A man who was wrongfully jailed for 14 years after a false first-degree murder conviction may sue the Manitoba government for damages, his lawyer says.

On Friday, Kyle Unger was absolved in a Winnipeg court of any guilt in the death of teenager Brigitte Grenier, who died at a rock concert south of the city in 1990.

But Manitoba's Attorney General Dave Chomiak says the government won't give Unger any compensation because he never would have faced trial if he had not confessed to the murder in the first place.

However, defence lawyer Hersh Wolch said that his client was the victim of a failed investigation and prosecution, which focused on a confession which Unger made to undercover officers posing as gangsters.

Unger has said that he made the false confession because he wanted to get into the gang and earn money.

"When you're young and na�ve and out of money, they hold a lot of promise for you," he said outside of the court.

The acquittal came when the Crown attorney in the case said it had no any evidence against the accused.

After that, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Glenn Joyal acquitted Unger and wished him good luck. Unger then walked out of the courtroom a free man.

Rather than simply stay the charges against Unger, the Crown took the extra step of having Unger formally acquitted.

Unger was wrongly convicted of the 1990 killing of Grenier. He was 19 at the time she was killed.

The conviction was largely based on a confession Unger made to undercover officers, and a forensics expert's testimony that a hair found on the victim was Unger's.

However, in 2005 DNA tests showed the hair belonged to someone else.

Unger had always maintained his innocence, and was released from prison in 2005.

Last March, a new trial was ordered by the federal justice minister, saying a "miscarriage of justice likely occurred."

Since then, the Crown has been trying to decide whether to retry Unger, withdraw the charge or agree to a formal acquittal -- the option that was eventually settled on.

Grenier was beaten, sexually assaulted and mutilated at a rock concert near Winnipeg in 1990.

Unger and another man, Timothy Houlahan, were both convicted of her murder. Houlahan was the only witness against Unger. Houlahan's conviction was overturned after an appeal in 1994, and he committed suicide while awaiting a new trial.

Unger's confession to undercover police also had holes in it. He claimed to have killed Grenier on a bridge that wasn't built until after the murder and later said he was trying to impress the men he thought were drug dealers, whom he wanted to work with.

With files from The Canadian Press