Richard Jones, a man who spent 17-years in prison for a crime he did not commit, is filing a petition for $1million in compensation from the state of Kansas.
Mr Jones was jailed wrongly in 1999 for an armed robbery after a witness pointed him out to the police as the robber.
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However, after hearing about a criminal who looked just like him from fellow inmates, Jones contacted the ‘Midwest Innocent Project,' which provides legal assistance to people who have been wrongly incarcerated.
After prolonged investigations, including DNA and fingerprint tests, it turned out that in fact it was not Mr Jones who had committed the crime, but a man of uncanny resemblance who lived on the other side of Kansas, named Ricky Amos.
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After it it was discovered that a serious bungle has been made by law enforcement, the judge immediately ordered Jones' release and Amos' arrest.
Mr Jones had spent so long languishing in prison, that he had missed watching his now 19-year-old and 24-year-old daughters grow up.
He is quoted as saying that, "It took a big chunk of my life that I can never get back. I am just trying to get stable in my everyday life. I am still transitioning."
"At that time, I was pretty much trying to be a responsible father. I was not perfect, but I was a big part of their lives, and when I got incarcerated, it was hard for me because I was used to being around for my kids. It was a hard pill to swallow" said Mr Jones.
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The petition now in circulation to raise money for Jones reads: "This compensation is relatively small given the unfathomable hardship of 17 years of wrongful imprisonment."
Jones' lawyer is quoted as saying that, "we were floored by how much they looked alike. Everybody has a doppelgänger, luckily we found his."
