the talented bill dylan you see here today is a man making up for lost time.ght here in the brush behind this beach, a murder turned bill dylan's life into a nightmare. this is on florida's east coast. in 1981 police found the body of a 40-year-old man in the thick brush beaten to death with no other suspects, they focused on a teenager, bill dylan. >> my personal opinion is they knew i was innocent and it didn't matter to them. >> in bill dylan's case there was so much evidence that pointed away from him having committed this crime. it was just rejected by law enforcement because they had their guy and were sticking to it. >> it was convenient. >> he was convenient. >> reporter: dylan was convicted and sent here to florida's last stop. it wasn't long after that the witnesses recanted their stories. the evidence fell apart but no one listened. more than once dylan contemplated suicide. >> what got me through was that part of me that says don't let them win. if you die and kill yourself, they will win. >> reporter: on the inside he learned to play the guitar. i

the usual emotions tapped by someone dreaming of writing the world's greatest love songs. 6'4" bill dylan florida state prison system. >> i went right in to hell's earth fire without a doubt. >> reporter: and? >> i was assaulted from the first hour in the door. >> reporter: that would be his world for nearly three decades. >> i began to drift into deep sadness and depression thinking my life is over. but the flame always burns. you know you haven't committed a crime, but the flame burns to the fact of, i want to be free and i deserve to be free. >> reporter: a belief shared by the innocence project of florida and a public defender named mike perolo who worked with dna and other evidence to exonerate dylan in 2008. >> when i first went behind the bars -- i couldn't believe that it happened. then i never thought it was going to be corrected. ♪ >> reporter: a year and a half later in his suburban chicago music studio, veteran producer jim tulio happened to catch part of a television program about the case including bill's mention of a desire to start a music career. a phone call followed wit