A man identified as Herbert Alford in the US is planning to sue the car rental company 'Hertz' over a receipt that cleared him of murder after already spending almost five years in prison for a crime he did not commit, according to the Associated Press.

In 2016, Alford was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting Michael Adams to death, said his attorney Jamie White.

2722nd EXON: In 2017, a court convicted Herbert Alford of murder in Lansing, MI. He was exonerated in 2020 by records showing he was renting a car at the Lansing airport at the time of the crime. https://t.co/XrVuPT1K3I pic.twitter.com/64BtzAjvm1

— Exoneration Registry (@exonerationlist) February 2, 2021

White explained that “The Hertz receipt showed Alford was renting a car at a Lansing-area airport around the time that Adams was shot."

He added that Adams was killed in a Lansing neighborhood that was 20 minutes away from the airport.

The conviction was later thrown out and charges were finally dropped in 2020, but Alford had already spent close to five years in prisons and jail.

Reportedly, Hertz failed to produce a receipt in a timely manner that would have proved Alford's innocence. According to AP, this would have proved his innocence way before he was convicted for the 2011 murder.

Alford was exonerated in Ingham County last year, after evidence from the rental company was obtained in 2018.

“There is no question that [Alford] would have avoided going to prison had they produced this documentation,” said White.

In turn, Hertz reportedly said that they are “deeply saddened” about the incident that happened to Alford.

Alford filed the lawsuit against Hertz last week and is seeking financial compensation.