A man who spent more than 22 years on Death Row in the United States for a murder he did not commit married at the Royal Chace Hotel in Enfield on Sunday afternoon.

Nick Yarris flew to Britain in February to embark on a new life with his 31-year-old fiance, Karen Karbritz, formerly of Enfield.

The 43-year-old walked free from a US prison in January last year after a DNA test proved he was innocent of the kidnap, rape and murder of Linda Mae Craig, in Pennsylvania in 1981.

The devoted pair, who wrote their own vows, tied the knot in front of a congregation of more than 100 family and friends at the hotel in The Ridgeway.

Mr Yarris, who invited penpals from as far afield as Poland to the ceremony, said: "When I met Karen, something inside me changed. I knew only after a few days I was going to live my life with her.

"I had dreamed of getting back to my home for 22 years but the only sane home I could make was with someone 3,000 miles away."

In 2002, Mr Yarris was diagnosed with terminal hepatitis and, fearing an undignified death, he pleaded with a judge to be executed by lethal injection.

His lawyers, who had been pressing for DNA tests to prove his innocence, made one final appeal. Much of the evidence had been lost, but DNA found on a pair of gloves discovered in the woman's car confirmed his innocence and he was finally released from prison.

As a Death Row inmate he was kept in solitary confinement and was beaten for breaking the rules by speaking or singing to himself. He also suffered starvation and sleep deprivation through exposure to continuous artificial light.

Ms Karbritz, who had four bridesmaids in attendance at the wedding, met Mr Yarris last October when he flew to Britain to talk about his ordeal and campaign against the death penalty.

After exchanging numbers, the property company manager, who now lives in London Colney, Hertfordshire, visited Mr Yarris in the USA. In December he got down on one knee and proposed to her in front of crowds at Gatwick Airport.

She said before the wedding: "It's going to be a very emotional day, especially for Nick's family, as they missed so much of his life while he was in prison. It's really important for them to be there to share this special day with us."

The couple flew to Turkey on honeymoon yesterday.