CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ)-- During her 13 years working at Mount Olive State Correctional Facility, Arietta King said Jimmie Gardner stood out.

"He had a really nice personality," King said. "When you talked to him you knew he was a really educated person."

Friday, U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin ordered the state to either retry or release Gardner after 25 years in prison. The order claimed the state of West Virginia convicted him using false testimony from former West Virginia State Police head serologist Fred Zain.

King retired two years ago. She said the news was happy, but not entirely surprising.

"I had my suspicions that he was innocent," King said. "In all the reports I read...he got...something don't sound right."

In 1990, Gardner was convicted of sexual assault, robbery and burglary in connection with an incident that happened in the Kanawha City area of Charleston in 1987. He was sentenced to up to 110 years in prison.

King said Gardner maintained his innocence behind bars and spent much of his time in the law library working to prove his case.

Now, King hopes to soon see Gardner on the outside.

"I'm hoping he can put the 25 years behind him," King said. "I'm sure it's gonna haunt him but I hope he can go on and do what he wants to do."