Two cousins who have spent 42 years behind bars walk free after being exonerated for the murders of two Chicago teenagers: The men, now 62 and 60, will spend Christmas with their families for the first time since 1981

Two cousins who spent almost half a century behind bars for a crime they didn't commit have finally tasted freedom after being exonerated for murder. 

Jimmy Soto, 62, and his cousin David Ayala, 60, were convicted in 1981 of the murders of two Chicago teenagers, despite no physical evidence ever linking them to the crime. 

Both men pleaded their innocence for 42 years, until they were finally released on Thursday evening, with Soto seen in heartwarming footage being greeted by his family as walked out of Stateville Correctional Center for the last time. 

Soto said he survived his ordeal through 'the fact that I knew I was innocent', adding: 'The only other alternative is to give up, and that was not an option.' 

The two men are believed to have served the longest time in prison on a wrongful conviction in Illinois history, beating the record held by Jackie Wilson, who served 35 years before he was exonerated in 2020. 

As he walked out of the prison, Soto said he was 'excited, elated, exuberant', but still felt 'a bit of righteous anger' at the system that kept him locked up unjustly for so long. 

'It should not have taken 42 years for this to happen,' Soto added. 

Ayala's attorneys said their client spent 15 years of his 42-year sentence in solitary confinement in Illinois' Tamms Correctional Center, which closed in 2013.    

Both men were seen in heartwarming footage spending their first night of freedom at a holiday Christmas party, as they are set to enjoy the festive period with their families for the first time in over four decades. 

The pair were serving life sentences for the murders of Julie Limas, 16, and US Marine Hector Valerino, on August 16, 1981. 

Soto and Ayala, who were 20 and 18 at the time, were accused of killing the couple by carrying out a drive-by shooting into a crowd at a softball game. 

Prosecutors alleged that Ayala was the leader of the Two Six gang, and ordered Soto to commit the shooting that left the young couple dead.  

But because neither man ever confessed to the murders and there was no physical evidence, their conviction relied almost entirely on witness testimony, according to their attorneys. 

They claimed three key witnesses to the incident provided investigators with descriptions that pointed to other suspects.

A dozen people were reportedly arrested for the crime and charged with murder, and Soto and Ayala's attorneys argued that officers used the threat of the charge to coerce others into implicating the cousins. 

Wally 'Gator' Cruz, who admitted to being the driver of the car involved in the drive-by, testified against the cousins, however witnesses later said Cruz' statement was false, according to the Chicago Sun Times. 

Cruz was initially charged with murder, but landed a plea deal with the state for a five year sentence. 

Other witnesses who implicated them in their original trial, besides Cruz, also all later recanted their accusations against the pair.  

Soto and Ayala both previously petitioned for their release in 2015, however a judge kicked back the case after it moved through lower courts. 

Eight years later, a judge agreed their conviction should be overturned as their assistant public defender may have had a conflict of interest by also representing one of the state's witnesses. 

Their lawyers argued that if the men were forced to go through a retrial process, they were certain a jury would exonerate them as well.   

Their case moved through recently thanks to lawyers with the University of Chicago's Exoneration Project, which took up their case this year. 

Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, a lawyer with the Exoneration Project, said despite their ordeal, 'these are not bitter men.' 

'These are men that are grateful to come home and be with their family, and we’re proud of them.' 

Soto spent his time behind bars obtaining an education, earning a bachelor's degree in November through Northwestern University's Prison Education Program. 

He said he now plans to go to law school, and after taking a law school admissions exam friends reportedly say he has already received job offers. 

'There’s somebody sitting in a cell... who feels all hope is lost, it’s my hope I can reach back and help one of them,' he said. 

'I want to be that lawyer who can help people just like me.'