WBRZ - Baton Rouge

NEW ORLEANS- A man was released from Angola State Penitentiary this morning after being cleared of a rape conviction that kept him behind bars for nearly 30 years.

Henry James, now 50, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole on May 7, 1982.

JenDe O'Keefe Trigg, managing director of The Innocence Project New Orleans, says her office sought DNA testing of the rape kit, but initial searches for the evidence proved fruitless.

In May 2010, a lab worker stumbled upon a slide from James' case and testing later excluded James as the perpetrator in the rape.

District Judge Henry G. Sullivan signed the order vacating the conviction late Thursday.