Though he’s been out of prison about three years and cleared of his wrongful conviction of rape and murder in Winston Salem, N.C., Darryl Hunt says he still goes outside, sometimes in the middle of the night, “to feel free.”

“I’m still haunted by a lot of things that happened in prison in those 19 years,” Hunt told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Ten years ago, DNA testing showed that Hunt did not rape white news reporter Deborah Sykes in 1984, and it cast doubts on his involvement in her murder. It took another 10 years for Hunt to gain release, a harrowing journey that is the subject of "The Trials of Darryl Hunt," which airs Thursday night on HBO, a documentary Hunt hopes will educate others who may face similar situations.

Hunt said he has met many who, like him, were innocent, but sent to prison.

“There are a lot of people out there like me, but they are not as fortunate as I was,” Hunt said. “They may not have DNA evidence, but they are just as innocent.”

A total of 200 people have been freed post-conviction because DNA helped proved their innocence, according to the New York-based Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamine N. Cordozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. Founded in 1992 by veteran attorneys Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld, the Innocence Project is dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system.

On Monday, Jerry Miller became the 200th exoneree. A judge in Chicago threw out his conviction for rape after DNA evidence showed he couldn't have committed the attack. He had spent 25 years in prison.

Miller, 48, had been found guilty of rape, robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery even though he testified he was at home watching television at the time of the 1981 attack. He was paroled in March 2006 and now works two jobs and lives with a family member in a Chicago suburb.

"I want to get on with my life, start a life, have a life," Miller said after the hearing. "I'm just thankful for this day."

The Innocence Project had persuaded prosecutors last year to conduct DNA tests on a semen sample taken from the rape victim's clothes. Those results excluded Miller as the attacker.

As for Hunt, he was tried twice. The first conviction was overturned. Then in the second trial, an all-white jury convicted Hunt again. In 2004, when a DNA profile from the crime scene was taken through a state database, the results matched Willard E. Brown, a man who was in jail at the time for another murder. He has since pleaded guilty to killing Sykes.

Hunt’s attorney for 20 years, Mark Rabil, said he knew from the beginning conversation with Hunt, that he was not guilty.

“He had faith,” Rabil told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

According to the Innocence Project:

• The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989.
• Exonerations have been won in 31 states and Washington, D.C.; in 2006, there were 18 exonerations.
• 14 DNA exonerees were at one time sentenced to death or served time on death row.
• The average length of time served by those exonerated by DNA testing is 12 years.
• The true suspects and/or perpetrators have been identified in more than a third of the DNA exoneration cases.
• Since 1989, there have been tens of thousands of cases where prime suspects were arrested or indicted until DNA testing prior to trial proved that they were wrongly accused.
• Twenty-one states, the federal government and the District of Columbia have passed laws to compensate people who have been exonerated. Awards under these statutes vary greatly.

Of the 200 who have been exonerated 119 are black and 55 are white. According to Innocence Project attorney Nina Morrison, witness misidentification is the leading cause for wrongful conviction.

“It has been proven that we don’t identify differences in other racial groups,” Morrison told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “When crime creeps into our most deep ceded fears, the choice is made to solve the crime at any cost, not paying attention to the evidence."

In a Texas case, 6’4” James Waller was accused and convicted of raping and sodomizing a white boy in his apartment complex. Witnesses estimated that the perpetrator was 5’8” tall. Waller was the only black man living in the apartment complex at the time.

He was released from prison after serving one-third of his time. He worked after his release to clear his name.

“Although I was out of jail, it was like I was still in prison because I was listed as a registered sex offender,” Waller told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “I had to clear my name."

But the fight to clear his name brought unexpected problems.

“The day after I reopened my case, I was fired from the first good job I had had since getting out,” he said. “I had been there seven years, but the folks said they didn’t know I had been convicted, so they let me go.” Waller said he had listed everything on his application.

Now, Waller is still looking for regular work. He does landscaping with his sister sometimes and picks up on other jobs here and there, but nothing steady.

“I got an associate degree and a bachelor’s too," said Waller. "I just want a good job."

Both Hunt and Waller say they try to help others.

Hunt, who has received almost $2 million in settlement money and restitution from the state and the city, has started the Darryl Hunt Foundation for Freedom and Justice.

The money helps. When he was released from prison, Hunt was only given $45. “That’s not enough for a bus ticket,” he said. “If I had been paroled, I could have gotten some help from community groups with housing and jobs. I didn’t get none of that."

Through his foundation, he tries to be there for others.
 
“I do re-entry. I try to help them find jobs and clothes. I also try to educate others about the criminal justice system and what they can do to try to make it better,” Hunt said.

Waller is yet to receive any compensation for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, but he has spent a lot of money. Before the Innocence Project took on his case, Waller had spent $50,000 of his own money paying lawyers to try to clear his name.

Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned Waller on March 9. In January, the Dallas County district attorney’s office filed papers showing that Waller did not commit the 1983 rape for which he was convicted.

“It was just by the grace of God that I was cleared,” Waller said. “If I had a choice of whether to fight or to die, I would prefer to fight until I die.”

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Associated Press contributed to this story.