CLEVELAND (AP) — After nearly 40 years in prison, a man convicted in a 1975 Cleveland slaying has walked out of the county jail as a free man.
Fifty-seven-year-old Ricky Jackson was dismissed from the Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County jail and walked out of the adjoining courthouse Friday about an hour after a judge dismissed his case.
The dismissal came after the key witness against Jackson and brothers Wiley and Ronnie Bridgeman at trial, a 13-year-old boy, recanted last year and said Cleveland police detectives coerced him into testifying that the three killed businessman Harry Franks the afternoon of May 19, 1975.
When he exited the building, Jackson said, “The English language doesn’t even fit what I’m feeling. I’m on an emotional high.”
Wiley Bridgeman was also scheduled to appear in court Friday morning.
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