Man spends 17 years in prison for theft carried out by lookalike

Kansas City - The father of two is now demanding $1million in compensation.

An innocent man spent 17 years in jail after he was wrongly convicted of robbery in 1999 which was in fact committed by his lookalike. 
The father of two is now demanding $1million in compensation for the crime he never committed.
Richard Jones from Kansas City was wrongly convicted of aggravated robbery after his lookalike stole a phone from a woman outside a Walmart.
Moreover, witnesses to the robbery described the criminal as 'light-skinned Hispanic or African-American man' who had 'long hair pulled back', similar to what Jones looked like.
The victim identified Jones as the robber and he was sentenced to 19 years in prison as he had prior convictions. However, Jones was at his girlfriend's house when the robbery took place. Although he appealed several times, he was only released last year when a judge quashed his conviction after a team from the Innocence Project tracked down his lookalike named Rick Amos who lived near the Walmart. 
The team found Amos after Jones' fellow inmates repeatedly told him how much the pair looked alike. When the victim was shown photos of both men, she was unable to identify her attacker due to their resembling appearance.
However, Amos cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations on the crime has passed. While, Jones whose daughters aged 24 and 19 grew up while he was behind bars, has now filed a petition asking the Kansas state to pay him $1.1 million and to officially proclaim his innocence.
Daily Mail quoted the petition that read: 'After enduring 17 years of wrongful incarceration for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Jones brings this petition seeking a judicial pronouncement of his innocence and some measure of financial assistance as he seeks to rebuild his life'.