Two prisoners, wrongly convicted of murder, tasted sweet, sweet freedom for the first time in 15 years this afternoon after a Bronx judge vacated their sentence.
Eric Glisson and Cathy Watkins greeted their overjoyed loved ones outside court sharing kisses, hugs and smiles.
“I’m free and I’m happy,” said Glisson, 37. “I want to make the best of this opportunity. This is a major, pivotal point in my life. I never thought I’d see this day. It’s a great and it’s scary at the same time.”
Hours earlier, Judge Denis Boyle signed off on their release as the pair’s loved ones cheered and broke down in tears.
“It’s been a long road, it’s been a lot,” said niece Jimissa Watkins, 27. “But today she’s free.”
Glisson and Watkins were first jailed in 1997, and charged with the killing of a Bronx livery cab driver.
The pair had always maintained their innocence, even after being convicted.
“This has been a great injustice,” Glisson said. “All along I knew I was innocent. It took them 17 years to figure that out.”
Federal investigators said two locked-up gang members have copped to the crime, setting off a chain of events that ended in Glisson and Watkins walking out today.
“I’ve weighed the facts that the US Attorney’s Office’s information is compelling,” Bronx Assistant DA Nicole Keary said. “We have made a decision to take the this unprecedented step.”
Technically, Boyle only vacated the pair’s sentences for 90 days. But no one expects Bronx prosecutors to call for Glisson or Watkins to be locked up again.
They still have to wear monitoring ankle bracelets for those 90 days.
Additional reporting by Leonard Greene and David K. Li