A Florida man was released from prison after spending more than three decades behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit.
Thomas Raynard James was released from state prison Wednesday and said it was a moment he always knew would come, according to a report.
“I never stopped believing it would happen,” James said.
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The wrongfully convicted man learned he would be released Tuesday night and said he took the time to tell himself, guards, and inmates it was finally happening.
“The war, the fight, the battle, it’s pretty much over,” he told himself.
Leaving prison, the first person he embraced was his mother, according to a report.
“That was a warm feeling,” James said. “That was a real hug.”
He then ate comfort food and slept in a “real bed” for the first time in more than 30 years, the report noted.
In 1991, James, then 23, was convicted for the 1990 death of Francis McKinnon.
He had been arrested months after McKinnon’s death, and the trial lasted only a few days.
Behind bars, James, now 55, shared his story with anyone who would listen, he said.
“If you had ears, I told it to you,” he said. “I wasn’t going to stop until I was either free or dead.”
James is reportedly meeting with his lawyer to decide whether or not he will file a wrongful conviction lawsuit, and, if successful, he said he will use the money to help transition back into society.
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Leaving prison, he said he was shocked by the new tall buildings in Miami and said he wants to return to his old neighborhood, ride new trains, and taste a Popeyes chicken sandwich.
