NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- An American who was held for over a year in a Nicaraguan prison in the murder of his girlfriend before his sentence was overturned criticized news coverage of his case on Thursday.

Video: Eric Volz Speaks At Belmont University

Eric Volz, who received death threats after his conviction was overturned, was in hiding for months even after his release in December and return to the U.S.

“I’m not the person I was before. You know, and my life is incredibly different. You know, I don’t just climb and hang out freely in public. You know, there was so many people that were so invested in the story, it’s like, I really have to work hard to manage my privacy and just really thank everybody a little bit at a time so that those first encounters have the meaning and symbolism that I really want them to have,” he said.

Volz is an avid rock climber and said he believes his fitness helped saved him, because it took a lot longer for him to start physically falling apart in prison.

“Facing the reality of death really forces you to think about what’s important in life, and my conclusion is that the most important thing is your family and friends. The support that really emerged from the Nashville community is so humbling,” he said.

Volz spoke to a journalism class at Belmont University in his hometown of Nashville on Thursday, discussing the impact American and Nicaraguan media had on his case. Volz requested media not sit in the class because he didn't want students to be distracted or inhibited from asking questions.

Afterward, he told reporters much of the Nicaraguan media coverage of his case was biased against the possibility of his innocence.

"I think there were several people in the (Nicaraguan) press that were paid off, actually," he said. "They often times collaborate with police to get first dibs on the story in exchange for offering the police version of what happened."

Volz said some American news stories probably helped his case, but that they were not "the tipping factor" in leading to his release.

"I think there was bad reporting in Nicaragua and good reporting in Nicaragua. There was bad reporting in the U.S. and good reporting in the U.S.

"I think there are several (U.S media) companies who did a great job reporting our story and ... promoting awareness about the injustice. I don't know that it really actually was the tipping factor in me getting released."

An appeals court overturned Volz' conviction in the killing of 25-year-old Doris Ivania Jimenez. Volz has maintained his innocence, saying he was two hours away when the woman was killed. Nicaraguan Julio Martin Chamorro was also sentenced in Jimenez's death and remains jailed.

The appeals court cited "reasonable doubt" in overturning Volz's conviction.

Prosecutors had said there was evidence Jimenez put up a fight, matching scratch marks on Volz's shoulder. They also said he told an assistant to rent a car for him because "someone has died," before he claimed to have learned of her death. Jimenez's mother said he had threatened to kill her in the past.

Volz maintains Chamorro was involved in the woman's murder, though he believes "there are still others" involved that haven't been brought to justice.

He said his defense team conducted its own investigation and gave that information to authorities and "it's up to them to take action," he said.

"I was set up. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that I was an American citizen as much as it was an effort to protect the identity of the main perpetrator of Doris' murder."

Nicaraguans were outraged at the brutal death of Jimenez, and suspicious that the 28-year-old Volz might be able to use money or influence to avoid punishment.

Volz said on Thursday the Nicaraguan Supreme Court is reviewing his case and "there's a strong effort to overturn the ruling of innocence and find me guilty," he said.

"Being a wanted man in Central America is not freedom. Life is different. Re-entering (U.S.) society is not as easy as one would think. It's been challenging. But I'm not in prison. So that's the important thing."

Near the time of Jimenez's death, Volz had lived in Nicaragua for two years, where he founded a bilingual magazine and worked as a real estate broker.

Volz now lives in Nashville where his family resides, and says he intends to focus his efforts on the "Friends of Eric Volz" Web site.

"An amazing international community supported us, and on the Internet specifically. So we're going to work to re-channel that attention to other topics that matter and other issues of injustice."

Volz said he would also be interested in talking to more students or other groups about his case. He said Belmont, where his stepfather was previously employed as an associate dean, hosted a benefit concert for his family to help raise money for his case.

Valecia Hicks, 22, a journalism student who heard Volz talk, said he told the class that some media covering his case depended too heavily on information issued by police and government officials, and didn't do enough to verify it or seek out his side of the story.

Hicks said Volz suggested "always get the story from more than one angle."

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