Judge vacates Virginia man's murder conviction; he walks free after 25 years

Judge vacates Virginia man's murder conviction; he walks free after 25 years A Virginia man’s murder conviction has been vacated, freeing him after 25 years in prison, including over a decade on death row A Virginia man’s murder conviction has been vacated and he has been freed from prison after spending 25 years behind bars — including more than a decade on death row. Justin Michael Wolfe 's release on Monday marks the end of a complex legal saga that at one point had him just days away from an execution date for the 2001 murder of Daniel Petrole in Bristow, Virginia.

Judge Carl Weimer vacated the conviction after the only witness tying Wolfe to the shooting recanted his testimony, and Wolfe agreed to a plea deal on marijuana and robbery charges for a sentence of time served. Wolfe, 45, spent his first few hours of freedom in a whirlwind of normalcy: Eating pizza, running errands with his mom, planning a family dinner. “The thing I relish most is getting to know my nieces and nephews,” he said Tuesday afternoon.