Moment Michael Hanline eats first burger after 36 years wrongful imprisonment

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Michael Hanline, 69, was convicted in 1980 for murder of JT McGarry
New DNA evidence proved he was innocent and he was released last Nov.
On Wednesday, a judge dismissed the charges against him
California Innocence Project posted video of him on day of his release
Moment he ate his first burger at a Carl Jr's restaurant after being wrongfully imprisoned is captured as well as his first steps of freedom
On Thursday, Carl's Jr announced they were giving Hanline a year of free burgers

Published: 12:23 EST, 24 April 2015 | Updated: 16:20 EST, 24 April 2015

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A man finally freed satisfied a well-earned fast food craving by eating his first hamburger after being wrongfully imprisoned for 36 years.

Michael Hanline, 69, was convicted of murder for the fatal shooting of truck driver JT McGarry in 1980, and on Wednesday a judge dismissed the charges against him.

In a video posted on April 20 by the California Innocence Project, which has been working to free Hanline since 1999, he is seen on the day he was released at the counter of a Carl's Jr asking for a hamburger 'they show on TV with the bacon on it'.

As he dug into his meal of a large Mile High Bacon Cheeseburger with fries and a drink, it was a special moment for him.

'My oh my, that's what meat tastes like huh?' he said after taking his first bite. 'The commercial does it justice.'

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Michael Hanline, 69, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 36 years, was dismissed of charges on Wednesday. On the day of his release last November, the moment he ate his first burger after being in prison for decades was captured on video (above Hanline tucking away into a bacon cheeseurger at a Carl's Jr restaurant)

On Wednesday, after a GPS monitor was cut off, Hanline finally put on the boots (above) he last wore 36 years ago when he went to prison for a crime he did not commit

Following more than three decades after Hanline was incarcerated, it emerged that crucial DNA analysis and investigative reports were withheld from his original trial.

The new evidence proved that Hanline was innocent and the longest-serving wrongfully imprisoned inmate in California's history was finally released last November.

And earlier this week, a judge dismissed him of the charges.

'The whole thing was surreal for him when we got him out. It’s impossible for any of us to imagine what it’s like to spend 36 years in prison and then come out,' Justin Brooks, director of California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law told Daily Mail Online.

In the video showing his first moments of freedom, Hanline is seen on November 24, 2014 walking with Brooks as he takes his first steps after leaving prison.

'Today is the day we are finally getting the first of the California 12 out of prison,' Brooks says in the video.

In the video posted on April 20 by California Innocence Project, Hanline is seen on the day of his release on November 24, 2014 as he walks out to a cheering crowd

Holding his wife Sandy's hand, the video shows him looking up into the sky and taking in a breath of fresh air as he leaves prison. While in the car he said: 'It's just an incredible rush. It doesn't seem I guess actually real yet'

Hanline is then greeted by a cheering crowd as he walks next to Brooks, and holding his wife's hand, he walks out of the doors looking up at the sky.

When asked what he is feeling in that moment, he is left speechless only able to shake his head in awe.

'You can see the look on his face when he looks up at the sky as a free man and it’s so overwhelming for him,' Brooks told Daily Mail Online.

'My oh my oh my. It's kind of hard. This feels like I'm on the front of a rocket ship,' Hanline says in the video as he rides in the backseat of a car. 'It's just an incredible rush. It doesn't seem I guess actually real yet.'

Brooks said Hanline had not seen much movement in 36 years so everything just seemed like it was moving at a 1,000 miles per hour while he was inside the car.

'It’s a sensory overload nobody could understand,' Brooks told Daily Mail Online. 'I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve walked 18 other people out of prison, and I still have no idea what that experience is like unless you’re in their head.

Once he enters the Carl's Jr restaurant, at the counter (above) he asks for 'a burger they show on TV with the bacon on it'

After taking his first bite (Hanline pictured above eating the cheeseburger), he said 'that's what meat tastes like huh?'

