Man Released From Jail After 30-Years

A Philadelphia man walked out of the Criminal Justice Center a free man Wednesday, after spending the last 30-years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit.

KYW's Steve Tawa reports that rather than spend years petitioning for a new trial, he agreed to a 'no contest' plea before a Philadelphia judge, who ordered him released.

Surrounded by his family, 57-year-old Kenneth Granger (photo, center) wanted the public to know he was not an offender, he was a victim. He says three decades in prison was a 'painful ordeal.'

"You can't say that I was actually innocent, because we don't have scientific evidence, like DNA. I would say I'm hurt, but I'm not bitter.'

Karl Schwartz (photo, right) of the Defender Association of Philadelphia fought to open the homicide investigation file. He believed it would contain evidence supporting Granger's claim of innocence, including an eyewitness who identified someone else as the person who committed the murder:

"The exculpatory material in the homicide file was really astounding."

The district attorney's office would not concede Granger's innocence, but says it's an 'appropriate outcome.'

(Photo: Steve Tawa)