A woman who spent the last 17 years of her life in prison for a crime that she says she did not commit was exonerated on Friday by a Los Angeles County judge.

The 59-year-old, Susan Mellen, walked out of court as a free woman after Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold overturned her conviction for the 1997 murder of a homeless man.

Mellen was in tears as the courtroom applauded for her. She will now undergo the process for release from the suburban Torrance courthouse.

"I believe that not only is Ms. Mellen not guilty, based on what I have read I believe she is innocent," Judge Arnold said, according to The Associated Press. "For that reason I believe in this case the justice system failed."

The mother of three was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for killing. However, Deirdre O'Connor, head of a project known as Innocence Matters, worked to help set her free from the wrongful conviction.

According to O'Connor, Mellen was convicted based solely on the testimony of a notorious liar who had history of giving false information to law enforcement officials.

Later on, three gang members were subsequently linked to the crime, while one was convicted of the killing. Another took a polygraph test that proved that he was present at the killing of Richard Daly, and that Mellen was not.

"Although each member of this family suffered tremendously, they remain a close family unit," O'Connor said. "The 'kids' are overjoyed by the news of their mother's anticipated exoneration and are anxious to make up for lost time."

During a press conference, Mellon's daughter, Jessica Besch, said that his was the "happiest day of my life."

"It still doesn't feel real yet until I see her walk through that door," she said, according to NBC News Los Angeles.