ATLANTA -- Genarlow Wilson, the Douglasville teenager who gained national attention in his fight for freedom, thanked his friends, family and many supporters in an appearance Sunday at Atlanta's Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Flanked by family members, Wilson told worshippers, "I appreciate everyone for including us in their prayers. Now, those prayers have come true."

The Georgia Supreme Court Friday ordered Genarlow Wilson released from jail -- and Friday at 5:30 p.m. he walked out of the jail and hugged his mom.

A throng of family members -- including his mother, Juannessa Bennett -- and reporters waited outside Al Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth for the 21-year-old to emerge from the prison.

When asked what he would like to say to his supporters he said, "Thank you. Thank you." Wilson also said his first priority was to get back into school.

WSB-TV CHANNEL 2 EXCLUSIVE:Genarlow Wilson's Mother Speaks Out

In a split 4-3 decision the court upheld a Monroe County judge's ruling that Wilson's 10-year prison sentence constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."

Wilson’s attorney said she is thrilled the high court ruled the way it did. “That it’s cruel and unusual punishment and the Supreme Court agreed and he’s going to be home with his mom tonight,” said attorney B.J. Bernstein.

Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation following a 2003 New Year's Eve party at a Douglas County motel room where he was videotaped having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson was 17 at the time. He also was charged with raping another 17-year-old girl at the party but a jury acquitted him.

Under the law at the time the crime was punishable with a ten year sentence and registration as a sex offender. That law was changed in 2006 to make crimes such as Wilson's misdemeanors punishable by no more than a year in prison and no sex offender registration.

The change in the law was not retroactive and did not apply to Wilson.

The state Supreme Court had turned down Wilson's appeal of his conviction and sentence, but the justices agreed to hear the state's appeal of a Monroe County judge's decision to reduce Wilson's sentence to 12 months and free him. The Monroe County judge had called the 10-year sentence a "grave miscarriage of justice."

Writing for the majority Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote in the decision that changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants."

READ: Press Release From Supreme Court | Full Supreme Court Ruling

Reporters asked Wilson Friday if he believed in the justice system and he said, "I do now, yeah."