COLUMBUS, OHIO ? A man who spent seven years behind bars for the rape and murder of his mother-in-law was released Thursday after DNA evidence from a cigarette butt helped clear him.

Clarence Elkins, 42, walked out of the Mansfield Correctional Institution with his wife.

Elkins was convicted in the 1998 rape and murder of Judith Johnson, 58, as well as the rape of her 6-year-old granddaughter. He was sentenced to life in prison and would not have been eligible for parole until 2054.

DNA analysis of a pubic hair and other biological material on the victims showed that Elkins was not the killer, said Bill Canterbury, spokesman for the Summit County prosecutor’s office.