NC man who spent almost 17 years in prison before being found innocent of murder gets $750,000

NC man found innocent of murder gets $750,000

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina man who served almost 17 years in prison for murder before being found innocent has received $750,000 compensation from the state.

The money comes out to about $5 an hour for the time Greg Taylor was behind bars for his conviction in the death of Jacquetta Thomas in 1991. A three-judge panel found him innocent earlier this year based on work by the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission. It’s the only state-run agency in the country dedicated to proving a convicted person’s innocence.

Gov. Beverly Perdue pardoned Taylor in May. Another state commission agreed Monday to the payment and Taylor received the check Tuesday.

Taylor says he wants to repay his family for the attorneys and investigators they hired in their efforts to prove his innocence.