Jermaine Hudson: A Lie, 22 Years in Angola, and a Recantation

Jermaine Hudson’s wrongful conviction is one of Louisiana’s starkest examples of what a split-jury verdict could do: a New Orleans man sent to Angola in 2000 for an armed robbery that never happened, convicted 10 to 2 on the word of a bartender who later admitted he had made the whole thing up to cover drug spending. Hudson spent 22 years in prison before the accuser recanted and all charges were dismissed in March 2021.

The Lie That Put Him in Prison

On March 1, 1999, Robert “Bobby” Gumpright, a bartender at a New Orleans Applebee’s, called 911 and said a man had robbed him at gunpoint while he rode his bicycle home from work, taking around $80 in tip money and a St. Christopher’s medallion near Hyman and McArthur Boulevard.¹ There had been no robbery. Gumpright had spent his paycheck on drugs and was afraid to tell his father where the money had gone.²

Two months later, detectives showed Gumpright a photo array. He picked Jermaine Hudson at random. Hudson, then 21, was indicted on June 29, 1999, for armed robbery and possession of a weapon by a felon.³

A Thin Case and a 99-Year Sentence

Trial began on March 22, 2000, before Judge Julian A. Parker in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.¹ The prosecution called two witnesses: Gumpright and the officer who responded to the 911 call. There was no physical evidence. From the stand, Gumpright told jurors he was “a hundred and ten percent certain” Hudson had robbed him.³

Two jurors did not believe him. Under Louisiana law at the time, that did not matter. The jury returned a 10-2 guilty verdict on the armed robbery charge; prosecutors dismissed the weapons count.⁴ Before trial, Hudson had turned down a five-year plea offer, maintaining he was innocent.³

On April 14, 2000, the court adjudged Hudson a second felony offender based on a 1996 guilty plea to first-degree robbery, vacated the original sentence, and imposed 99 years at hard labor without parole, probation, or suspension. The habitual-offender range ran from 49.5 to 198 years, and the judge described 99 as the “mid-range.” The court also cited two prior manslaughter pleas, in cases originally charged as first-degree murder, in finding an “undue risk” Hudson would offend again and calling robbery his “crime of choice.”¹ Hudson’s state appeals were dismissed, and he was sent to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.³

How a Split Jury Could Convict Him

Louisiana adopted non-unanimous jury verdicts in 1898 as part of a broader effort to maintain white supremacy by diluting the influence of Black jurors.⁴ For more than a century, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states where someone could be convicted of a serious felony without all 12 jurors agreeing. Louisiana voters amended the state constitution in 2018 to require unanimity going forward, but the change was not retroactive.⁵

In April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Ramos v. Louisiana that the Sixth Amendment requires jury unanimity in state courts. A year later, in Edwards v. Vannoy, the Court ruled 6-3 that Ramos does not apply retroactively to convictions already final.⁶ The Louisiana Supreme Court reached the same conclusion under state law, leaving an estimated 1,000 people imprisoned under split verdicts with no clear route to challenge them.⁴

The Recantation and Release

Ramos still cracked the door open. On February 10, 2021, attorneys from the Promise of Justice Initiative, working with the law firm Milbank LLP, filed a petition for post-conviction relief arguing that a non-unanimous jury claim had not been “remotely available” to Hudson before Ramos and was therefore preserved. Jamila Johnson, managing attorney of the organization’s Jim Crow Juries Project, led the case.⁷

On February 26, 2021, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office offered to vacate the conviction if Hudson would plead guilty to armed robbery and take release on time served. The deal would have freed him without clearing his name.³

Then Gumpright contacted the DA’s office from a drug treatment facility in Terrebonne County and asked to recant. On March 25, 2021, prosecutors traveled to the facility, where he swore out an affidavit stating there had been no robbery, that he had picked Hudson’s photo at random, and that he had lied to hide the money he spent on drugs. “For the last 20 years since this happened, I have been tortured by the lie I told,” Gumpright said. “I am sorry for all the pain and suffering I have caused Jermaine Hudson and his family.”³

The DA’s office investigated, found no evidence of contact between Gumpright and Hudson, and concluded the affidavit was “entirely consistent with the case.” All charges were dismissed on March 26, 2021, and Hudson walked out of prison after 22 years.³

State Compensation

On March 17, 2022, Hudson was awarded $480,000 under Louisiana’s Innocence Compensation Fund: $400,000 for wrongful incarceration and $80,000 for loss of life opportunities.³ Louisiana pays the incarceration portion in annual installments rather than a lump sum. As of the state’s 2025 fiscal year report, $40,000 had been disbursed.⁸

Forgiveness, and a Push to Change the Law

A few months after his release, Hudson called Gumpright from a blocked number. Hudson wanted to know why. Gumpright wanted forgiveness. “I have a forgiving heart,” Hudson said. “And in order for me to really move on I forgave him.” The two now describe each other as brothers, text daily, and Gumpright, sober for several years and working as an addiction counselor, attended Hudson’s housewarming party.²

Together they have lobbied Louisiana lawmakers to give people convicted by split juries a way back into court. In April 2025, they testified for Senate Bill 218, sponsored by Senator Royce Duplessis, which would have let those defendants file for post-conviction relief without being blocked by time limits. The Senate Judiciary C committee approved it 5-1.⁹ The full Senate killed it on May 21, 2025, by a vote of 9 to 26.¹⁰ The Louisiana District Attorneys Association led the opposition, arguing that decades-old cases could not realistically be retried because evidence had been lost and witnesses were unavailable.⁵

Advocates returned in 2026 with House Bill 219, introduced by Representative Charles Owen. At a May 6, 2026 hearing, witnesses including a man who had served 37 years at Angola on a 10-2 verdict testified in support. The committee deferred the bill, citing lack of support and questions about the roughly $1 million estimated cost of initiating reviews.¹¹ As of mid-2026, Louisiana still has no statutory pathway for people convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek relief.

1
Justia. State of Louisiana v. Jermaine H. Hudson, No. 2000-KA-1757
2
Courthouse News Service. A Split Jury and a Lie Sent Him to Prison; Now He’s Working to Change Louisiana’s Law
3
Exoneration Registry. Jermaine Hudson
4
WDSU. A Split Jury and a Lie Sent Him to Prison; Now He’s Working to Change Louisiana’s Law
5
Louisiana Illuminator. Split Jury Bill Fails in Senate
6
SCOTUSblog. Justices Divided on Retroactive Application of Jury Unanimity Rule
7
Promise of Justice Initiative. Jermaine Hudson Is Exonerated After Serving 22 Years in Prison on a Jim Crow Jury Conviction
8
Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement. 2025 Annual Innocence Compensation Fund Report
9
Oregon Capital Chronicle. Old Split Jury Verdicts in Louisiana Could Be Revisited Under Advancing Proposal
10
LegiScan. Louisiana SB 218 Votes
11
WAFB. Emotional Testimony Fails to Revive Split Jury Resentencing Proposal