Terrence Richardson of the ‘Waverly Two’ released after decades in prison

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- One of two Virginia men who have spent decades in prison for the 1998 murder of a Waverly police officer after a federal jury found them not guilty was released from prison on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, March 5, Terrence Richardson -- one of the two men known as "the Waverly Two" -- walked out of FCI Petersburg Medium for the first time since the early 2000s. His freedom comes after then-president Joe Biden commuted their sentences on Jan. 17, shortly before he left office.

FOLLOW THE CASE: Not Guilty, Sentenced to Life

Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne were named as suspects in the murder of Allen Gibson, a Waverly police officer who was shot and killed on April 25, 1998.

Court documents reviewed by 8News revealed that there was a lack of evidence tying either of them to the crime. Citing a weak case that was "very borderline proving murder", prosecutors presented Richardson and Claiborne with separate plea deals in Sussex County state court. Fearing the death penalty, both men said they accepted the deals.

The case was then taken to the federal level after Gibson's family contested the decision. This time, the Waverly Two went to trial and the jury acquitted them of Gibson's murder, choosing to do so even after seeing the state's original case, plus additional evidence state prosecutors did not present. Richardson and Claiborne were each only found guilty of a drug charge.

However, in an unusual move, a federal judge sentenced them to life in prison in 2001 by "cross-referencing" the murder charge's sentencing guidelines when handling the drug charge. Previously, an 8News legal analyst called this move a “miscarriage of justice," adding that he had never seen the legal maneuver used before.

In the years since, the Waverly Two have maintained that they did not kill Gibson. They have taken their fight to overturn their convictions all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court, citing exculpatory evidence they said investigators withheld from their defense attorneys.

While that fight is not over, Richardson can now argue his innocence from outside of a prison cell. Claiborne is expected to be released later this year.