A judge has vacated the conviction of an Oklahoma man who spent 31 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, KFOR reports.
Perry Lott was convicted of rape in 1988 after the victim picked him out of a police lineup. No physical evidence linked Lott to the incident.
According to the Innocence Project, an organization that works to free those wrongfully convicted, a DNA test from the victim’s rape kit proved Lott’s innocence in 2014. The state, however, didn’t believe the results and thought the rape kit was contaminated.
A former district attorney gave Lott a settlement agreement, which put the Oklahoma man on probation for life.
On Tuesday (October 10), Lott was exonerated of the crime.
“I feel like I’m being born again,” Lott said in a statement. “I just feel good, like a newborn baby. Clean and fresh.”
When vacating Lott’s conviction, the judge told him “God bless you.”
Lott said he’s unsure what his future will look like, but he knows he wants to eat lunch at Red Lobster.
A GoFundMe account was set up for Lott to raise funds “for medical procedures he requires after enduring three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit,” the page states.
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