GREENWOOD, S.C. AP – Edward Lee Elmore glanced at the ceiling when a judge asked him if he was sure he wanted to plead guilty to the murder he has spent decades denying. He whispered to his lawyer, who had told him “freedom is justice,” and then looked toward the heavens again.

“Yes sir,” he said quietly. With those words, he ended a 30-year stint in prison that saw 30 of his friends on death row die.