Chicago man released from Cook County Jail after wrongful conviction

A long time coming, as a man celebrates his freedom after decades of being locked up.

CHICAGO - A long time coming, as a man celebrates his freedom after decades of being locked up.

Francisco Benitez spent 12,540 days behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. He was greeted at the gates of the Cook County Jail Tuesday night with a Cubs jersey and hugs, but his fight for justice still isn't over. He has to return for court.

Free but still tethered by the ankle monitor he's wearing, 53-year-old Francisco Benitez - affectionately called Frankie - walked out of the Cook County Jail. He's been in prison since he was 18, sentenced to life for a murder he didn't commit. He was taken into custody in April 1989.

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Earlier this year, a hearing was held, and evidence was presented to prove Benitez is innocent.

At the center of the wrongful conviction were two Chicago police detectives, Jerome Bogucki and Raymond Schalk. The pair have been at the center of two other murder cases that fell apart based on evidence that the detectives coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence.

On Tuesday, a judge decided that the conviction should be vacated, and Benitez should be released from custody.

Benitez has a court appearance in September, and he believes that is when the judge will decide to have his ankle monitor removed.