A Philadelphia judge has ordered the immediate release on parole of a man who has served more than 40 years of a life sentence, which he claimed was the result of prosecutorial misconduct and false testimony.

Clarence Davis was sent to prison in 1971 after being convicted of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from the shooting of bar owner Arthur Gilliard during a robbery. Davis, who claimed his shotgun went off accidentally on the night of the killing, has since alleged that the original prosecutor in the case elicited false statements from two witnesses.

Although Davis is set to be released from prison, he has not been exonerated. At a hearing Thursday afternoon, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Lillian H. Ransom ordered that Davis be placed on immediate parole.