Willie Earl Green was freed yesterday after serving almost 25 years in prison for the murder of a Los Angeles woman, which he insisted he had never committed.

"I was wrongly accused. I'm out now," said Green, who claimed he wasn’t bitter about his undeserved conviction. "It's a great day. I never gave up on this day. I knew one day this day would come. I never asked for mercy. I only asked for justice to be served, and it was served today,” the man said, according to CNN News.

The 55-year-old man was greeted by his attorneys, his supporters and his wife when he walked out of a California courtroom as a free man.

He walked slowly, as if he couldn’t believe he was free again. He burst into tears as he hugged his wife, relieved that it was the first time in 25 years that his hug wasn’t interrupted by a tap on the shoulder, the routine practiced by guardians in San Quentin State Prison.

“That's what I'm waiting for," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “For them to come and tell me now, 'One hug, one kiss, you're over.' “

Green was arrested in 1983 for the execution-style murder of Denise Walker, a 25-year-old woman in Los Angeles. He feels sorry that the real murderers of the victim were free for 25 years, while he was in prison.

"Everybody's talking about me," he told CNN. "But nobody's talking about the victim. She didn't get any justice. Me being locked up for 25 years didn't give her any justice."