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RALEIGH – Twenty longtime inmates are scheduled to be released because of a ruling on a decades-old law.

Convicted murderer Bobby Bowden argued that a 1974 law clearly defined life sentences as 80 years. He said the statute, combined with good conduct credit, means his life sentence is now complete.

The Court of Appeals sided with Bowden last year. The state Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the state earlier this month.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Bev Perdue said the state plans to set the inmates free on Oct. 29 but that Perdue is talking with legal counsel to see if there is another alternative.

In a statement, Perdue said, "I'm appalled that the state of North Carolina is being forced to release prisoners who have committed the most heinous of crimes, without any review of their cases. I don't believe the General Assembly's intent in 1974 was to let these violent offenders out of prison early. Releasing these potentially dangerous criminals is not in the best interest of the state or our citizens."