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After working on a case for the Innocence Project of Texas since last October, 3L Alexis Hoff saw the man she has helped prove innocent walk free.

James Lee Woodard was released in Dallas on April 29. He is the 17th person in Dallas County to be cleared through DNA testing since 2001. Woodard was convicted on rape and murder charges in 1981. He was incarcerated for 27 years, the longest imprisonment term of any exonerated inmate in the U.S. who has been cleared through DNA testing.

In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Hoff said that she was certain Woodard was innocent shortly after reading his transcript. Woodard’s is the first of the 17 cases which was initiated and partially handled by a student. (Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article here.)

Woodard’s exoneration, as well as the Dallas DNA project, has been followed by 60 Minutes. A story about the events, including interviews with students from the Wesleyan Innocence Project, will air on Sunday, May 4.