After spending 15 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Michael Pearson walked out of the Clarendon County Courthouse a free man Aug. 28 , greeted with hugs, tears and laughter from the crowd of family members who had gathered to witness his release.

But his joy was tempered.

During the hearing that culminated in his freedom, 3rd Circuit Solicitor Ernest Finney III declined to formally acknowledge his innocence or drop the case against him, saying an investigation remained active, extending the legal battle Pearson has been fighting since his arrest in 2010.

That changed Sept. 8 — a little less than two weeks after Pearson’s release — when Finney agreed to officially drop all charges, well ahead of the Sept. 29 deadline the court set for his decision.

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