Once inside of Carl's Jr, Hanline takes a few moments stumbling to figure out what to order but then says he wants a burger that is 'seen in commercials' before tucking into his meal.

'Inside of Carl’s Jr it was a beautiful moment and also a sad one,' Brooks told Daily Mail Online. 'He looks at the menu and he hasn’t made choices in 36 years, being in prison took away his choice and he eats what he’s told to eat.

'You can see he’s sort of stunned by that whole process. I didn't know what to get him either because I’m a vegetarian and it was my first time inside of Carl's Jr, so I just told them to give him the biggest one.'

On Twitter, Carl's Jr announced on Thursday they were giving him a year of free burgers. The company wrote: 'Michael, thank you for choosing Carl's Jr./Hardee's. Hope you enjoyed it. Here's a few more'

After learning of Hanline's story, Carl's Jr shared on Twitter they would be giving him a year of free burgers.

'Michael, thank you for choosing Carl's Jr./Hardee's. Hope you enjoyed it. Here's a few more,' the company tweeted to CIP on Thursday evening with a pictured attached that said 'Free burgers for a year, Michael 2015'.

Brooks said Hanline was really excited about the offer from Carl's Jr.

After Hanline's murder charges were formally dismissed on Wednesday, he appeared with a white beard and pony tail outside of court with his wife, Sandy, where he said he was hoping to return to a normal life.

He also had a GPS monitor cut off allowing him to finally put on the boots he last wore 36 years ago when he went to prison for the crime he did not commit, according to CIP.

'All I want to do is go fishing and ride my bike and spend time with Sandy and do a little gardening,' he said outside of court in California on Wednesday.

'Hopefully everything is going to be like it used to be.'

He added that he had been riding a motorcycle ever since his release and complained that California roads had gotten bumpier during his years behind bars.

Following the judge dismissing him of charges on Wednesday (Hanline pictured left with his wife Sandy on April 22 and right on November 24, 2014), he said he is looking forward to returning to a normal life

California Innocence Project wrote back to Carl's Jr saying Hanline was thrilled to hear about the free burgers

'Mike said it’s like being reborn everyday and that the world has changed so much in 36 years,' Brooks told Daily Mail Online.

After decades in prison, Hanline, who lives in Paso Robles, was also coming to terms with 21st century living and talked about 'Buck Rogers' gadgets such as cellphones.

'Gas isn't 32 cents and a pack of cigarettes isn't 30 cents,' he said. 'It's a whole new ball game.'

Hanline was in his early thirties when he was charged with killing friend, Ventura resident J.T. McGarry in 1978.

He said he kept waiting for justice to prevail but had no idea that he would spent the next 36 years in prison.

Testing showed new DNA evidence found at the crime scene did not come from Hanline or his alleged accomplice.

In addition, prosecutors withheld evidence that should have been disclosed to Hanline's legal team during the trial.

Michael Hanline leaves court after his case was dismissed of charges in Ventura, California on Wednesday, April 22

Hanline said all he wants to do now is go fishing, ride his motorcycle and spend time with his wife Sandy

Hanline's conviction was overturned and he was freed from prison on November 24 after prosecutors told a judge doubts had been raised about the case. However, he had been required to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and had faced the possibility of a retrial.

A Ventura County Superior Court judge dismissed the charges at the request of prosecutors, telling the courtroom it was done because the allegations can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

'I’ve been working on his case for 15 years and and when you spend all of that time with someone in prison and you get to walk them out, there’s no greater feeling,' Brooks told Daily Mail Online.

'If a lawyer gets to have one of those experiences, they’re lucky and I’ve gotten to have 18.'

Prosecutors are still investigating who might have killed McGarry.

'When I first got arrested, I figured it might take a year or two to get this all straightened around but not 36,' Hanline said, including two years he spent in jail after his arrest but before his conviction.

He added: 'I never believed I'd spend the rest of my life in prison, but man, 36 years is a long, long time.'