Man freed after decades in Delaware prison: "Justice system is broken"

A man who was released from a Delaware prison last week after spending 39 years behind bars is now talking about his experience.

Elmer Daniels, now 57 years old, was 18 when he was convicted of rape in 1980.

He was released nearly 40 years later because of invalid evidence.

As Daniels walked out of prison he was greeted by his legal team, who had won a hard-fought battle for his release after discovering false evidence, bad science and a number of judicial irregularities.

Wrongfully imprisoned Delaware man free nearly 4 decades later. Christie Ileto reports during Action News at 5 p.m. on December 13, 2018.

On Tuesday, Daniels and his team gathered again for a news conference in which Daniels talked about what he's feeling now.

"I'm not going to talk about being angry, I'm not going to talk about hate because it doesn't change anything. What I am going to talk about is the victims. There were a lot of victims in this issue. My family became victims, I became a victim, and I pray that there are no more victims. Get it right. The justice system is broken," Daniels said.

Daniels will be part of a foundation that will focus on irregularities within the judicial system.

While no civil actions were announced Tuesday, his legal team indicated there would be efforts to get compensation.

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