Lawmakers in a Hudson Valley county have cleared the way for a $7.5 million settlement with a Brooklyn native who spent 26 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing a 92-year-old woman.

The Dutchess County legislature on Feb. 10 authorized spending the funds in the case of Dewey Bozella, 55, of Beacon, Bozella v. County of Dutchess, 10-cv-4917.