DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — A man who spent more than 15 years behind bars for a crime prosecutors now say he did not commit has been released from prison in Douglas County.

Brandon Pugh was convicted in connection to a 2008 armed bank robbery, but prosecutors now say evidence later showed he could not have carried out the crime.

Douglas County District Attorney Dalia Racine says records showed Pugh was in East Point at the time of the robbery.

“He could not have been there during this time frame,” Racine said.

Racine called the conviction a major failure by the justice system.

“We are here for one simple reason, Brandon Pugh is an innocent man,” Racine said.

Authorities say the actual bank robbers had stolen Pugh’s car before using it during the robbery. Prosecutors had also claimed Pugh had red bank dye on his body and inside his home, but investigators later determined the discoloration was not bank dye.

Another man was arrested years later and admitted to the robbery.

Racine says cases like this damage public trust in law enforcement and prosecutors.

“We recognize when we get it wrong, we lose the trust and credibility,” Racine said.

She also acknowledged the impact the wrongful conviction had on Pugh’s life.

“We must reckon with the fact that the system failed him for 18 years,” Racine said.

WSB Radio’s Bill Caiaccio contributed to this story.