LITTLE ROCK — As the highway miles clicked off and the Kansas state line came into view, Dennis Wayne Lewis was putting the last 42 years of his life in the rear view mirror.

He could now sleep in a real bed, wear street clothes and eat non-institutionalized food.

For most people, that wouldn't seem like a big deal, but it had been more than four decades since he had been free to make those choices.

Lewis was 11 when his parents announced they were getting a divorce.

"I was angry and I couldn't fix it. My life took a sour turn. I just didn't have the joy and I met the wrong people at the wrong time."

Fast forward six years to April 8, 1974.

Any plans for his future were no longer going to matter for the 17-year-old who agreed to participate in a robbery and ended up charged with the murder, according to The Batesville Daily Guard.

There were only two choices before him after taking the life of Jared Jerome Cobb: death or life without parole.

Initially, prosecutors sought the death penalty.

When January 1975 rolled around the decision had been made: life without parole.

"Five seconds can change a person's life. I tore up my life and Mr. Cobb's family's life. I don't even know how to express how sorry I am."

Life in prison took a long time to sink in and Lewis was learning firsthand that his chances of getting a reduction in sentence or parole was a long-shot.

The first attempt was in 1979 when he applied for clemency.

"In hindsight, I should have known I didn't have any chance," he said.

But each time his case came before the parole board they gave him a unanimous vote to proceed.

And, that gave him hope even though he continued to encounter one roadblock after another.

He could almost taste freedom in 1996 when his paperwork landed on Gov. Jim Guy Tucker's desk, but before Lewis could get his own get-out-of-jail-free card, Tucker was indicted and as Lewis put it, "was trying to stay out of prison himself."

"I was six days short of getting released," Lewis said.

But, Lewis had one thing going for him and that was the determination of his family to find someone to work toward a pardon.

Melbourne attorney L. Gray Dellinger said he got the case when the Lewis family contacted John E. Miller years ago and asked, "Who do you know that can help get Dennis Wayne Lewis a pardon?"

Miller recommended Dellinger.

"So, here I go, I start working on it," Dellinger said, explaining how he overcame one hurdle to face many more.

Dellinger felt they were finally managing to maneuver through the legal system when they received a unanimous favorable recommendation from the parole board in 2004 or 2005.

When the case landed on Gov. Mike Huckabee's desk, it died.

"He didn't deny him, but that lets you refile. So, I filed a computation of sentence and pardon several times and got nowhere."

Wanting answers, Dellinger said he inquired and was told the governor "didn't want any of those cases on his desk."

During this time, Huckabee was still facing major criticism after freeing Wayne DuMond, who was serving time for rape when he was paroled, then arrested two years later for rape and murder.

"So they (the parole board) did what he said. They just said 'without merit.'"

A break came in 2012 when the Supreme Court addressed juvenile sentencing guidelines that affected 58 inmates incarcerated in Arkansas.

Lewis was one of them.

That's when Ash Flat Attorney Larry Kissee came on board.

"When the Supreme Court case came out, I knew Larry was, and is, an expert on post-conviction relief and I did not know if I was competent to do all that, so I lured him on board and together we started in," Dellinger said.

Kissee said their first move was to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus in Hot Spring County, but that posed a dilemma. "Unfortunately our man was in Kansas on exchange."

After filing the necessary documents in Hot Spring County, they were told, "Your guy is not here," and it was dismissed.

Kissee said they felt their argument was valid because Arkansas still retained jurisdiction so they appealed it to the higher court.

"I think we had a real good argument if we had went all the way," Kissee said.

While waiting on the appeal, Lewis was returned to Arkansas so the two attorneys dismissed the appeal and refiled another writ of habeas corpus in Jefferson County.

While that was pending, Lewis was moved again, this time to Lincoln County.

A third writ was filed.

This time, a judge sent the case back to Washington County.

The next stop was finding common ground with Prosecutor Matt Durrett.

"I wanted him out for time served," Dellinger said. "He'd been in there 42 years and he (Durrett) couldn't agree to it. He said, 'I can't just let someone convicted of capital murder walk out the door.'"

The two attorneys then got researcher Jeremy Lowrey in Sheridan on the phone.

Kissee recalls the conversation as they talked about the case that allowed the re-sentencing of juveniles.

"We was all talking about Miller-Jackson, this new act, and Gray said, 'Why the hell do we have to do what they did in that case anyhow? That's not us. That doesn't apply to us. We're not bound by that.'"

