Seattle ? Black soldiers court-martialed 63 years ago in the rioting death of an Italian prisoner of war at Fort Lawton were unfairly denied access to their attorneys and investigative records and should have their convictions overturned, the U.S. Army said Friday.

The ruling by the Army’s Board of Corrections of Military Records applies to four soldiers who petitioned military investigators with the help of two congressmen, but could eventually cover two-dozen more soldiers found guilty of rioting over alleged resentment of Italian prisoners’ living conditions on the post.

The decision could grant the soldiers honorable discharges, back pay and benefits.

“I’m absolutely overwhelmed with joy. You don’t often get a chance to pursue justice on behalf of something that happened (63) years ago,” Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who requested the review along with Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.