Travis Hayes is finally free after spending more than nine years in prison for driving the car that Jefferson Parish prosecutors had claimed was the getaway vehicle in the murder of Bridge City grocer Tommy Vanhoose.

But Mr. Hayes, who goes from a prison cell to house arrest at an aunt's home, won't really be free until he knows that he won't face a second trial, until Jefferson Parish prosecutors drop the charges against him.

They should do so at once, given the weakness of their case. Ryan Matthews, who was tried and convicted on first-degree murder charges for killing Mr. Vanhoose, was freed from death row in 2004 after DNA evidence on a ski mask worn by the shooter was linked to another man, Rondell Love.

Mr. Love is serving a 20-year sentence for manslaughter in another case, and it is his DNA -- not Mr. Matthews' -- that was found on the ski mask. Other inmates also say that Mr. Love boasted of killing Mr. Vanhoose, and his physical description is far closer to what witnesses to the killing described -- a 5-foot-5 inch man who weighed about 140 pounds. Mr. Matthews is 6-foot-1 and weighed 170 pounds.

Prosecutors decided to drop the charges against Mr. Matthews, and in light of that, continuing to say that Mr. Hayes is guilty of driving the getaway car makes no sense. Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court overturned Mr. Hayes' conviction on Tuesday, saying in his ruling that Mr. Hayes and Mr. Matthews are "inextricably joined by the facts of the case."

Indeed, the earlier conviction of Mr. Matthews rested heavily on a statement that Mr. Hayes made after he was questioned for seven hours without legal counsel, food, sleep or bathroom breaks. After that session, the then 17-year-old Mr. Hayes, a man whom friends describe as mildly retarded, confessed to the crime. But he immediately recanted.

Assistant District Attorney David Wolff told the judge that an appeal is planned withing 30 days. And First Assistant District Attorney Steve Wimberly says that prosecutors will "review and evaluate all of our options."

It shouldn't take a month for prosecutors to choose the right option -- dropping the charges. The district attorney's office fought for more than two years to prevent Mr. Hayes from coming to this point -- even after it gave up on the Matthews case.