Longest-held US prisoner to be cleared: Innocent man released after 39 years behind bars

Ricky Jackson, who spent 39 years behind bars, is set to be released following a witness’ shock confession to lying under oath.

15:52 20 November 2014

Ricky Jackson is set to walk free in a matter of days, 39 years after his imprisonment for murder. His stint in jail came to end after a witness confessed to lying. The ruling makes him the longest-held US prisoner to be exonerated.

57-year-old Mr Jackson was convicted over the 1975 murder of Cleveland area money-order collector Harold Franks. His conviction was based entirely on the testimony of a 12-year-old boy who made claims that he witnessed the attack.

The witness, Eddie Vernon, who is now 53, confessed to a pastor that he was in school when at the time of killing.

Cleveland police has since established a link between another man and the revolver used in the incident. Court records show that the man was arrested three years later for aggravated murder in connection with a spree of robberies.

Reports said that Mr Jackson sobbed loudly as Cuyahoga County Judge Richard McMonagle dropped all the charges against him.

Meanwhile, his co-accused, brothers Ronnie and Wiley Bridgeman, have now filed for a retrial.