In prison for more than a decade for an armed robbery he said he didn’t commit, Lathan Word stepped outside the Muscogee County Jail on Monday a free man.

Word, 29, was convicted in 2000 for an armed robbery the previous year and sentenced to 15 years with no chance of parole. Monday afternoon, a judge ordered a directed verdict of acquittal for Word after less than three hours of testimony, freeing him.

Word stepped outside the jail and into the arms of his family about an hour later.

“This is the best day of my life,” Word said. “I spent 12 years to get this day right here.”

Surrounded by family, Word said he was ready to eat. Fast food was not an option.

It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Anything but fast food. In prison, you have to eat it fast.”

Patsy Word, waiting for her son outside the jail, wiped away her tears.

“God is so good,” she said. “I knew it would happen. I just didn’t know when.

“He likes soul food,” Patsy Word added.

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