Watch John Thompson talk about his release from death row in the USA

John Thompson was 40 years old when he walked out of the Angola State Penitentiary in 2003 after spending nearly 18 years on death row for murder.

A jury acquitted him of all charges after a stunning disclosure from Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick’s office.

In 1995, lead prosecutor Jerry Deagan told fellow prosecutor Mike Riehlmann he was dying of liver cancer and had a confession — he had concealed blood evidence that could possibly prove Thompson’s innocence. After Deagan died, Riehlmann said nothing of his friend’s confession for five years while Thompson sat in a cell waiting for his date with the electric chair.

Riehlmann eventually went public with Deagan’s confession in 1999 and was briefly suspended by the Louisiana Supreme Court for his inaction.

John Thompson survived seven execution dates. He was exonerated and released from death row with a small bag of possessions and given $10 for bus fare. He founded Resurrection After Exoneration to make sure that no future exonerees are dropped into freedom like he was.