Convict cleared by DNA awarded $1.2 million

By Carlos Campos, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 27, 2007

A man who spent 24 years in Georgia prisons for a crime he didn't commit finally got his payday.

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill today to compensate Robert Clark $1.2 million. Clark was cleared by DNA evidence in 2005 of a brutal 1982 Cobb County rape.

"I think his reaction is going to be a gigantic smile," said Aimee Maxwell of the Georgia Innocence Project, which helped clear Clark. "And I think he will be relieved that the process has reached its successful conclusion."

Clark, a soft-spoken man, appeared at the Capitol a few times to watch the bill make its way through the General Assembly. He charmed lawmakers with both his humility and amazing lack of resentment for his wrongful conviction and subsequent ordeal. He was applauded in both chambers and hugged by some lawmakers and other state officials.

Maxwell said the Georgia Innocence Project has lined up volunteers to help Clark manage the money, which he will get in installments over 15 years.

Maxwell said Clark - who holds a construction job and plans to keep working - wants to buy a house.

"We hope this money will help him build a very happy and successful life," Maxwell said.