An Ohio man became the the longest-held U.S. prisoner to be exonerated when he was released Friday after spending 39 years, three months and eight days in prison, NBC News reported.

Ricky Jackson, 57, had been incarcerated since 1975 when he was convicted of killing a businessman outside a store in Cleveland; he spent part of that time on death row, though a paperwork error prevented him from being executed, according to the network.

Also exonerated and released was Wiley Bridgeman, 60, who had been convicted in the same murder case. Both were found guilty based on testimony of a teenage witness, who recanted in 2013, saying detectives had bullied him into giving false statements.

Jackson said he harbored no ill will toward Eddie Vernon, the witness, who is now 53, USA Today detailed.

"It took a lot of courage to do what he did," he told the newspaper. "He's been carrying a burden around for 39 years, like we have. But in the end, he came through, and I'm grateful for that."

Vernon testified that last year he confessed to his pastor that his testimony in the case was false. 

"Everything was a lie. They were all lies," Vernon said, according to the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.

Jackson continues to have a positive attitude.  

"I'd like to thank you for conducting the proceedings in a fair and impartial manner," Jackson said in a brief statement he made in court Friday. "I would also like to thank the prosecutor's office for showing a lot of integrity. You guys let the evidence be heard, and you followed the evidence."

Prosecutors, meanwhile, offered no comment or apology other than to say that the state was "conceding the obvious," according to USA Today.

While Ohio provides compensation for those who are wrongfully imprisoned, everyone is not guaranteed money, NBC News said.

Since 1989, Jackson will be the 1,477th person to be exonerated, according to the University of Michigan Law SchoolThat is largely thanks to the Ohio Innocence Project, who took on his cause after an article in Scene magazine, "even though there was no DNA evidence, the hallmark of Innocence Project cases," USA Today noted.

Jackson planned to celebrate with his lawyers Friday at a hotel, the newspaper added. "Asked where he was going to live, Jackson replied: 'It's ironic. For 39 years, I've had a place to stay. Now, you know, that's precarious.'"