Raymond Highers and his brother Thomas walk on bond and are greeted by family at the Wayne County Dickerson facility in Detroit, Monday, Aug 13, 2012. Thomas and Raymond Highers, who were accused of fatally shooting a man in a drug house, were each granted $10,000 bond but required to post only 10 percent to be released. Prosecutors argued against the low bond, but Wayne County Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon said he didn't believe the brothers were a threat to the community. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Andre J. Jackson)

DETROIT — At 8:30 a.m. today, Tommy and Raymond Highers will hear words uttered by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence that will finally set them free.

They will shed their tethers and the stress that accompanied a forthcoming retrial for the 1987 murder of Robert Karey, a Detroit drug dealer.

"My God," Tommy Highers said Wednesday after hearing the news while eating lunch with his girlfriend Wednesday. "I've just been waiting for this day."

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that her office would officially dismiss charges against the brothers, who were found guilty of killing Karey during their 1988 trial. They were jailed until the conviction and remained in prison for the 24 years that followed.

After a quarter century

behind bars, information from a new witness surfaced through connections made on a Facebook reunion site who said he was at Karey's on the night of the killing and the culprits were black men.

Talon in March of 2012 listened to new testimony from four previously unheard witnesses.

He said the new statements, which he called credible, would likely lead "to a different result" if they had been presented at the original trial.

The verdict was overturned in August, but the charges weren't dropped. The brothers were released on bond, ordered to wear tethers and regularly report to an officer of the court.

Tommy Highers, 48, and brother Raymond Highers, 47 walked out of prison on Aug. 13, 2012 to a slew of crying, cheering, laughing and smiling friends and family.

The brothers, both now steadily employed, have worn baby-blue rubber Innocence Project bracelets since their release in support of the nonprofit that assisted with researching their case and providing legal representation.

Although Worthy stands by the evidence presented 26 years ago, she said, "

with the passage of time it is an unfortunate reality that this case cannot be put back together and we must dismiss it."

Check back with MLive for more coverage of the brothers' court appearance.

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