A Hempstead man imprisoned for a shooting he didn’t commit was released Thursday from a Mineola courtroom after the judge vacated his conviction.

Josiah Galloway was convicted of attempted murder in 2009 after the shooting of a taxi driver near the bus terminal in Hempstead. Galloway had always maintained his innocence.

"This would come out eventually,” he said. “What's in the dark comes to the light eventually."

Officials from the Conviction Integrity Unit within the Nassau District Attorney's Office said they received a call from someone two months ago claiming to know who was really behind the shooting.

After an investigation, including interviewing new witnesses, the DA's office was able to corroborate the caller's story.

Galloway's family was in the courtroom to hear the decision, including his mother, a cancer survivor, who didn't know if she'd live to see her son exonerated.

Galloway said he's happy to have his freedom, but said he's not the only person to be wrongly convicted.

"I bumped into a lot of people in prison that go through the same thing. There's millions of dudes like this. Something has got to change," he said.

Galloway said he looks forward to spending time with his family in Maryland.

The person who is actually responsible for that shooting is serving a prison sentence for an unrelated charge, according to the DA. That person will not be charged in the shooting due to the statute of limitations for attempted murder.