Misidentification is rampant in causing arrests, prosecutions and convictions. I have said it before.

I also say it today, with the news of an innocent Kansas inmate — Richard Jones — freed 17 years from incarceration for a robbery conviction, only after he learned about a look-alike man (a doppleganger) with a similar name, found help from innocence project attorneys, and obtained witness confirmation that the two men looked alike and they did not think any longer that Jones was guilty.

What a bittersweet roller coaster ride Jones took to finally being released from incarceration for a crime for which he is innocent. Sadly, for every Richard Jones, there likely are many more innocent prison inmates insisting on their innocence, but either not obtaining an attorney’s voice to advocate for them after losing their convictions and appeals, or not convincing the courts to give them relief.

Hopefully Richard Jones’s case will make police, prosecutors, judges and jurors think twice any time identification is challenged by the defense in a criminal case.