A high school principal said he and his wife 'had a wonderful life' in an emotional jailhouse interview before being released from prison last year after 33 years for murdering her as he insists he's innocent and will fight to clear his name.
Joe Bryan, 81 - who was recently interviewed for a segment on ABC's 20/20 - was convicted of first-degree murder in April 1986 for the murder of his wife, Mickey Bryan, who had been shot in her bedroom in Clifton, Texas, four times with a .357 caliber revolver on October 14, 1985.
He was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 99 years in prison and after his eighth parole attempt, Joe - who has always maintained his innocence - was released on parole in March 2020.
'I may get emotional. When you have your soul mate, and you love each other and respect each other, it makes life wonderful,' Bryan tearfully told ABC's Amy Robach in a clip of his jailhouse interview released Friday morning, which was took place prior to his release.
'And we had a wonderful life.'
Bryan fought back tears as he explained the moment he learned of his wife's death, describing his response to the news as being 'heartbroken'
Bryan (right) was arrested for Mickey's (left) murder on October 23, just eight days after her death
Bryan fought back tears as he explained the moment he learned of his wife's death, describing his response to the news as being 'heartbroken.'
'Instantly you know your life is not as it was. I said 'what can you tell me?' Do we know how?' (The officer) said 'all I know is that she's dead.'
'I was heartbroken,' he said, voice cracking with emotion.
In an effort to further clear his name, Bryan's attorneys presented new developments in the forensic testimony of retired police Det. Robert Thorman - who had performed the initial blood-stain analysis - at an evidentiary hearing in 2018.
In a sworn affidavit to the court, Thorman said 'my conclusions were wrong, some of my testimony was not correct,' ProPublica reported him saying just over a week after Bryan's release in March 2020.
Throughout his time in prison, Joe's defense team has tried to have his conviction overturned.
In 2016, they filed a complaint with the Texas Forensic Science Commission who reviewed Thorman's analysis and testimony from 1985 and determined that it was 'unreliable'.
'False, it's unscientific, and... the most horrifying thing I've ever read in my life,' blood spatter expert Celestina Rossi testified of Thorman's analysis.
They had the specks of blood on the flashlight tested with DNA technology in 2012 and 2018 but the results were inconclusive.
In 2018 the defense presented new evidence in attempt to secure a new trial, but the court decided not to grant the request.
Investigators had found evidence allegedly linking Bryan to the case after Mickey's brother borrowed his car. He went to consult a friend who was a former FBI agent about his sister's death when the pair reportedly found the aforementioned flashlight in the trunk, which appeared to have specks of blood and pieces of plastic on the lens that resembled bits found at the crime scene.
Pictured: the blood-stained flashlight found in Bryan's trunk following the murder, which was used to implicate him in his wife's death
Then in 2018, new developments called into question the blood evidence on the flashlight (pictured) which had been used to convict him
Although DNA forensics did not exist at the time, crime scene investigators determined that the blood on the flashlight matched Mickey's blood type and the plastic pieces matched those found at the crime scene.
'Who in their right mind would do what they said I was supposed to have done? And just leave the flashlight in the car, in the trunk?' he said, referring to a blood-covered flashlight that had been found in his car and matched Mickey's blood type.
Bryan claimed the last time he saw the flashlight was in the couple's bedroom.
'You're stunned, like, how could they do this?' Bryan said upon hearing the guilty verdict over 30 years ago.
'And you're innocent,' he added.
'I'm not a killer. I didn't kill Mickey. I loved Mickey, she was my other self,' he told ABC News.
'I hope to be found actually innocent so it's really truly over with. Then for the first time in 34 years I can have a sigh of relief, and I can go visit Mickey's grave and tell her, 'We know who did it.'
Bryan's full 20/20 interview airs on ABC Friday at 9pm EST.
Meanwhile, Bryan and his family believe that former police officer Dennis Dunlap, who was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of Judy Whitley, a 17-year-old high school cheerleader who also lived in Clifton, may be responsible for Mickey's death.
Bryan believes that former police officer Dennis Dunlap, who was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of Judy Whitley (pictured), may be responsible for Mickey's death
Joe Bryan, a killer principal (left), has been released after 33 years behind bars for murdering his wife, Mickey (right) - but still insists he didn't do it, and has now vowed to clear his name
'I believe that if the Clifton Police Department and the Texas Rangers, along with the justice system, would have arrested Dennis Dunlap for the murder of Judy
