Back in court for the first time since a judge freed him two weeks ago from a life sentence, Chester Hollman III finally heard the words he has waited 28 years to hear: All charges against him in a 1991 murder case were dropped.

…Hollman, an armored-car driver with no criminal record, was found guilty by a jury in 1993 of murder and related charges of robbery, conspiracy, and possession of an instrument of crime. Lynne M. Abraham was district attorney at the time. Reached for comment Tuesday, Abraham said she had “no recollection of the case” and declined to comment.

…But during an emotional hearing Tuesday at the Stout Center for Criminal Justice, Hollman heard so much more, as a prosecutor apologized for the failings of the criminal justice system and the judge criticized a “lack of integrity” in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office during Hollman’s murder trial and years of appeals.

…Hollman said he grew up wanting to be a police officer and initially thought police would clear him. He said he struggled to hold onto the hope he would one day be exonerated. He choked up when he told the court about the unwavering support of his family, especially his mother, who died while he was in prison.

‘We failed’; Philly DA’s Office apologizes to man imprisoned 28 years for a wrongful murder conviction

hmmm