North Carolina man receives governor’s pardon

Dwayne Dail, who was exonerated in August after serving 18 years in North Carolina prison for a rape he didn’t commit, received a pardon from Gov. Mike Easley this week, proclaiming his innocence of the crime. The pardon makes Dail, who has since moved to Florida, eligible under the state’s compensation statute to receive $20,000 for each year he was incarcerated.

Dail learned of the pardon this week from his attorney Chris Mumma, the director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. Dail said he plans to to start pursuing an education in collecting and preserving crime scene evidence.

"I'm impatient," Dail said. "I'm trying to catch up on every day I've lost. I've been antsy sitting still."

Dail, 19, a day laborer when he entered prison, left it without health insurance, without a job and without a degree that might help him secure a good one.

"We open the doors and say, 'You're out. That's it,' " Mumma said. "I'm embarrassed that all we can offer him is $20,000 a year for all he's been through."

Read the full story here

. (The News & Observer, 10/11/07)

Read more about Dwayne Dail’s case here

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North Carolina is one of 22 states with a state law compensating exonerated individuals.

View our map to see if your state has a compensation law.