"It ain't about money," said Henry McCollum, 51, who, along with his 47-year-old brother Leon Brown, was pardoned by Gov. Pat McCrory. "It was about just being able to see that I was innocent of a crime I was charged with. It was just a blessing to be out here, to live a normal life."
The pardon qualifies each of the brothers for USD 50,000 from the state for every year they were imprisoned, with a limit of USD 750,000 each. The compensation still needs to be approved by a state agency, but it is considered a formality. It's not clear exactly when they could get the money.
Defense attorneys have said the brothers were scared teenagers who had low IQs when they were questioned by police and coerced into confessing. McCollum was then 19, and Brown was 15.
The DNA from cigarette butts found at the scene doesn't match Brown or McCollum, and fingerprints taken from a beer can also found there didn't belong to them either. No physical evidence connects them to the crime, a judge and prosecutor acknowledged last fall.
Based largely on their confessions, both were initially given death sentences, which were overturned. Upon retrial, McCollum was again sent to death row, while Brown was convicted of rape and sentenced to life.