CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 52-year-old man who had more than half his life taken away by a wrongful conviction for rape showed no hostility Wednesday as he took his first steps as a free man in 29 years.

Raymond Towler was all smiles as he walked out of the Justice Center in his native Cleveland like a rock star with an entourage.

He will never be known again as Inmate No. A16468. He is a free man, at last. Towler smiled, hugged relatives and friends and shook hands with everyone who extended an arm. Bystanders stared as he walked through the courthouse with television cameras recording his every step.

Towler entered prison at age 24 for a crime he didn't commit. But two days after DNA tests proved his innocence, the middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper beard said he doesn't blame anyone for the injustice bestowed upon him.

He said he always knew he'd be exonerated but never expected it to take almost 29 years.

"They had the wrong person, and it took them a while to work it out," he said, chuckling. "All I care about right now is that they did straighten it out. Now I can go on with my life."

Within moments of walking outside, Towler had to make a choice. The type of simple choice he had not been forced -- or allowed -- to make in nearly three decades: who would drive him to a restaurant for lunch.

Since 1981, Towler had been told by guards when and where he could have his meals; what he could wear; what he could do.

But at 9:05 a.m., he strolled into a courtroom wearing a black sweater, white shirt and black dress pants. He smiled. His family clapped. He sat next to his attorneys.

Common Pleas Judge Eileen A. Gallagher asked Towler to be patient as she summarized the case. She said he can never be tried for the rape again and ordered his record expunged.

Towler looked over his right shoulder and smiled at his relatives. His brother, Clarance Settles, pumped his fist.

Gallagher fought back tears while declaring Towler a free man.

"Raymond Towler was a wrongfully imprisoned individual," Gallagher said.

She then read him an Irish blessing.

"Mr. Towler, it's a long day coming," she said. "May the world let the world rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face..."

She then left the bench and shook Towler's hands, saying: "Mr. Towler, you're free to go."

Towler's family erupted into applause. Settles shouted, "Yes," several times. They then embraced Towler for the first time as a free man since 1981.

Moments later, Towler said he doesn't hold anybody responsible his wrongful conviction and that he knows prosecutors have jobs to do.

He doesn't know what his future holds.

"I want to start a new life," Towler said.

But first wanted lunch.

"I love pizza," he said, "that's what I have been thinking about all night."

Towler was sentenced to life behind bars in 1981 for the rape of an 11-year-old Lakewood girl and an attack on her cousin, a 12-year-old boy. They identified Towler as the assailant after Metroparks rangers arrested him in as a suspect.

He maintained his innocence and asked in recent years that biological evidence in the case be tested. Prosecutors received DNA test results Monday night that excluded Towler as the rapist and immediately asked Gallagher to free him.

VIDEO: Raymond Towler, who spent 29 years in prison, walked out of the Justice Center in Cleveland after his life sentence for a rape in 1981 was vacated. Towler was found innocent through new DNA testing.

Raymond Towler freed after 29 years in prison for rape he did not commit

Ohio law allows wrongfully-imprisoned inmates to receive $40,330 for every year spent behind bars. He could sue the state for more than $1.2 million. He could also seek lost wages for those years.

Mark Godsey, a law professor and director of the Ohio Innocence Project which worked to free Towler, said he was among the longest incarcerated, possibly in the top four, people to be exonerated by DNA in U.S. history.

Another wrongfully-convicted man attended the hearing.

Clarence Elkins was released in 2005 after serving seven years for rape and murder. He was freed after DNA evidence on the victims was tested and matched another man.

After hugging Towler, Elkins said: "I feel his pain and hurt. He's doing a good job with his attitude."

Sheriff's deputy Benjamin Kellar and his partner drove Towler from the prison in Lorain County to the Justice Center Tuesday. Towler told deputies that he was glad to see them but didn't say much during the car ride. He seemed relaxed and calm, Kellar said.

"He asked us not to get into any car accidents," Kellar said, laughing. "He just took in the sights."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mpuente@plaind.com, 216-999-4141