William Dillon wants state to pay

William Dillon served 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He became a free man last year.  Even though he says no amount of money will give him back the years he lost, Dillon wants the state to pay him $50,000 for every year he spent locked up under the wrongful incarceration act.

However the act has a clean hands provision which does not allow compensation for anyone with an unrelated prior felony conviction.

Back when Dillon was 19 he was convicted of possession of marijuana.

Dillon says he is disappointed with the decision. He says he could use the money to live the life he would have had if he hadn't been sent to prison.

"The compensation will help me get the things that I need. It will help me live a better lifestyle maybe start a business. I'd like to start a business, because I really have a business head on my shoulders," says William Dillon.

The money could also help Dillon get his own place. Since his release, he has been living with his brother and trying to make ends meet with minimum wage jobs.

Dillon says he has been working on learning new technologies like cell phones and computers and trying to fit back in society.

"I don't have kids. I have a completely wrecked social area. I don't have interaction with friends, I don't have friends," said Dillon.

There is another way Dillon can get the money. A state lawmaker would have to write a special claims bill for the 2010 session.

Merritt Island Senator Mike Haridopolos believes he can help.

Back in 2005, Sen. Haridopolos worked on the Wilton Dedge case, where another Brevard County man was wrongly incarcerated for 22 years. DNA evidence proved Dedge innocent and a special claims bill was filed for Dedge worth $50,000 a year.

Sen. Haridopolos is hoping he can do the same for Dillon.

"We are trying to compensate people like Mr. Dedge and Mr. Dillon so they can have some sort of life now that they are out of prison," says Sen. Mike Haridopolos, Florida Senate District 26.

Back in 1981, Dillon was wrongfully convicted of murder based on a questionable eyewitness identification, unreliable testimony from the handler of a scent-tracking dog and testimony from a jailhouse informant.