Victim's Family Left With Mixed Feelings After State Exonerates Man Who Spent 30 Years In Prison For Crime He Did Not Commit

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Thomas Raynard James' exoneration Wednesday now leaves Francis McKinnon's family with mixed feelings. For 30 years they thought his case had been resolved, now they may never know who committed the murder.

"My father was a decorated Vietnam Veteran, he was a decorated Korean War Veteran suffering from PTSD and he was shot in his own home," Charles Francis McKinnon said.

Francis McKinnon's son, Charles, does not want an innocent behind bars, but he also doesn't want his father's case to be forgotten. "It may be convincing enough evidence for the state attorney to make this recommendation but to us it's not complete," he said.

His brother, Samuel echoed those sentiments. "So now you're telling me that we've 30 years with potential investigation with solving and I've just not had any confidence in the way them assuring us that due diligence will be done to resolve my father's case," Samuel McKinnon told CBS 4.

During the hearing Charles McKinnon voiced his concern to the judge. "It seems when somebody has been exonerated after such long prison sentence there's a little bit more substantial evidence then just a polygraph test that's not useable and a recantation of a witness who made a positive ID on the stand."

The exoneration leaves the McKinnon now with more doubt and questions.

"The primary suspect who they never brought into custody passed were some other concerns that we've heard the fact now that we've got 30 years of loss opportunity to go back and really do a thorough investigation of what occurred, we lost witnesses, witnesses that have changed their minds."

It is possible the McKinnon family may never known who killed Francis.