A "happy to be alive" Robert Blake pleaded innocent in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday to charges that he murdered his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, the Associated Press reports.

Blake, 69, who was released on $1.5 million bail earlier this month after almost a year in jail, is charged with murder and solicitation to commit murder. Earle Caldwell, Blake's former handyman/bodyguard, also pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges, reports AP.

"I believe in the system," Blake told reporters afterward, according to Reuters. "I'm standing in front of you and that's proof that this is still America and it still works. I'm just happy to be alive."

The actor is accused of killing his 44-year-old wife, who was found shot to death in May 2001 after dining with her husband in a restaurant near their Studio City, Calif., home. Blake says he left Bakley alone in their car when he went back to the restaurant to retrieve a handgun he carried for protection. Upon his return, he claims he discovered that she'd been fatally shot.

Prosecutors, who are not seeking the death penalty, argue that Blake thought his wife was an increasingly bad influence on their 2-year-old daughter, Rose, and shot Bakley himself after he was unable to hire a hitman.

After a preliminary hearing earlier this month, a judge determined there was enough evidence for Blake to stand trial. The case is expected to go to trial in October.