BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A convicted felon wants payback and he wants it in the form of more than $1 million. William Dillon served 27 years for a Brevard County murder he says he didn't commit and while new DNA evidence didn't clear him it did allow for a new trial, which prosecutors declined to pursue.

After spending more than a quarter of a century fighting for his freedom, Dillon turned to the state legislature to fight for big bucks. The 50-year-old Brevard County man is asking the state legislature for between $1 million and $2 million for spending 27 years in prison.

"The final release was such a relief, but now I’m reliving this again. Going back into the same courthouse appeals and going back into the same situation and it's drawing on me,” he said.

Dillon was convicted in 1981 for murdering a man prosecutors said he'd met on Canova Beach for sex. Last year, new DNA evidence convinced a judge Dillon should get a new trial, but the judge never said Dillon was exonerated.

Prosecutors declined to go forward with a new trial, because many witnesses were dead and evidence was gone.

"At this point in time, it's totally in the hands of the legislature.They have the right to set the policy in the state of Florida in these types of matters,” Asst. State Attorney Wayne Holmes said.

Dillon's attorneys believe the lack of Dillon's DNA on a shirt believed to have been worn by the killer cleared Dillon completely and the state should pay.

"This compensation is not just because they took his freedom away. They took away a lot of things he would have through a normal course of life if he had been allowed to go out and work and benefit from his own region,” said Sandy D'Alemberte, Innocence Project of Florida.

State law allows compensation for people wrongfully incarcerated, but only if they have no other felony convictions. Dillon was convicted of possession of narcotics when he was 20 years old, just before he was arrested for murder.

It could be months before the full legislature decides if he should receive any compensation.