Two defendants convicted of rigging DeKalb County School construction contracts will soon leave prison.

Monday, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams granted a $75,000 bail for Pat Reid, the former Chief Operating Officer of DeKalb's Schools; he ordered $50,000 bail for her ex-husband, architect Tony Pope.

Tony Axam, Reid's lawyer, says her family and friends will pool their resources to meet the bonding requirements and he expects that she will be coming home "probably within the next week."  John Petrey, Pope's lawyer, expects the same for his client.

Last December, Reid and Pope were sentenced to 15 and eight years, respectively, for allegedly funneling Pope contracts that landed him some $1.4 million in work he should not have gotten.

Then, in October, trial Judge Cynthia Becker overturned the convictions and ordered new trials for the pair, saying that a key witness against them--former superintendent Crawford Lewis--lied.  Becker also rejected Lewis' plea deal for 12-months probation, and sentenced him to a year behind bars.

Petrey says Pope and Reid were convicted on perjured testimony, and it's been a tough year behind bars for his client.

"He has been very, very involved in religious studies, he's a very intelligent person who's been helping other inmates there as well, and considering that it is a God-awful situation to be in, he is making the most of it," says Petrey.

Prosecutors, however, say Lewis was truthful; they have appealed Becker's order of new trials for Reid and Pope.  Defense attorneys have until December 19 to file their response, and the Court of Appeals has until next summer to rule.

"She's always maintained her innocence," says Axam of his client.  "She thinks that the jury got it wrong in this case.  We are satisfied that Judge Becker got it right when she said that Crawford Lewis was not telling the truth, and that should not form the basis for a conviction."