ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: Lake County man reunites with newly exonerated, infirm father

Wayne Freedman Image
ByWayne Freedman KGO logo
Friday, February 19, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: Lake County man reunites with newly exonerated, infirm father
The son of a man who was just released from prison, for a crime he didn't commit is speaking out Friday. The son talked only to ABC7 News Friday about the ordeal his family has gone through.

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- The son of a man who was just released from prison, for a crime he didn't commit is speaking out Friday.

The son talked only to ABC7 News Friday about the ordeal his family has gone through.

Luther Jones spent 18 years in prison and now he's free, but his troubles are hardly over. This time, his problems aren't legal; instead, they're a matter of life and death.

After 20 long years of separation, this may be the last good memory Kofawn Jones has of his father. The day Luther Jones returned home from state prison after a judge exonerated him of a child abuse crime he did not commit. This was Wednesday. It's been downhill ever since.

"He is unconscious. He is sick. Very sick," Kofawn Jones said.

Hence, the ambulance that delivered him from California Department of Corrections Hospital. Kofawn, his family, and their father, are now on their own.

"I didn't know what to do for him. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a nurse. I think the state should have been with him at my house instead of just him and a box of medicine."

If it sounds like a hardship case, this is not uncommon for exonerated inmates. They come out with nothing. According to state law, they're entitled to $140 for every day they spend wrongfully behind bars. It usually takes time, which Luther Jones and his family don't have as those hospital bills mount up.

"I'm paying for everything. I don't have nothing," Kofawn Jones said.

Kofawn Jones has less than nothing. This is a well-meaning son who lost his home in the Lake County fire. For now, they're trying to get things done in the back booth of a Denny's in Napa.

Kofawn Jones say the best outcome is "My father getting better and he coming back and him being able to see his." And tries to make up for 20 lost years.