Nick Yarris was charged with rape and murder when he was 20
Nick Yarris spent more than two decades on death row in the US after he was wrongly convicted of rape and murder, before a DNA test eventually freed him.
"I genuinely believe that being on death row for 22 years ultimately saved my life. It was the greatest adventure of my life, and I survived it."
Nick Yarris has never had an apology for being imprisoned for crimes he did not commit.
He spent almost all that time in solitary confinement, sometimes being beaten so badly by prison guards that, on one occasion, his retina detached.
"The hardest thing to do when people are hurting you is to remain a decent person," he told the Victoria Derbyshire programme.
While on death row, he educated himself about the law, and sometimes read up to three books in a day. "The whole purpose of my education ultimately was so I could deliver a statement eloquently before my execution," he said.
For 22 of the 23 years he spent in prison, Nick genuinely believed he would be executed.
Nick has now written his own book about his life called "The Fear of 13", because he believed bad things happened to him around the 13th date.
Death row prisoners such as Nick exercised alone in these cages
He also said that when he got out, he noticed how "people weren't as reserved as they were".
"In prison you're not allowed to give out your opinion. But now everyone's expected to give their opinion on social media."
He now campaigns for the abolishment of the death penalty, has spoken in front of officials at both the United Nations and European Union and has given around 300 talks in schools.
And it was a trip to the UK, to speak to MPs in Parliament, that led him to fall in love with England, where he has lived since 2005. "It felt like a permanent holiday away from my woes," he said.
Now a father and living in Ilchester, Somerset, he recently saw a photo from his own childhood, showing 27 children from his neighbourhood in the 1970s.
He is the only one still alive, the others dying through drugs, car accidents or violence. Both his brothers died because of drugs and alcohol abuse.
He added: "I see my prison past as an old movie I watched that scarred me, but now I don't get so bothered about it.
"If I hadn't have gone to prison, then my life wouldn't be as good as it is now. I never look at it in a negative way."
The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel. International viewers can see clips from the programme here.
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