Larry Kissee was sound asleep when he woke up with the Lewis' case on his mind.

His hunch was so strong to know what law was actually in effect when the crime took place that he got up in the middle of the night to research it. When he arrived at his office, his statutes only dated back to 1976.

Another call was made to Lowrey, who went to the law school where he also teaches, so he could research the matter.

"Once he found the act there were only two things in that act: Death and life without parole. There was no third option."

It was the break they needed.

Kissee recalls asking them, "What do we do now? He can't be re-sentenced."

They then asked Lowery to prepare a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction that would hopefully set Lewis' freedom in motion.

But with decades of court cases between them, the two seasoned attorneys prepared themselves for every argument they would face from the prosecutor.

So they laid out their motion about why Lewis could not be re-sentenced according to the guidelines in effect when the crime was committed. They pointed out the 1973 law had only the life and death options and wasn't changed until 1975 and put in effect until 1976. And, they had the Supreme Court ruling saying mandatory life without parole for teenagers is unconstitutional, cruel and unusual punishment and they should have the hope of someday being released.

Also in their favor was the fact Lewis had been a model inmate and did not have one black mark against him during his incarceration.

"That's unheard of," Dellinger said.

In a Sept. 17 hearing, Judge Mark Lindsey gave the prosecutor until Oct. 24 to file his response. "I want you to get it filed. I want to set a hearing. I don't want to wait around if this man needs to be released," the judge said.

Dellinger said the prosecutor called him the day the brief was due and agreed their case had merit, "A lot of prosecutors would have filed some frivolous something, but he just manned up."

Durrett told the defense attorneys that he had conferred with other lawyers in the attorney general's office and came to the conclusion they were correct.

On Oct. 25, Lindsey signed an order that Lewis' sentence remain vacated and that he be discharged from the Arkansas Department of Correction.

He was free to go.

Dellinger said while they were ecstatic with the ruling, he knew that this case had enough heartbreak to go around and Cobb's family could not feel good about the knowledge Lewis would no longer be serving the rest of his life in prison.

"Both sides were hurting because of what he did, but I truly believe he is sorry for what happened. I really feel badly for the victim's family and I'm sure Dennis wishes he could undo what he did."

Dellinger said Lewis' crime came just before the laws were changed.

"We were right," Dellinger said. "It's just a quirk in the law. I think he's about the only one that will apply to. They amended the statute in 1975."

Others in the legal community talked about how Kissee was known for being a master at research and needing to look at the law, even in the middle of the night.

Attorney Tom Thompson said the "To Kill a Mockingbird," quote perfectly summed up this case when Harper Lee's character, Miss Maudie, said it best in explaining to Scout and Jem the importance of the work their father, Atticus, performed. "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in the world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father is one of them."

"Both Gray and Larry fit the mold of Atticus, in the work they did in this case," Thompson said.

Recently, Lewis was sitting celebrating his 60th birthday on the back porch of his brother's home and watching the squirrels play.

"I fully believed from the moment I arrived in Washington County, I would be released."

"Just knowing the judge is going to do it. . I was floating on a cloud. He seemed like a real understanding judge and so did the prosecutor. . I was impatient of course."

Lewis said his attorneys kept telling his brother Travis, "We are gonna get him out. We will get him out."

His family, had never wavered in their love and support, and one of the first stops Lewis made was to surprise his 90-year-old father. The reunion was emotional.

For the time being, Lewis will be staying with Travis. "I love my brother. I trust him."

Right now, he is amazed at the things he will have to learn, like new technology, how to drive, get a driver's license and find a way to support himself. He hopes to obtain a commercial driver's license and find a job that will allow him to travel the country and maybe see the sun rise in one location and set in another. And, if those travels take him through Arkansas, he plans to appreciate the beauty the state has to offer.

He's getting used to sleeping in a real bed and the darkness and quiet, but said he was a little uncomfortable his first night without the light and sounds from his former surroundings.

"It was so quiet, it really kind of bothered me."

Even now, he's still haunted by his actions that took a man's life and his voice breaks over the devastation he caused the Cobb family. Lewis hopes that someday he can find the courage to write and ask their forgiveness.

"I never backed away from the taking responsibility for what I did. I was wrong."

He also believes in the need for a higher power.

"I rededicated my life to God in 1988. I believed before that. I just wasn't living it.

"I'm at peace. I just want to enjoy what I have left. I have missed out on 42 years of my life. At the end of the day I know I have three things: God loves me. He will never forsake me and I have a beautiful future ahead of me."