CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ricky Jackson left his life behind bars today, walking out of the Justice Center after spending 39 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

"Finally, finally,'' he said, as he walked past guards and into the arms of one of his attorneys, Brian Howe. Jackson smiled and met well-wishers and childhood friends. As he left the Justice Center, he took in his first breaths of fresh air, placing his hands to his face in shock.

"It's extraordinary,'' he told reporters earlier. "I'm glad to be out.... It has been an emotional roller coaster. The English language doesn't have the words to express how I'm feeling right now.''

He repeatedly thanked the Ohio Innocence Project, and he thanked county prosecutors for showing the integrity to drop the case. Jackson also had kind words for Eddie Vernon, the boy whose testimony helped convict him in 1975. Vernon recanted his testimony, saying he lied to help police and was then manipulated by detectives.

"I don't hate him,'' Jackson said. "He's a grown man today, he was just a boy back then.''

Jackson wished Vernon the best and said, "It took a lot of courage to do what he did.''

Jackson, 57, has been in prison since he was 18. He has served more time behind bars than anyone who has ever been released from prison on a wrongful conviction, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

This week, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty dropped the charges against Jackson, who was seeking a new trial. The move came after the witness who put Jackson and two other men behind bars – Vernon, who was 12 at the time of the murder – recanted and admitted that he had lied to judges and juries about the men's role in the slaying of Harold Franks.

McGinty told Common Pleas Judge Richard McMonagle that the case against Jackson had evaporated after Vernon – and several others who were with him that day – testified about his lies earlier this week. Vernon said he simply wanted to help police. He said a friend gave him the names, and Vernon told police he saw the slaying.

In fact, he said, he wasn't close, as the school bus he rode was not near the crime scene, the Fairmont Cut-Rite on Fairhill Road, which is now Stoke Boulevard. And later, detectives fed him information on the case, he said. The web of lies led to juries to convict him and two others, Wiley and Ronnie Bridgeman. Wiley Bridgeman had remained in prison, while his brother was released after serving more than 25 years in prison.

Wiley Bridgeman was released later this morning.

Attorneys Terry Gilbert and David Mills represent the brothers. They also had asked for a new trial, based on Vernon's new testimony. Today, Common Pleas Judge David Matia dropped the case against one of the brothers, Wiley Bridgeman. His brother, Ronnie, is seeking to have his record cleared.

Authorities said two men attacked Franks as he walked to the store. They beat him, threw acid in his face and one of the men shot him twice with a .38-caliber. The shooter also fired a round that hit Anna Robinson, the wife of the store's owner. The men stole Franks' briefcase and fled to a waiting car. Authorities accused Jackson of shooting Franks.

There was no evidence linking the three men to the crime. Vernon said that once he told authorities the names of the three and the fact that he saw the slaying, Cleveland police fed him information about the crime and what happened.

Vernon came forward after he spoke with his pastor, the Rev. Anthony Singleton of the Emmanuel Christian Center, last year. He admitted that he never saw anything; he said he instantly became relieved. The admission came two years after Scene Magazine wrote about the case and questioned Vernon's testimony.

McGinty's office will not charge Vernon. He had claimed that he hid the lies for years, saying he detectives told him that if he mentioned what he did, they would put his parents in prison for perjury.

Ronnie Bridgeman watched McMonagle release Jackson in a brief court hearing this morning. Bridgeman was in tears.

"I can't explain it,'' Bridgeman said. "This is great.''

McMonagle gave Jackson one last piece of advice: "Life is filled with small victories, and this is a big one. Know who your friends are because everybody will want a piece of you. You better trust the people who you can trust.''

Plain Dealer reporter Rachel Dissell contributed to this report.