Joseph Sledge spent more than half of his life in prison. But on Friday, he walked out a free man, cleared of two murders he never committed.
Sledge, now 70-years-old, was convicted in 1978 of stabbing a mother and her adult daughter, the Associated Press reported. For the killings, a judge sentenced him to life in prison.
Starting at 4:Hear from the man falsely convicted for '76 murders,freed after nearly 40 yrs in prison #Sledge #mapit
The 1976 stabbings happened in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, at the same time that Sledge had escaped from a prison work program. He had been serving a four-year sentence for larceny, according to the AP.
The break in Sledge's case came when court clerks found a misplaced envelope of hair that was believed to belong to the killer.
Sledge and attorney waiting as judges confer.
Court clerks discovered the envelope when they were cleaning out an evidence shelf in 2012. The shelf was apparently high up in the room.
"I understand those shelves were very high, but there was a ladder in that room," Sledge's attorney Christine Mumma told the AP.
The hair underwent a DNA test, and it turned out it wasn't Sledge's.
Joseph #Sledge smiles, hugs attorney @Chris_Mumma. Locked up since '78 for murders he did not commit. Freed at age 70
Other evidence used to convict Sledge also recently fell apart: In 2013 a key witness recanted his testimony, saying he lied because he was promised leniency in his own case. The witness has described Sledge as a racist who believed white women were devils, according to the Charlotte Observer, but later said investigators coaxed him into making the comments.
Court documents also show that another witness' testimony was inconsistent, the AP reported.
ICYMI: DNA evidence helps NC judges exonerate Joseph Sledge from role in 1976 double murder http://t.co/gVffdPZzVQ
In fact, none of the evidence from the murder scene came from Sledge.
In December, a forensic expert testified that the fingerprints — along with hair and DNA — gathered at the scene also didn't match Sledge, ABC 11 reported.
As the evidence of Sledge's innocence mounted, a three-judge panel agreed to review his case. After a hearing Friday, all three judges voted to free Sledge.
David:"A prosecutor's worst nightmare...is convicting an innocent person...the system I believe has made a mistake."
After being exonerated Friday, Sledge met adult family members who were born and grew up while he was behind bars, then had his first meal as a free man.
Joseph #Sledge meeting 38 yo nephew for the first time #mapit #exonerated
Joseph Sledge's 1st meal as a free man after being exonerated in a double murder he spent 37 years in prison @WRAL