The brothers celebrated their first moments in freedom by hugging family members outside the court.
Then family dinner was waiting at the restaurant.
"We were just children when we were locked up and now we are men," said Melvin de Jesus.
Brothers George and Melvin De Jesus were convicted of the murder of Margaret Midkiff, who was found dead in her home in Pontiac, Michigan in 1995. One year after the murder, DNA from the crime scene was matched with another man, while no DNA was found that matched the brothers.
At the trial in 1997, Brandon Gohagen, whose DNA was found at the crime scene, testified that the brothers had forced him to rape the victim, and that they then killed her.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison for murder, while Gohagen was sentenced for murder and sexual offenses.
However, according to Deputy Attorney General Robyn Frankel, Gohagen, who was later sentenced to life in prison for another murder, acted alone.
It has also been shown that Gohagen failed a test with a lie detector, and several witnesses have come forward and given the brothers an alibi.