CHICAGO (MCT) — Just as he did during the 20 years he spent in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Waukegan, Juan Rivera lives by a rigid routine.

Seven months after he was freed by appeals judges who cited DNA evidence indicating his innocence, Rivera wakes at 5 a.m. every day and goes to work. He exercises for 90 minutes each afternoon, and he plays basketball on Tuesday nights. Rivera, 39, remains a vegan, and the home he shares with his wife, Melissa, and two of her grandchildren in the north suburbs is spotless, just as his prison cell was.