The smile on his face as he walked out of the courtroom said it all.
Holding his baby son in his arms, John Nolley savored his first few moments of being truly free. "Just blessed," he said Wednesday. "I'm just overjoyed."
It was a short hearing that brought his unimaginably long journey to an end. Nolley was convicted in the late 1990s of murdering a friend, a woman named Sharon McLane in Bedford. McLane was a young mother of four, stabbed many times in her home.
False testimony from a jailhouse informant helped put Nolley in prison, but he always maintained his innocence. And after 70 additional interviews, 100 forensic tests, years working with The Innocence Project and new evidence, the moment came. "On behalf of the people of Tarrant County and the state of Texas, I am offering the state’s motion to dismiss," said current District Attorney Sharen Wilson, who was not the DA at the time of Nolley's case.
Wednesday, Nolley was officially exonerated of murder. His was the first case for Wilson's Conviction Integrity Unit, which she launched in 2015.
"I wanted to say, briefly though on behalf of the judiciary of this state and this county, I apologize to you for what happened to you," Judge Louis Sturns told Nolley from the bench.
Nolley told reporters he never gave up hope. "I just woke up every day believing that was going to be the day, and eventually it came," he said.
Nolley says his anger is gone. "I've just been enjoying life," he said. "I got married, (had a) baby, my babies are paying bills now," he said, laughing.
He's been out of prison on personal recognizance bond since 2016, trying to reclaim his life. His children have, too. "Sometimes I want to let my big kid out, run and jump on him, give him a big hug," said his 24-year-old son Tavan Seaton, who was just 3 when his dad went away to prison.
"He was always incredibly patient and knew this day would come," said Nina Morrison with The Innocence Project. "Even when the rest of us weren’t so sure how it was going to go."
Morrison says Nolley will qualify for an $80,000 payment for each year he was wrongly imprisoned. "I'm just ready to let the water go under the bridge and keep moving," Nolley said.
He's ready to savor the life that's been waiting for him all along.