POMONA, Calif., May 30 (UPI) -- A California woman who killed her husband was freed after 16 years in prison because no testimony about battered women's syndrome was presented at her trial.
Hudie Joyce Walker's appeal was the first brought under a 2002 state law that allows inmates to have cases reopened if they prove testimony about abuse would have changed the outcome, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The law could help 50 or 60 other inmates, University of Southern California law professor Carrie Hempel told the Times.
After being freed, Walker, 65, ran into the daughter of another prison inmate who told her to enjoy the time she has left.
"Oh, I've got a lot left," Walker said, the Times reported. "Sixty-five is just a number."
Walker said her plans include meeting great-grandchildren for the first time and working on behalf of battered women.
Walker said she killed her husband, who had beaten her for years, accidentally in 1990. A state appellate decision gave her the right to a new trial. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to time served, the Times reported.
