St. Louis -- A St. Louis man who spent 23 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit has filed suit against St. Louis County and the officers who arrested him.

Johnny Briscoe, now 54, was freed from prison in 2006 after DNA evidence exonerated him. He filed suit earlier this month in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

"The prime of his life was lost," Briscoe's attorney, Burt Newman, said Tuesday. "When he went into prison he was raising two young children. When he got out he had grandchildren."

Spokesmen for St. Louis County and the county police declined comment.