Ricky Jackson, Prisoner on Death Row for 39 Years, 20 Days Away from Execution…Exonerated!

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A US prisoner who once faced execution has been cleared of doing anything wrong after spending 39 years of his life in prison! Ricky Jackson from Ohio spent almost four decades in captivity until a key witness at his trial admitted this year that he had lied as a boy. (WOW!!!!)

Ricky Jackson

Ricky Jackson

He was jailed alongside two other men over the 1975 murder of a Cleveland, Ohio man called Harold Franks. There was no other evidence linking the prisoner to the murder. Mr Jackson is said to have cried in court as all charges were dropped against him. He is the longest-held US president to be completely exonerated, according to legal group the Ohio Innocence Project.

“The state is conceding the obvious,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said, as charges were dropped against Mr Jackson. He is expected to be freed on Friday November 21st, 2014.

The men jailed alongside Mr Jackson have also asked for a retrial, though their petitions have not yet received a response. Authorities were said to be within 20 days of starting the execution of the men until Ohio ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. Execution has since been reinstated as a punishment in the state, with those found guilty suffering a lethal injection.