Convicted of a robbery he didn't commit, Leroy McGee's life consists of two parts: before prison and after prison.
Before prison, McGee was a young man with a family, four children and big dreams.
After prison, three years and seven months later, McGee was divorced, living with his mother and working three jobs to get by.
On Tuesday, with a few strokes of a pen in Fort Lauderdale, the 42-year-old signed the papers that will deliver compensation from the state for his lost years: $179,000. The amount will be spread out over at least 10 years.
He could have signed the papers six months ago, said his lawyer, David Comras.
Instead, McGee waited to draw attention to what he and several lawyers called flaws in the current laws that could exclude from compensation most people who have been wrongfully convicted.
McGee is the first person to be awarded money through a Florida law that provides compensation to wrongfully imprisoned people.
McGee fears he could also be the last.
One reason, Comras said Tuesday during the signing at the Broward Public Defender's Office, is that anyone with a felony conviction from before or during the wrongful incarceration is excluded from the program.
The law also erects multiple hurdles that, Comras said, would often require the help of a lawyer -- but the compensation doesn't cover legal fees.
``This new act has some very serious flaws that will put its use beyond the reach of most of those it is meant to serve,'' Comras said, ``those who have been wrongfully incarcerated.''
McGee was lucky; Comras waived his fee.
NIGHTMARE
When asked to speak, McGee opened with a hug for Comras and many thank-you's. Then he spoke about his legal nightmare.
It began in 1991, when he was convicted of the armed robbery of a Chevron gas station on Oakland Park Boulevard.
No physical evidence put him at the scene. The time card from his job as a custodian at Fort Lauderdale High School showed that he was at work.
But a gas station clerk picked McGee out of a lineup. McGee's defense lawyer at the time brought the wrong time card to court.
McGee remembers his inmate number: 693183. It's what the guards would call out, he says, and he heard it every day.
He fought to clear his name, starting while in prison. A special attorney, Michael Wrubel, was appointed to review his case.
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