Man cleared of rape after 30 years in jail

A US man tasted freedom for the first time in nearly 30 years after an Ohio judge threw out his conviction because DNA evidence showed he did not rape an 11-year-old girl.

“It finally happened, I’ve been waiting,” Raymond Towler, 52, said as he hugged sobbing family members in the courtroom.

He walked from the courthouse, arms around relatives, amid the smell of freshly cut grass, blooming trees and a brisk wind off Lake Erie. He was headed to an “everything on it” pizza party.