Perry Lott was released from prison in 2018 and exonerated in 2023 of a 1987 rape conviction. Since his release, he’s re-established his life in Oklahoma among friends and his church community, but he hasn’t found romance.
Mr. Lott told the Innocence Project that he hasn’t been on a date since he’s been released, but he’s willing to wait for the right connection.
“It takes a lot of investment to actually have a good relationship. I’m willing to go there but I’m not in any hurry anymore,” Mr. Lott said. “I came out of prison thinking things were like they used to be and it’s not. I’m just enjoying the journey.”
When he entered prison in his mid-20s, Mr. Lott described himself as a handsome young man and there wasn’t a girl in the world who could resist his charm. Today at 62, he’s a different man; he walks with a limp and a cane.
“I thought that I came out with the same kind of je ne sais quoi,” Mr. Lott said. “But I grew old and didn’t know it. I had gray hair. I probably had a bitter attitude towards life.”
“Everything was stolen from him. He missed out on falling in love and raising children. His rape conviction robbed him of his honorable reputation,” said Cecily Burge, an Innocence Project paralegal who worked with Mr. Lott from 2021 until he was exonerated.