Man convicted in Columbia sport editor’s death out of prison

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A 38-year-old man who spent nearly two decades in prison after the killing of a Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor has been freed.

Charles Erickson was released from prison Monday.

He was convicted in 2005 after initially confessing to helping kill Kent Heitholt on November 2001.

Erickson later said he was coerced by police and lawyers into confessing.

During his confession, Erickson implicated his friend Ryan Ferguson, who was found guilty in 2005.

Erickson later recanted his original plea and Ferguson’s conviction was vacated in 2013.

Ferguson won a multi-million settlement of a lawsuit he filed against Columbia police and others, alleging that they fabricated evidence in the case.