After spending a quarter century in prison, Anthony Sanborn Jr. was released today after a key witness in his 1992 murder trial publicly recanted her testimony in open court.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Hope Cady, the only witness to the alleged crime, told the court on Thursday that, contrary to her original testimony, she did not witness the murder. Not only did she contradict her earlier statements to the court, the newspaper reported, she also claimed that she was forced to testify by Portland police detectives at the time, as well as a state prosecutor.

She also told the court believes that Sanborn deserves to go free, according to the BDN.

Cady was the only eyewitness to the crime, and now that she has recanted her statements, it's unclear what will happen next. The newspaper reported that prosecutors urged the judge to send Sanborn back to prison, but the defense strongly objected, arguing passionately that he has already served long enough in prison for a crime that he still maintains he did not commit. The judge released him on $25,000 bail today.

It's also still unclear if Cady will be charged with a crime for her false testimony under oath.

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