An Innocent dad, Richard Jones spent 17 years in a US jail for an armed robbery carried out by a lookalike who shared the same name with him. Richard from Kansas City, Kansas, who was locked up for a crime he did not do has been set free after cops found his lookalike. .
Jones had been jailed for armed robbery in 1999 after an eyewitness said he was the robber. But during a new hearing into his case this same witness could not tell Jones from a man called Ricky who looks just like him. .
Jones also lived on the other side of Kansas while his lookalike lived where the robbery happened. It also turned out that there was no physical, DNA or fingerprint evidence. .
After being released, Jones told the Kansas City Star.: “I don’t believe in luck, I believe I was blessed.” Jones had unsuccessfully appealed his case several times. But two years ago he heard about a man in jail who looked just like him and even shared his first name. .
After realising this could be the man who committed the crime, Jones contacted the Midwest Innocent Project, a non-profit organisation that provides legal services to the wrongly-convicted. An attorney working on Jones’ case said: “We were floored by how much they looked alike. .
Everybody has a doppelgänger, luckily we found his.” Jones is now getting used to life on the outside and says he is happy to be back with his kids He said: “When it comes to my kids, it’s been a rough ride, but they are now at an age where they can understand.”
