Building A Case

Even though the court could not charge Amos with Jones’ allegations, The Innocence Project team started to build a case to reverse Jones’ wrongful conviction. Luckily, they were able to meet with the eyewitnesses who testified against Jones all those years ago. Since their statement was the key to the initial case, getting their testimony was crucial.

New Testimony

Once the witnesses saw both the photographs side by side, their faith in the former statement faded away. The investigators also got the victim’s statement which said, “I am no longer certain I identified the right person at the preliminary hearing and trial. If I had seen both men at the time, I would not have felt comfortable choosing between the two men and possibly sending a man to prison.”

The Driver’s Statement

Slowly, all the witnesses who testified against Jones withdrew their statements. The driver of the car who left the man behind said, “I remember having my doubts at trial. If I had been given these two pictures before trial, I would not have been able to tell them apart.”

Convincing The Court

With the massive heap of evidence in support of Jones, the case was taken over by two new law students in the year 2016. Even though the prisoner’s ordeal was about to end and his right to appeal was diminished by now, they were able to gather enough evidence to convince the court to reconsider. Ultimately, on June 7th, 2017, the initial case prosecutor John Cowles was summoned to testify at a new trial.

The New Trial

When the prosecutor reviewed the new evidence, he admitted that the previous judgment might have been wrong. He acknowledged that no reasonable jury would have sentenced Jones based on the evidence they have before them. As a result, after serving all but two years of his ordeal, Jones was released from prison the very next day.

Lost Time

Even though Jones was released two years early from prison, there was no denying the fact that he had lost precious time for something he did not do. His daughters are now grown up and he missed the birth of his grandchild. Nonetheless, his family was thrilled to have him back.