(CNN) -- After more than 40 years of having his claims of an unjust murder conviction go unanswered, Louisiana inmate Herman Wallace is now a free man. But it may be a Pyrrhic victory. Wallace, who spent decades in solitary confinement, is terminally ill with liver cancer. He was released after a judge vacated his murder conviction and sentence, one of his attorneys told CNN. State officials had been threatened with contempt if they did not release Wallace immediately. Wallace, 71, is one of the "Angola 3" -- three inmates who claim they tried to point out injustices at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola during the late 1960s and 1970s.
@highlight
Inmate is released, according to attorney
@highlight
Federal judge orders release of terminally ill inmate, 71
@highlight
Herman Wallace was in solitary confinement for more than 40 years
@highlight
He was convicted of killing a guard at prison in Angola, Louisiana
Official histories of @placeholder mention the abuses it was known for, but considers them a thing of the past.