Eric Glisson And Cathy Watkins, Wrongly Convicted For Killing Cab Driver Baithe Diop, Freed After 17 Years In Jail

17 Years in Jail For A Murder They Didn't Commit
This Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 photo provided by attorney Peter Cross shows Cross, left, posing while on a visit with his client Eric Glisson at New York's Sing Sing prison. Glisson was convicted in the 1995 killing of a livery cab driver in New York City but a review of new evidence points to a wrongful murder conviction. (AP Photo/Peter Cross)
This Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 photo provided by attorney Peter Cross shows Cross, left, posing while on a visit with his client Eric Glisson at New York's Sing Sing prison. Glisson was convicted in the 1995 killing of a livery cab driver in New York City but a review of new evidence points to a wrongful murder conviction. (AP Photo/Peter Cross)

Two people who served more than 17 years behind bars for a murder they did not commit were set free on Wednesday.

Eric Glisson and Cathy Watkins were arrested in 1995 and convicted two years later of killing Baithe Diop, a Senegalese immigrant who worked as a cab driver.

However, newly uncovered evidence suggests, according to The New York Times, that two gang members, Gilbert Vega and Jose Rodriguez, were responsible for the murder.

37-year-old Glisson was reunited with family members outside a Bronx courthouse on Wednesday. "I’m free, and I’m happy," he said. "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 great and it’s scary at the same time. This has been a great injustice. All along I knew I was innocent.”

With his newfound freedom, he also said he would attend classes at Mercy College to study behavioral science.

44-year-old Watkins, who earned a sociology degree while imprisoned, walked out of the courthouse wearing a T-shirt with the message, "I didn't do it."

Prosecutors agreed to take the "unprecedented" step and release the pair under the condition they would wear electronic ankle bracelets while investigators further examined the compelling evidence that could exonerate them once and for all.

They were actually supposed to be released on Friday, but were delayed because there weren't enough monitoring bracelets available.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot