Lookalike saves innocent man who spent 17 years in prison
A MAN who spent 17 years in jail has been freed after miscarriage of justice campaigners found his lookalike.
Richard Jones, who even shares a first name with his doppelganger, protested his innocence of the robbery in Kansas but was given 19 years in 2000. No physical evidence linked him to the crime but he was convicted on eyewitness evidence. He was freed after his double, called Ricky, emerged and witnesses said they could no longer be sure.
Ricky, who had lived near the scene of the robbery, testified that he did not commit the crime. But a judge said no reasonable juror would have convicted Mr Jones if Ricky had been known about.
Mr Jones, who had been ‘bitter and angry’ while in jail and missed his children growing up, said on his release: ‘I believe I was blessed.’