Wrongly-convicted man released from prison after 39 years

'Life is filled with small victories and this is a big one,' judge tells Ricky Jackson.

A US man who was locked up for 39 years for a crime he didn't commit has thanked prosecutors for their "integrity" after he was finally freed.

Ricky Jackson, who is now 59, was imprisoned for supposedly killing a man in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975.

But at a hearing this year a witness, Eddy Vernon, confessed that he had been pressurised as a boy by police into giving a false story. There had been no other conclusive evidence connecting Mr Jackson to the crime.

Minutes before his release on Friday, Mr Jackson told a court the new hearing had been conducted fairly.

"I'd like to thank you for conducting these proceedings in a fair and impartial manner and I would like to thank the prosecutors' office for showing a lot of integrity," he said. "You guys let the evidence be heard, and I would like to thank you for that."

Judge Richard McMonagle offered Mr Jackson some parting advice, telling him to be wary of those who would seek to exploit him.

"Mr Jackson, you're going to be free to go. May I suggest to you that life is filled with small victories and this is a big one," he said.

"Know who your friends are, because everyone is going to want a piece of you. You'd better trust the people who you know you can trust. I wish you good luck.

At the end of the video Mr Jackson gets up from his seat and leaves the courtroom a free man.

Mr Jackson was initially put on death row until the practice was temporarily abolished in the state of Ohio. It has since been reinstated.

- Independent