VIDEO: Tyler Edmonds Granted Permission To Seek Compensation For His Wrongful Conviction

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)-It was 13 years ago when Tyler Edmonds’ life changed forever. His childhood was a little different from most people his age.

In 2004, when he was just 13 years old, he was pressured into confessing to the killing of his brother-in-law Joey Fulgham. That confession led to his conviction and life sentence.

The Mississippi Supreme Court believed Edmonds only confessed after he was told he wouldn’t go to jail because of his age, and that his half-sister, who actually committed the murder, would go free.

In a second trial Edmonds was found innocent.

“When I was going through all of that I really didn’t understand what was going on,” said Edmonds. “I didn’t really understand just how messed up it all was, but now as an adult I can look back at it with retrospect and realize how bad it was.”

The Golden Triangle man sued the state in 2015 for locking him up but that effort failed when a judge ruled against him.

However, on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in Edmonds favor.

They granted him the right to a jury trial to seek compensation for the time he spent in prison.

Edmonds said this is news he’s waited years to hear.

“I don’t even think I can put it into words,” Edmonds expressed. “I’m ecstatic. I’m very very pleased.”

“It’ll go back to a trial before Judge Coleman,” said Jim Waide, Edmonds’ attorney. “Judge Coleman will now impanel the jury trial. We very well may ask for a change of venue since this original conviction occurred in Oktibbeha county.”

Waide said his client can be compensated for each year he spent behind bars.

“He can get $50,000 a year and he only gets that for the time he’s under conviction,” Waide explained. “He spent five months, approximately five months awaiting trial. There’s no compensation for any event.”

Edmonds can received close to $200,000 in damages.

Although he’s happy with the supreme court’s ruling, Edmonds said no amount of money will ever be able to pay him back for one of the dearest things he lost, his childhood.

“Money is not going to fix anything,” said Edmonds. “It’s really not about the money. It’s about making sure that something like this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Edmonds’ half-sister, Kristi Fulgham was later convicted of capital murder in the death of her husband. She’s serving life without parole.

A date for Edmonds’ jury trial hasn’t been set.