Mr Ajamu became last of trio to be exonerated yesterday after 40 years

Sentences unravelled last year after Vernon said testimony was 'all lies'

This is the moment a Cleveland man was exonerated of a murder he didn't commit - 40 years after the killing took place.

Kwame Ajamu was just 17 years old when he was sentenced to death in 1975 after businessman Harry Franks was beaten and shot dead outside a convenience store in his neighborhood.

Then going under the name Ronnie Bridgeman, he was jailed alongside his brother Wiley Bridgeman, then aged 20, and their friend Ricky Jackson, 19.

But the case against them unraveled after the prosecution's star witness, a 13-year-old, recounted his testimony last year, saying he lied after being pressured and fed evidence by detectives.

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Kwame Ajamu, now 57, breaks down in tears after being exonerated for a murder he didn't commit - 40 years after the killing took place

Mr Ajamu, then named Ronnie Bridgeman, was sentenced to death in 1975 along with brother Wiley and friend Ricky Jackson for the killing of Harry Franks (pictured, Judge Barker hugs Mr Ajamu after verdict)

Mr Ajamu was released in 2003 on parole after having his sentence lowered to life in jail, but it was only yesterday that he was exonerated after a key witness recounted his testimony

Mr Jackson and Mr Bridgeman, now aged 59 and 60, were released from jail last month after the charges against them were dropped.

Mr Jackson had served 39 years, the longest ever for a man who was subsequently exonerated.

Mr Ajamu had been released on parole in 2003 after 27 years, and his exoneration yesterday brings to a close a case which the county prosecutor branded 'a terrible injustice.'

In emotional scenes inside the Cleveland courtroom, Mr Ajamu broke down in tears and pumped his fists before Judge Pamela Barker stepped down from the bench to give him a hug.

Comforted by his attorney Terry Gilbert, Mr Ajamu told the court that 'this room is lit with the truth.'

The tragic case began in spring 1975 outside a Cut-Rate store in Fairmount. Harry Franks, a money-order collector, had just come out of the shop when he was attacked.

The assailants threw acid in his face, robbed him, beat him, and then used a gun to execute him. A green car screeched up to the curb before the attackers jumped in and were driven away.

Officers began their investigations and arrested several suspects, but none of them were correctly picked out during identity parades.

Witness Eddie Vernon, who was aged 12 at the time of the murder of Mr Franks (pictured), told police he had seen the killings and gave the names of Mr Ajamu, Mr Bridgeman and Mr Jackson

However, last year Mr Vernon recounted his testimony, saying he had lied about being at the scene, and had been fed details and threatened by detectives while testifying

Officers then put out appeals for information and Eddie Vernon, who was aged just 12 at the time, stepped forward saying he had witnessed the crime and knew who the perpetrators were.

He later told Scene magazine: 'I don't exactly know why I went up to the police at first. I think I just wanted to be helpful.

'You have to understand I was 12 years old at the time. I thought I was doing the right thing.'

In fact, Vernon had not witnessed the crime, but had been heading home on a school bus in another part of the neighbourhood when he and his friends heard gunshots.

They raced to the scene in time to see Mr Franks dying on the pavement, but saw nothing more than that.

When the case came to court, however, Vernon was able to testify to having seen the Bridgeman brothers and Mr Jackson at the scene of the crime.

He gave details of the weapon used, the method of execution and the getaway vehicle - but these had all been fed to him by detectives, along with threats to arrest his parents for perjury if he tried to back away from the story, he said later.

He testified three times at the separate trials - each testimony riddled with inconsistencies that failed to stack up with the others.

Wiley Bridgeman (left) and Ricky Jackson were 20 and 19 when they were jailed. They were released last month aged 60 and 59. Mr Jackson served 39 years, the longest ever for a man subsequently exonerated

The county prosecutor's office has said it will not oppose compensation claims by the men, opening up the possibility of a joint payout of $4.1million (pictured, the moment Mr Jackson was told he could walk free)

After spending the majority of their adult lives in jail, brothers Kwame Ajamu and Wiley Bridgeman share a hug outside court as the charges against them are dropped

But it was enough to convince three separate juries that the men were guilty, and they were sentenced to the death penalty, which was later lowered to life in prison.

It was not until April 2013, following a series of arrests for drug offences and a bout of poor health which landed him in hospital, that Mr Vernon tearfully confessed to his pastor that his evidence had been a lie.

He later gave a written statement to officials from the Ohio Innocence Project who passed it to the courts, leading to the three men having their names cleared.

Following the verdicts, county prosecutor Tim McGinty said his office will not oppose any claims of innocence, clearing the way for huge compensation claims by the victims.

The trio could potentially claim $4.1million between them for a lifetime spent behind bars under Ohio law that allows those wrongly incarcerated to claim $40,000 for each year in jail.

The prosecutor's concession seemed to astonish longtime Cleveland civil rights and defense attorney Terry Gilbert, who represented Mr Ajamu and his brother.

He said: 'To recognize an injustice ... it gives me faith and hope in this criminal justice system that good things can come out of it from time to time.'

Since being released in 2003, Mr Ajamu, now 57, has rebuilt his life.

He is married to a woman he met in downtown Cleveland in 2003 when she couldn't find the right bus and he rode with her to her destination.

They married the next year after she proposed to him. Mr Ajamu has called wife Lashawn his best friend and greatest supporter.

In this photo Mr Ajamu teaches his brother how to use a smartphone. The last time the brothers were together as free men, the cordless phone had not even been invented yet

Brothers Kwame Ajamu and Wiley Bridgeman embrace after Mr Ajamu was exonerated of the murder of Harry Franks, bringing to an end a 40-year case that was described by prosecutors as 'a terrible injustice'

Since being released in 2003, Mr Ajamu has rebuilt his life and is now married to Lashwan (right), who he met on the bus. He has called her his best friend and greatest supporter

He added: 'It's my hope going forward that we don't have to wait another 40 years for the next Kwame Ajamu, Wiley Bridgeman, Ricky Jackson.

'It's my hope from this day on we can stop ignoring what is obvious in the criminal justice system and move forward with peace and love.'

After the hearing, Ajamu credited Kyle Swenson, a writer for Scene Magazine, who in 2011 dug into the men's stories and exposed how justice had been subverted.

Ajamu said he hoped one day to meet with Eddie Vernon, who is now 52, so he can tell him he understands what happened and has no ill will toward him.

Ajamu said his exoneration finally makes him feel free to go anywhere he wants, anytime he'd like.

'I can even go back to being Ronnie Bridgeman, but I'm not,' he said. 'They killed Ronnie Bridgeman. They killed his spirit. They killed everything he believed in, everything he ever wanted.