451044/ohio-men-wrongly-convicted-of-murder-after-39-years-released