BATON ROUGE — A man who spent nearly 46 years in Angola for a crime he did not commit is now racing against time to see America before he loses his vision entirely.

Jones was convicted in 1971 for the rape of a Baton Rouge nurse and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2017, Jones was released from prison on bail and then exonerated in 2018.

"Most of my life was taken away from me for something I didn't do," Jones said as he left confinement.

The Louisiana Supreme Court later affirmed an appeals court ruling that cleared the way for him to receive compensation from the state. The court found there was "no forensic or physical evidence linking Mr. Jones to the rape" and said there was "no error in the court of appeal's determination that Mr. Jones did not commit the rape."

Now, Jones faces a new challenge. His ophthalmologist told him his glaucoma has progressed significantly and that he is losing his vision.

His wife has launched what she is calling Wilbert's Vision Journey, a one-month trip to help him experience places he dreamed about for decades while he still has enough sight to see them.

The planned journey starts in California, where Jones hopes to visit Corriganville Park, a historic movie ranch where many classic Westerns were filmed. As a longtime cowboy and Western movie fan, he also hopes to see the Cowboy Exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum.

From California, the trip would take him to San Francisco, where Jones had hoped to begin a new chapter of his life before his wrongful conviction changed everything. He described the visit not as looking back with regret, but as reclaiming a part of the future that had been taken from him.

The journey would then continue to Colorado, where Jones hopes to see the Rocky Mountains, followed by several days in Hawaii and a final stop in New York City, where he has long dreamed of seeing the skyline.

Joining them on the trip will be their seven-pound Chion, Misty.

Those who want to donate and help Jones accomplish this journey can click here.