HAUGHTON, La. (KSLA) - A Haughton family is hopeful their son, who is serving time in a Chinese prison, is coming home soon.

New Jersey Republican congressman, Christopher Smith, is the sponsor of H.R.5491 , a bill to “encourage diplomatic advocacy efforts on behalf of Americans unjustly detained in the People’s Republic of China.”

KSLA first broke the story about Nelson Wells Jr. in 2023 . Wells has been in prison in China for 12 years. His family has desperately worked to get him home after on humanitarian release. They say his health has deteriorated greatly since he’s been imprisoned, and he is now very ill.

The new bill is in direct response to the testimony Nelson Wells Sr. gave in September of 2024 in Washington, D.C. to the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC)

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