ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

The Grenada government has expressed its disappointment with the verdict in the 'Grenada 17' trial as three of the men convicted for murdering former leftist prime minister Maurice Bishop and 10 others walked to freedom on Wednesday.

Lester Redhead, Christopher Stroude and Cecil Prime walked out of the Richmond Hill prison as free men hours after High Court Judge Francis Belle ruled that they had spent enough time in jail for their roles in the 1983 killings.

"Government, like the vast majority of Grenadians, is disappointed by today's ruling. However, like the majority of our law-abiding Grenadian citizens we have to accept this decision and will have to abide by it as dictated by the law of our land," said a government statement issued late on Wednesday.