Man serving life term in 1957 murder case hopes for freedom

FILE - In this March 29, 2016 file photo, Jack McCullough, appears in court for a hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill. McCullough, 76, who is serving a life sentence for the 1957 slaying of an Illinois schoolgirl, is hoping to be set free at a hearing Friday, April 15, 2016. A prosecutor re-examined evidence and concluded that McCullough couldn't have committed the crime. The former Washington state security guard was convicted in 2012 in the killing of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph, in one of the oldest unsolved cases to go to trial. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT, CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this March 29, 2016, file photo, Jack McCullough appears in court for a hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill. McCullough, who a prosecutor says was wrongly convicted in the abduction and killing of a 7-year-old Illinois schoolgirl in 1957 will be released from prison, a judge ordered Friday, April 15, 2016. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT, CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT(/Daily Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT (The Associated Press)

Jack McCullough winks at his stepdaughter Janey O'Connor behind him as he sits during a hearing in the DeKalb County Courthouse on Friday, April 15, 2016 in Sycamore, Ill. McCullough who a prosecutor says was wrongly convicted in the 1957 killing of an Illinois schoolgirl was released Friday shortly after a judge vacated his conviction, meaning that one of the oldest cold cases to be tried in U.S. history has officially gone cold again. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT (The Associated Press)