Two cousins who are believed to have served the longest time behind bars on a wrongful conviction in Illinois history can now look ahead to freedom.
Jimmy Soto and his cousin David Ayala were young men when they were sent to prison for a 1981 murder of a Marine and a teen girl in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood.
No physical evidence ever linked either man to the crime, and neither man confessed to any involvement in the murders.
On Thursday night, Soto and Ayala were released from Stateville Correctional Center, marking the end of a long 42 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit.
Soto and Ayala, now both in their 60s, were exonerated for the crime they were later determined to not have any involvement in.
During Soto's time in prison, he earned a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University's prison education program.
Soto said he's taken the LSAT and wants to attend law school now that he's out of prison.
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"If there’s somebody sitting in a cell, male or female, who feels all hope is lost, it’s my hope I can reach back and help one of them," Soto said.
Amid the celebration is an unfillable void, as Soto's father passed away before he was freed.
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“I would tell him that he never lost faith in me. Regardless, he always believed in my innocence," Soto said.
First on the agenda for Soto and his family is a steak and lobster dinner to celebrate a release awaited for decades.
