James Kluppelberg, Sr., spent his first 24 hours of freedom enjoying a steak and a pulled pork sandwich, sending his first email, and sitting with his son, James Kluppelberg, Jr.
Kluppelberg spent 25 years behind bars for the 1984 arson deaths of a woman and her five children in Chicago. On Wednesday, Cook County prosecutors went to court and dismissed the case.
While he's been behind bars, his mother has died, his children have grown up and grown away from him, and the world has been filled with technology and speed he can barely comprehend.
"It's still been very surreal. I'm still trying to get my bearings back," Kluppelberg said. "When you're not moving for so long, when you're not traveling in vehicles it takes a while for your body to catch up."
His son, James Kluppelberg Jr., 27, sat next to him beaming on Friday, but still angry at a justice system that failed his father and family.
"I'm not as forgiving as him," the son said. "I missed everything. It ruined my life. I didn't have a dad. I didn't have the greatest of mothers. He's missed everything, graduation, high school, everything that you want a dad to be there for."
The son is now married with two daughter, and still recovering from a childhood filled with physical and sexual abuse, even homelessness.
Kluppelberg said that the justice system could use some work.
"When somebody is guilty -- they need to go to jail," he said. "But you got to get it right, because the price is just too high when you get it wrong."
Kluppelberg might been a stranger to the internet, but his attorneys are trying to use technology to raise money and support to help him rebuild his life. You can see their website at jameskluppelberg.com.
