A former inmate who spent years on death row for a double murder he didn't commit can continue with his wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against the state, according to an Ohio Supreme Court ruling Wednesday.

The unanimous decision was a victory for Dale Johnston, now 82, who has fought for years to officially clear his name in the 3-decade-old killings of his stepdaughter and her boyfriend.

A 2003 law that updated the state's definition of a wrongfully imprisoned individual can be applied retroactively, Justice Terrence O'Donnell wrote for the court. That keeps alive Johnston's 2011 lawsuit seeking compensation.

A 1993 wrongful imprisonment lawsuit filed by Johnston was thrown out on the basis that he couldn't prove his innocence.

The state still believes Johnston is barred from suing by the statute of limitations and because his previous lawsuit was rejected, and the state is confident it will prevail when the case returns to a lower court, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.