HOUSTON (AP) - A man wrongfully convicted of rape 13 years ago has been pardoned by Governor Rick Perry.

The pardon clears Ronald Gene Taylor's name eight months after he was released from prison after DNA evidence found him innocent
of the crime.

Though Perry signed the pardon June 13, Taylor and his lawyers received notice yesterday.

Taylor moved to Atlanta in October and got married two months later. This spring he started his own lawn care business.

A forensics scandal at the Houston Police Department crime lab raised skepticism on thousands of convictions. In 2006, a judge ordered DNA tests on evidence from Taylor's case.

The new tests instead led authorities to Roosevelt Carroll, who has a history of violent sexual crimes and is serving a 15-year sentence in a Texas prison for failing to register as a sex offender. He cannot be prosecuted for the 1993 attack because the statute of limitations has expired.

The governor's pardon clears the way for Taylor to collect about $700,000 from the state, if he agrees not to sue over his case. Taylor told the Houston Chronicle he is weighing his options.