Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 17 Years After Witness Confused Him with Lookalike Gets $1M Settlement

In 2017, PEOPLE reported on the case of Ricky Jones, a man falsely imprisoned for 17 years after an eyewitness to a robbery confused him with the actual suspect, to whom he bore a striking resemblance.

On Tuesday, the state of Kansas announced it would pay $1.1 million to Jones, 42, who was convicted of trying to steal a woman’s purse when he was 24 years old.

The state agreed “to this outcome so Mr. Jones can receive the benefits to which is is entitled by law because he was mistakenly convicted,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.