'Big Burden Lifted' | Dennis Perry celebrates exoneration after 20-year fight "I can put my trust back in the system now. I didn't, but I can now," Dennis Perry said. "I'm grateful that this part of the nightmare is behind me." Author: Matthew Copeland (WTLV) Updated: 11:30 PM EDT July 19, 2021 BRUNSWICK, Ga. — For two decades, an innocent man sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison waited, hoping he would overcome to odds and exonerate himself. That day finally came Monday when a judge officially dismissed the charges against Dennis Perry. "It's like a big burden is lifted off of me," Perry, 59, said. "I'm free to be a free man."