( CNN ) -- A chance Facebook encounter has given two Michigan brothers a chance to walk free after nearly 25 years behind bars for a murder they say they never committed . Raymond and Thomas Highers , both 46 , were sentenced to life in prison for the 1987 murder of a suspected Detroit drug dealer . They are now getting a new trial -- set to start in mid August , according to court authorities -- after developments stemming from conversations on a Facebook page for people who had lived in a Detroit neighborhood in past decades . One of those former neighborhood residents , Mary Evans , mentioned the Highers and `` how horrible it is '' that they remained in jail for a crime that she said many believed they did not commit . That prompted a man named Kevin Zieleniewski to converse about his former roommate who apparently witnessed two men with guns enter victim Robert Karey 's home just prior to a shooting that left Karey dead . The ex-roommate , John Hielscher , said a total of four men entered the house that night on June 26 , 1987 , according to a 2011 affidavit . Hielscher described all four men as African-American , according to the affidavit . Raymond and Thomas Highers are white . Hielscher 's testimony prompted Wayne County Court Judge Lawrence Talon to throw out the decades-old murder convictions last week . `` The court found that the new evidence we found was reliable and credible , '' said Highers ' attorney Janet Napp . `` These men have proclaimed their innocence all these years and nothing has changed . Finally because of Facebook , witnesses have been discovered . '' In the affidavit , Hielscher said he had n't come forward out of fear the real killers would come after him . The Wayne County prosecutors office declined to comment , though it can appeal the court 's decision to overturn the past conviction , according to office spokeswoman Maria Miller . Court authorities confirmed the new trial , but declined additional comment . `` I always believed that they were innocent , '' said the Highers brothers ' aunt , Janet Hirth . `` ( The brothers ) are relieved . Their spirits are great . They 're not bitter , they just want to move forward . '' A bond hearing is scheduled for August 13 . Under Michigan state law , a judge must review inmates ' conduct in prison before releasing them even if their convictions are set aside .
Two Michigan brothers are granted a new trial after 25 years . New testimony from a purported witness was uncovered through Facebook , officials say . The new testimony led a judge to throw out convictions , according to officials . Score: 6