James Giles spent 10 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. This week, he became the 13th man in Dallas County, Texas, to be exonerated by DNA testing since 2001.
Not too long ago, CNN Correspondent Gary Tuchman and I went down to Dallas to meet the 12th man: James Waller.
It took a jury just 46 minutes to convict Waller of raping a 12-year-old boy in 1982. He spent more than a decade in prison. After making parole, Waller was forced to register as a sex offender.
In an effort to clear his name, Waller contacted The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic. The organization used DNA testing to prove Waller could not have committed the crime.
On January 17, James Waller stood in court and heard the Dallas County District Attorney and a judge acknowledge his innocence and apologize for the years the justice system had taken from him.
The next step for Waller was to completely clear his name. That took a pardon by the governor. It finally happened one month ago, after a seven week wait.
During those seven weeks, many observers questioned why Texas Governor Rick Perry didn't act sooner. We'll be watching to see how long it takes the governor to officially clear James Giles' name.
