Exonerated Kansas man petitions state in doppelganger case

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man is petitioning the state of Kansas for compensation after serving 17 years for a robbery committed by someone who looks like him.

The Wichita Eagle reports that 42-year-old Richard Jones filed the petition Wednesday in Johnson County District Court, where he was exonerated last year.

Jones was convicted of robbing a woman outside a Roeland Park Walmart in 1999. Prosecutors based their case on witness identifications of Jones.

Jones learned while in prison that he had a doppelganger, which his attorneys eventually identified. The conviction was thrown out when witnesses said they could no longer identify Jones as the robber after looking at pictures of both men.

The petition asks that the state award Jones $65,000 for each year of his incarceration, totaling more than $1.1 million.