An Orlando man who was sentenced to life in prison when he was 17 walked out a free man Friday night.



Edward Francis, now 37, was convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping in 1996.

Francis was not the person who killed Kenneth Maurice Lewis. He was held responsible because he was there when the shooting happened.

Francis has spent the past 20 years in prison, and at a court hearing Friday, Judge Keith Carsten reduced his sentence to time served, plus five years of supervised probation, based on the recommendation of State Attorney Jeff Ashton.

"You just don't see people get convicted of a crime and then say, 'You know what? I deserve what I got,'" said Ashton after the decision. "He was so unusual that he got it. He got the message that criminal prosecution is supposed to give, which is you did something wrong, you deserve to pay a price for it."

Ashton originally prosecuted Francis almost 20 years ago but said he was making an "unprecedented" move Friday by setting forth his recommendation that Francis be freed.

Ashton told the court that after the man was convicted and sent to Florida state prison, Francis gave a 142-page deposition, essentially coming clean for crimes and expressing a sense of accountability.

The state attorney said that stuck with him for years, and that's why he felt compelled to revisit the case -- to make sure Francis, 20 years later, was indeed sincere in his remorse

Carsten agreed.

We spoke to Francis as he walked out of Orange County Jail Friday. He said the first thing he wants to do is spend time with family and then wants to find a job in woodworking.

“If you do a crime you shall be punished for it and I do believe in doing my time. I am grateful that Ashton and the judge… let me out. That was one of the best things I have ever received in my life," said Francis.

Francis also said he wants to mentor juveniles on parole.

“I would understand if some of these people were criminals that were constantly killing people or something like that, but these are individuals that are doing their best to stay out of trouble and they receive no help from the parole board,” Francis said.

"He's earned it. He deserves it. And it's a good example to other people," Ashton said.

“I’ve been crying since last night, man, just so excited,” said Isaac Francis Sr., one family member.

“He learned his lesson, and he has a good heart, even though he chose a bad thing,” said another family member, Mary Bullard.

The release follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders. As a result, some juvenile offenders who had been sentenced to mandatory life are being resentenced.