After spending 27 years in prison, Bryan Hooper Sr. has been exonerated of the 1998 murder of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak in Minneapolis.

A judge vacated his conviction after a key witness, whose fingerprints were at the crime scene, recanted her testimony and confessed to the killing from prison in Georgia.

Hooper, once sentenced to life, maintained his innocence throughout and criticized the use of unreliable jailhouse informant testimony that helped convict him, CBS News has reported.

Prosecutors admitted the case was tainted by false evidence and said their Conviction Integrity Unit worked to clear his name.