Wrongfully convicted at 16, Chicago man navigates freedom after decades behind bars

CHICAGO - Robert Johnson is adjusting to life on the outside, after serving almost 29 years for a murder he says he had nothing to do with. 

His case was continued in a hearing Thursday at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse but even that is considered a development.

Conviction vacated

The backstory:

Robert Johnson wears a suit these days. He was freed from prison last month after a judge vacated his conviction on a 1996 murder of an alleged drug dealer.

Attorneys for the Exoneration Project won his freedom. He was just 16 years old when he was arrested. The murder case was based on testimony of another juvenile, who recanted their testimony. He’s still part of the legal system. 

What they're saying:

Johnson told FOX 32 exclusively, the view from this side is good. 

"The air is so much different. In prison. It’s suffocating, oppressive. It's dehumanizing. It smells like misery and death. Out here, in the free world, it doesn’t smell that way," Johnson said.

Attorney Megan Richardson, with The Exoneration Project said Johnson found her firm while studying in prison. 

"Robert has advocated for himself in spite of all those hurdles that he faced, in spite of all of those obstacles, and it’s just awesome and wonderful to see him on the outside now," Richardson said.

Johnson is considered a pre-trial detainee and cannot leave the state. He is learning to drive, use a smartphone and computer, and will return to court on April 1.