MAGNOLIA, Ark.—A Magnolia native spent the Fourth of July holiday back home in Arkansas, after serving more than 15 years in a Texas prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Patrick Waller, 38, was released from prison last week, after DNA evidence cleared him in a 1992 kidnapping and robbery in Texas.

“I lost 16 years of my life for something I didn’t do—days I will never get back, things I will never get to see,” Waller told Little Rock television station KATV. “People who have died in my family who I will never get to hug and touch again.”

Late last month, the Dallas County prosecutor’s office announced that DNA evidence had cleared Waller and matched the profile of another man.

That suspect identified his accomplice, and both men subsequently confessed in front of a grand jury, prosecutors said. Neither man is in prison, although one is on parole, and they won’t face criminal charges because the statute of limitations has expired.

Waller is the 19th man in Dallas County since 2001 shown by DNA evidence to be innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.

Waller said he spent the Independence Day holiday with friends and family in Magnolia, riding a horse and barbecuing.

“It’s helping me get re-engaged in society and I’m loving every minute of it. This is one of the small examples of how good it feels,” he said. “This water is tastes so different from what I’ve been drinking for the last 16 years. Man, you’ll never know how good this water tastes to me.”

Waller maintained his innocence and presented an alibi at trial but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He also pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated kidnapping, fearing more life sentences if he were convicted, his lawyer said.

In Waller’s case, DNA testing was paid for by the Innocence Project of Texas.