Exonerated man seeks cash for 27-year sentence

SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. (AP) - William Dillon isn't held by bars or razor wire anymore. A free man for a year now, the former inmate is rediscovering the world around him and fighting for compensation from a state that held him as prisoner for 27 years.

Dillon could get more than a million dollars in state compensation for his wrongful imprisonment. But a prior felony drug conviction means he'll have to fight lawmakers for the money. A hearing on the matter took place this week in Tallahassee, though Dillon says it's impossible to put a dollar amount on his freedom.

Dillon was convicted in the brutal murder of James Dvorak in 1981. He walked out of the Brevard County jail last November after tests showed that DNA found on the victim's shirt wasn't his.