( CNN ) A man who spent more than half his life in a North Carolina prison for two murders he did n't commit walked out a free man Friday , holding his belongings in two white plastic bags . Joseph Sledge , who was wrongfully convicted in 1978 , said he feels wonderful about his freedom . He is now 70-years old . Sledge was exonerated by a three-judge panel who reviewed post-conviction DNA evidence from the victims . The panel said that evidence excluded Sledge as a suspect . A witness who testified that Sledge had admitted to the murders recanted his testimony in 2013 . Josephine Davis and her daughter Aileen Davis were discovered in September 1976 inside their home in Elizabethtown , North Carolina . The women had been beaten and stabbed multiple times ; Aileen Davis had been sexually assaulted . Man freed by DNA evidence after 20 years dies a year later . The day before the women 's bodies were found , Sledge had escaped from White Lake Prison Camp , approximately 4 miles from the victims ' home . He had been serving a four-year sentence for larceny . Sledge was picked up after he was spotted in Dillon , South Carolina , driving a stolen car , arrested and brought back to North Carolina , where he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the Davises . At trial , the state presented forensic evidence linking Sledge to the crime . Two inmates also testified against Sledge , saying he had admitted to the crimes behind bars . He was convicted and sentence to life in prison . DNA frees North Carolina 's longest-serving death row resident . During the more than three decades Sledge was in prison , he maintained his innocence , filing numerous post-conviction motions on various grounds . All were denied without hearing . In 2003 , however , his request for new DNA testing was granted ; testing began five years later . The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission took on investigating Sledge 's case . It in December found `` sufficient evidence of factual innocence to merit judicial review . '' Speaking to reporters outside the Columbus County jail , Sledge said , `` When you 're conscious of something you did n't do , you can live with yourself . It 's between you and your maker . '' The family of Josephine and Aileen Davis expressed their disapproval with the panel 's decision . Catherine Brown , Josephine Davis ' granddaughter , reading from a prepared statement , said , `` We , the family , are heartbroken by this decision . '' Sledge , who was wrongly incarcerated for 37 years , addressed the Davis family directly , saying , `` I 'm very , very sorry for your loss . I hope you get closure in this matter . '' The commission , which began operating in 2007 , is the first of its kind in the country , and is separate from the appeals process , according to the organization 's website . A person exonerated by the commission process is declared innocent and can not be retried for the same crime . Exonerated : Cases by the numbers .
John has spent more than two decades behind bars . DNA evidence , recanted testimony leads to his exoneration .