Fleming spent nearly 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The Guardian spent an afternoon with Fleming as he saw Times Square for the first time in a quarter century

Jonathan Fleming never lost hope that he would be released from prison.

“I never gave up. I had faith. I said to myself I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I’m going to get out,” he told the Guardian, weeks after a judge dismissed his 1989 conviction for murder.

A recently discovered phone receipt showed that Fleming was with his family at Disney World at the time Darryl Rush, his alleged victim, was shot in Brooklyn. Meanwhile his defense team located witnesses who implicated someone else.

It meant that Fleming, who had always protested his innocence, was able to walk free for the first time in almost 25 years.

“I’m not angry,” Fleming said. “But I think about all the things I could have accomplished during that time and I come out to nothing. No housing. No nothing.”

Fleming, 51, emerged with $93 to his name. He also found a very different world from the one he left. His first few weeks have been spent reconnecting with family, trying to find somewhere to live, and learning to use a mobile phone.

Today, Fleming doesn’t have a permanent place to live, a job or a clear path forward. The state of New York did not compensate him for his wrongful conviction, but his lawyers Anthony Mayol and Taylor Koss will be pressing civil charges.

An Indiegogo campaign set up to raise money for Fleming had raised almost $50,000 by Wednesday, well above its initial $10,000 goal. Until that money comes through, Fleming is surviving on a small loan against a potential lawsuit settlement and is on food stamps.

The Guardian’s Mae Ryan spent time with Fleming in the weeks following his release. The most important thing now, he says, is spending time with his family.

“I missed the opportunity to raise my sons to be young men. I missed being there with my mother. Her health is real bad and I know she doesn’t have much time left since she is very ill. All those things were running through my head.”