FREED AT LAST: DAMON THIBODEUX SETS FREE, AFTER 15YRS IN JAIL FOR A RAPE CRIME.

Damon A. Thibodeaux, 38, who has spent 15 years on Louisiana's death row for a rape and murder he did not commit, has been freed.

Thibodeaux was wrongfully convicted of raping, beating and strangling his 14-year-old step-cousin Crystal Champagne in 1997.  Experts have since determined that the then-23-year-old falsely confessed after a nine-hour interrogation and DNA tests have also proved his innocence.
"It's been a long journey," Thibodeaux said during a news conference Friday, "It's people like y'all who give people like us a chance."
According to report, Thibodeaux described walking out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary as "surreal."
"It's not something you can prepare yourself for, because you've been living in those conditions for so long," he said
When asked how he felt, Thibodeaux didn't hesitate. "Free," he said. "I feel free. I feel free