A British court on Wednesday quashed the conviction of a man who has spent 27 years behind bars for murder, saying the original verdict was unsafe.
New DNA evidence cast doubt on the conviction of Sean Hodgson, who was jailed in 1982 and is now 57 years old, said a panel of three judges at the Court of Appeal in London.
"It is unsafe," said judge Igor Judge, referring to doubts about the conviction raised by new DNA evidence indicating that Hodgson could not have been the murderer.
Hodgson, who was in court for the ruling, was jailed for life for the murder in 1979 of Teresa De Simone, a gas board clerk and part-time barmaid who was strangled in Southampton, southern England.
DNA tests were not available at the time of his conviction . Hodgson was expected to be released shortly, making him one of the longest-serving victims of a miscarriage of justice.