On Tuesday, an appeals court vacated the murder conviction of Ryan Ferguson, the 29-year-old Missouri man imprisoned for almost a decade for a crime he insists he did not commit.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled that prosecutors withheld key evidence from Ferguson's defense attorneys during his 2005 trial and conviction. "Under the facts and circumstances of this case, we conclude that Ferguson did not receive a fair trial. His verdict is not worthy of confidence," wrote Judge Cynthia Martin in a summary of her decision, NBC News reports.
Ferguson was found guilty in the murder of Kent Heitholt, a Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor who was beaten and strangled in the newspaper's parking lot on Halloween night in 2001. Ferguson was 19 when the newspaper editor was killed, however, he wasn't named as a suspect in the case until early 2004 when his close friend, Chuck Erickson, told police he and Ferguson committed the crime, reports Fox News.
However, in a twist of events, Ferguson's friend later recanted his confession and admitted that he lied at Ferguson's trial and that the two didn't commit the crime. Another eyewitness also recanted his statement that connected Ferguson to the murder. Nonetheless, last year the case was upheld despite a lack of physical evidence pointing to Ferguson and the two recantations.
According to Tuesday's the ruling in the case, the state has 15 days to decide whether it will re-try Ferguson. If the state does not make a decision by that tme then Ferguson will be unconditionally discharged from custody, reports CBS News.
After learning of the ruling over the phone from prison, Ferguson said, "I kind of felt like I wasn't awake - been dreaming of it so long. My reaction - it's not - wouldn't be like 'Yay bouncing off the walls,' cause in reality I know it's the beginning of another battle. Even though we crossed a huge hurdle, I don't feel like I have my life back."