Michael Anthony Green got to hold a very valuable piece of paper Monday in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. The document officially dismissed an aggravated rape charge against the 45-year-old Houston man after DNA testing proved him to be innocent of the crime.

Green, who was wrongfully convicted of the crime in 1983 and spent 27 years in prison before he was released July 30, said it feels "great — truly great. I waited a long time for it."

The dismissal paper, signed by District Attorney Pat Lykos and state District Judge Susan Brown, says the case was dismissed because "DNA testing proves that Mr. Green is actually innocent of committing this offense." Brown signed it Monday.

Green said he spent "27 years, three months, one week and four days" in prison, "to be exact." He said he plans to frame the dismissal paper and hang it on the wall of his house.

Brown told him, "Good luck, Mr. Green," after signing the dismissal.

'Used to prison life'

Green is now working for Bob Wicoff, the attorney who represented him during his appeal and is doing legal research and reviewing letters from inmates trying to get assistance from the Innocence Project.

He declined to comment on the criminal justice system in general.

Green is now living with family in Houston and said it feels strange sometimes, easing back into the outside world, because "I'm so used to prison life."

He said technology and computers have been the biggest challenges for him.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had recently ruled that Green was innocent for the crime that kept him behind bars.

The court's decision cleared the way for Green to work toward a settlement of more than $2 million from the state.

peggy.ohare@chron.com