Teina Pora, who was wrongfully convicted and jailed for 20 years, has described himself as "happy and free" after having his compensation increased by nearly a million dollars to adjust for inflation.
Private investigator Tim McKinnel spoke for Mr Pora on Wednesay and said: "He's absolutely thrilled and quite emotional. He's usually fairly low key with these sorts of things."
Mr Pora was wrongly jailed at the age of 17, for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in 1994. His conviction was quashed in 2015.
He received an initial $2.5 million in compensation from the Crown, but that figure was not adjusted to include inflation.
Justice Minister Andrew Little announced earlier on Wednesday that Mr Pora will receive an extra $988,099 from the Government, bringing the total compensation payment to $3.5 million.
"In Teina's words, he wants to thank the Andrew guy that's fixing it all," Mr McKinnel said.
"He said to me this morning that for the first time he feels happy and free."
Mr Pora will also receive $45,000 in legal costs from his successful judicial review of the last Government's decision not to adjust his compensation for inflation.
Mr Pora's Lawyer Jonathan Krebs said Mr Pora remains the person in New Zealand who has served the longest time in custody for wrongful conviction, and he remains the least compensated on a per day basis.
"He grew up in prison. He went to prison as a 17-year-old, he was there for 22 years and he's having to live as an adult, and it's been very very difficult for him," Mr McKinnel said.
"We thought the range of $6 million to $8 million would have been consistent with what others have been paid. Having said that, Teina's more than happy, it's a lot of money, it's more than he will ever need."
The money has been placed in a Trust to provide an income for Pora.
"This brings all claims by Teina Pora against the Crown arising out of his wrongful convictions to an end," Mr Little said.
Newshub.
