Ryan Ferguson of Missouri freed after spending 10 years in prison, conviction overturned

Ryan Ferguson of Missouri had been in prison for nearly a decade, but on Tuesday night, he was released after his murder conviction was overturned.

Ferguson, 29, had been convicted in 2005 of the murder of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt. However, CBS News reports that just last week, an appeals court threw out the conviction, stating that Boone County prosecutors didn’t share key evidence with Ferguson’s attorneys, which is a violation of federal laws.

“I didn't know this morning I'd be standing here tonight,” Ferguson said during a press conference Tuesday night, with friends, family and supporters behind him. “It was very scary, very daunting. I'm very glad to be here. I want to thank the Attorney General for looking at the facts of the case and making decisions based off those facts and doing the right thing.”

Ferguson also spoke to Today Wednesday morning, telling Savannah Guthrie that he hasn’t been able to sleep since he was released. "It's been a wild ride...Seeing the light come out and the sun come up, it's pretty incredible,” he said.

In 2005, Ferguson was convicted of Heitholt’s murder in 2001 when a friend of Ferguson’s told police that he was the killer. The friend later had trouble piecing his story together and later recanted his trial testimony. An alleged witness did the same. Evidence found at the scene also failed to implicate Ferguson, who was 17 at the time of the murder.

After the appeals court withdrew the conviction, prosecutors decided not to re-try Ferguson and he was released.

“It's completely over,” Kathleen Zellner, his attorney, told Today. “The evidence against him was fabricated. We've proved that, and unless they want to fabricate more evidence, this is completely over.”

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image: Today screenshot

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