Wrongfully convicted man freed after 17 years

updated 5:24 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2009

NEW YORK - A New York City man was freed after spending nearly two decades behind bars for murder before a judge declared him innocent, a prison system official says.

Fernando Bermudez was released from the Sing Sing prison in Ossining Friday. A Manhattan judge overturned Bermudez's 1992 conviction last week, saying it stemmed from unreliable witness testimony.

But Bermudez remained behind bars because he hadn't served a 27-month sentence in a federal drug case.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered that Bermudez be released at least until June 30 while his lawyers ask federal officials to credit his drug sentence as served.

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