Inmate who served 28 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit is released after judge rules key witnesses who put him behind bars had been coerced by police

  • Corey Atchison, 48, was jailed for the 1990 killing of James Lane in Tulsa
  • It was a gang shooting and Atchison was named by other men as the killer 
  • But after years of appeals, Judge Sharon Holmes agreed on Tuesday that she does not believe he did it 
  • She sided with witness testimony which named another man as the killer 
  • The key witnesses were all juveniles and they say police coerced them 
  • At the time of the shooting, Atchison was just 20  

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and JENNIFER SMITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: | Updated:

A judge on Tuesday freed an Oklahoma inmate who has served nearly three decades in prison for a 1991 killing, saying he did not commit the crime.

Corey Atchison, 48, was released Tuesday by Tulsa County District Judge Sharon Holmes who said she believes a key prosecution witness was coerced and that Atchison was innocent of the crime.

She said that she was 'appalled' by the way police had ignored the testimony of the young men who named a different killer and forced them into naming Atchison as the shooter instead. 

Corey Atchison is shown walking into the courtroom before he was freed after 28 years behind bars on Tuesday for a murder he did not commit

Corey Atchison is shown walking into the courtroom before he was freed after 28 years behind bars on Tuesday for a murder he did not commit 

Video courtesy KJRH 

Walking free from court afterwards, he said: 'I don't really know what I want to do, because my goal all these years was just to be free,' Atchison said following the ruling.

'Great day' said Ruth Scott, Atchison's mother as she left the courthouse. 'I knew he didn't do it. 

'I knew he didn't do it, I knew he didn't do it when it happened,' Scott said to reporters outside the building.

Atchison was only 20 when he was jailed for killing James Lane in Tulsa. 

Lane was shot dead in what police called a gang-related killing. Atchison, who denied it, was jailed for life. 

The youngsters who initially said they had been coerced into naming him the killer have all recanted their testimony.  

Prosecutors immediately filed a notice of appeal of the ruling and former District Attorney Tim Harris, who prosecuted the case as an assistant district attorney, has filed an affidavit denying he ever coerced a witness, after the ruling on Tuesday. 

The finding of 'actual innocence' by Holmes makes Atchison eligible for up to $175,000 in compensation for a wrongful conviction under Oklahoma state law.  

Atchison's mother is shown celebrating with his brother, Malcolm Scott, after the judge's ruling

Atchison's mother is shown celebrating with his brother, Malcolm Scott, after the judge's ruling

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