AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Gov. Rick Perry has pardoned a man who died in prison after serving more than 10 years for a wrongful rape conviction.
Perry on Monday granted a posthumous pardon to Tim Cole after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Cole was convicted of a 1985 rape of a Texas Tech University student in Lubbock. The Army veteran was cleared by DNA evidence in 2008, nine years after he died in prison of complications from asthma at age 39.
The family sought a pardon from Perry, who was sympathetic but maintained he could not legally grant a posthumous pardon. The state attorney general clarified the law in January, clearing the way for a pardon from Perry.