Donations pour in for Missouri man Kevin Strickland freed from prison after 43 years

Kevin Strickland, 62, managed a smile while talking to the media after his release from prison. Photo / AP

Nearly US$1.4 million (NZ$2.05m) had been raised for a man who spent 43 years behind bars before a judge overturned his conviction in a triple killing.

The Midwest Innocence Project set up the GoFundMe fundraiser as they fought for Kevin Strickland's release, noting that he wouldn't receive compensation from Missouri and would need help paying for basic living expenses.

The state only allows wrongful imprisonment payments to people who were exonerated through DNA evidence, so 62-year-old Strickland wouldn't qualify.

Kevin Strickland answers questions during an evidentiary hearing regarding his innocence. Photo / AP

Judge James Welsh, a retired Missouri Court of Appeals judge, ordered his release on Tuesday, finding that evidence used to convict Strickland had since been recanted or disproven.

By midday Saturday, US$1.4m had been donated to help Strickland.

Strickland has always maintained that he was home watching television and had nothing to do with the killings, which happened in 1978 when he was 18.

As he left prison, he said he was "thankful for God walking me through this for 43 years".