Bloomington native Dustin Turner walked as a free man for the first time in three decades Thursday morning after a wrongful murder conviction put him in prison.

In an emotional moment captured by WAVY, Turner’s mother Linda Summit embraced him in front of the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va.

“It’s an absolute miracle,” she said. “We just are so excited. It’s a miracle.”

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Turner, a former Navy SEAL trainee, emphasized how his sentencing affected his family and thanked his legal team for his release.

“My mother, it is like she was incarcerated with me after all these years,” Turner said. “And I have had a lot of advocates and supporters in the country and even around the world. My advocates fought very hard for me.”

The Virginia Parole Board granted Turner, 50, parole on Jan. 7 with a 3-2 vote. Turner has been eligible for parole three times previously but was denied, said Turner’s attorney Stephen Northup.

It could take Turner at least six weeks to return to Indiana because the state will have to accept him into its parole and probation system, Northup said. Turner will be returning to Columbus, where his mother, Linda Summitt, has a house set up for him. Turner also has a job offer from Veterans helping Veterans.

Summitt said at some point in the future Turner will want to work on getting his charges dropped, “because he is wrongfully convicted.”