NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana man who had served more than 20 years of a 99-year armed robbery sentence won his freedom Friday after a witness recanted key testimony, a criminal justice advocacy group said.
The Promise of Justice Initiative, a criminal justice advocacy group, says a witness against Jermaine Hudson, 42, recanted testimony that helped convict Hudson back in 2000.
Online court records show the New Orleans District Attorney Jason William’s Office had already agreed to grant Hudson a new trial after Williams initiated reviews of cases in which people were convicted by non-unanimous juries.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declared such verdicts unconstitutional but has not yet ruled on whether that applies retroactively to all cases.
On Friday, court records show, Williams’ office decided not to prosecute the case. The Promise of Justice Initiative said that came after a witness recanted.
“Mr. Hudson’s case illustrates the systemic problems with the accuracy of cases decided by non-unanimous juries,” said Jamila Johnson, Managing Attorney for the advocacy group.
