Cook County prosecutors dropped murder charges Friday

against 45-year-old James Andrews,

who spent more than half his life in prison after confessing to two 1983 homicides.

Andrews says those confessions were beaten out of him by detectives working

under disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.

Andrews has been free on bail since a Circuit Court judge threw out his conviction in October.

According to court documents,

Andrews was questioned by police in April 1983 about a dog fight,

but detectives also asked him whether he knew the homicide victims.