(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Two men who were in prison for more than 40 years have been freed after a Cook County judge vacated their murder convictions.
Cousins James Soto, 62 and David Ayala, 60 were convicted of a double murder in 1981. Lawyers said witness statements were coerced by police.
Neither confessed to the murders of Julie Limas and Hector Valeriano. Soto was surrounded by family as he walked out of the Stateville Correctional Center.
He said he was "elated” and has “a bit of righteous anger" and that his exoneration should not have taken 42 years, according to CBS 2.
"My first step is to go have a nice dinner of steak and lobster."
Soto's sister, Pilar More said her brother's release felt like a dream. "I can't even tell you all the time lost, and we're going to make up for it," she told CBS 2.
Ayala and Soto's lawyers said they served more time than any other wrongfully convicted person in state history.
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