"In prison for a crime he adamantly denied committing, Richard Anthony Jones repeatedly heard from others that there was another prisoner who looked just like him.

Not only were they doppelgangers, but Jones was told that he and the other man shared the same first name.

Jones never ran across the man, but the lawyers he passed the information on to began digging into his case and came to the conclusion that Jones was indeed an innocent man.

"A Missouri man who spent nearly 17 years in prison for a 1999 robbery was freed after supporters found another man who looked enough like him that the victim and other witnesses said they could no longer be sure who committed the crime.

Richard Anthony Jones, of Kansas City always maintained he didn’t commit the robbery and two years ago asked for help proving his innocence.

"In prison for a crime he adamantly denied committing, Richard Anthony Jones repeatedly heard from others that there was another prisoner who looked just like him.

...

On Wednesday, they made their case to a Johnson County judge, and on Thursday Jones walked free after serving nearly 17 years in prison for a 1999 robbery in Roeland Park.

"A Kansas City man who spent nearly 17 years in prison for purse snatching was released Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction.

The 10th Judicial District Court in Johnson County vacated Richard Jones’ 1999 aggravated robbery conviction. He had been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison.

But according to officials with the Midwest Innocence Project, Jones was convicted based solely on eyewitness identification, despite presenting a verified alibi.

"The racial gerrymandering decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court this week concerning two districts in North Carolina may change things for states that are becoming more diverse, says a University of Kansas law professor.

'The Court has traditionally said it is legally permissible to allow a state legislature to gerrymander a district to give one political party advantage,' said Lumen ‘Lou’ Mulligan. 'The Court has said, we will not allow you to gerrymander a district so as to play racial politics. That’s been the law for a number of years.'”