A man who was freed from prison in December after DNA evidence cleared him of murder and rape convictions has reached a tentative settlement with the state.

Clarence Elkins expects to receive slightly more than $1 million, said his wife, Melinda Elkins.

A spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office said an informal agreement had been reached but would not confirm terms of the proposal.

An agreement must be approved by the state Court of Claims and the state controlling board.

Elkins, 43, served nearly seven years of a life sentence before DNA evidence cleared him of the 1998 murder of his mother-in-law and rape of his 6-year-old niece in Summit County.

Prosecutors now are investigating a man who was jailed a few cells down from Elkins.

Elkins secured a discarded cigarette butt from Earl Gene Mann, and DNA on it matched evidence found at the crime scene. Mann is a former neighbor of the slain woman.