A man from Tennessee who spent 31 years in prison for a crime he did not commit has only been compensated $75 after DNA evidence cleared him of the crime.

Lawrence McKinney was sentenced 115 years in prison at a Memphis, Tennessee court house in 1977 for raping a woman in his neighborhood. Then 22-year-old McKinney had been accused of the attack which took place near his apartment.

Three decades later after the prison sentence, DNA tests of the victim's bed sheets identified stains from three people but not including McKinney. Later, the charges against him were dismissed and the wrongly imprisoned McKinney was released in July 20, 2009 after serving 31 years.

He was compensated $75 which he said he could not even cash for months because he had no identification.

Since then, McKinney has received no formal exoneration because the board felt there was not sufficient proof of his innocence despite his vacated conviction.

McKinney needs that exoneration to get any real compensation from the state of Tennessee, where he could be eligible for up to $1 million.

"It is not justice for him not to receive compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned," said Jack Lowery, McKinney's lawyer.