Devils Bargain | BONUS | Season 2

Summary

Burden of Guilt – Season 2 BONUS: “Devil’s Bargain”

Host: iHeartPodcasts & Glass Podcasts
Air Date: March 24, 2026
Episode Summary by [Podcast Summarizer]

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Episode Overview

This bonus episode of Burden of Guilt delves into the agonizing decisions faced by innocent defendants in the criminal legal system—specifically, the pressure to accept plea deals for crimes they did not commit. Drawing on Jermaine Hudson’s personal story and insights from his attorney Colin Reingold, the episode explores systemic failures, the realities of Louisiana’s punitive justice system, and the human impact of forcing innocent people into impossible “devil’s bargains.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Five-Year Plea Deal and Jermaine’s Choice

[02:20–03:00]

• Jade Abdul Malik (producer) recaps that Jermaine Hudson, wrongly accused of armed robbery in 1999, was pressured by his public defender to accept a five-year plea deal.
• Jermaine Hudson’s account:

  “He even sent a young lady that was a court reporter clerk back there where I was waiting to go to trial. She said, ‘Jermaine, these people is not playing. I don't want to see you get your life thrown away, man. Take them five years.’ I said, ‘You gonna help me do them? Are you gonna help me do five years?’” (Jermaine Hudson, 02:38)

Behind the Harsh Calculations of Plea Deals

[03:00–04:36]

• Jermaine refused the plea, maintaining his innocence—despite knowing the risk of a harsh sentence if convicted.
• Colin Reingold (former Louisiana public defender and Jermaine’s later civil attorney) offers perspective:

  “As a society … particularly in the Deep South and in New Orleans, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world, we have used incarceration as a crutch and as a way for politicians to score points ... without really ever looking at the damage that’s done to society and whether or not incarceration is a public safety benefit.” (Colin Reingold, 03:28)

• Colin questions the system’s logic after witnessing elderly inmates serving long sentences for crimes committed in their youth:

  “The number of times you see just elderly people in prison for things they did when they were 20 makes you really question the wisdom of the money we are spending and the communities and families we're ruining with the current version of our criminal legal system. I'd been saying criminal justice system, but there's not a lot of justice in it the way it's operating in a lot of places in our country.” (Colin Reingold, 04:11)

The Impossible Choices for Innocent Defendants

[04:36–06:41]

• Most serious criminal cases in Louisiana end in pleas, not trials, due to the devastating consequences if convicted at trial.
• Jade: “But what if, like Jermaine, you're accused of a crime you didn't commit? Do you take the plea?” (04:36)
• Colin explains the defense attorney’s dilemma:

  “If we lose, you're looking at often 20 years, 30, 40, sometimes life, 99 years. And they're offering you... sometimes it was reasonable, sometimes it wasn't, but it was always less than what I could be fairly certain the judge was gonna give them if they go to trial and lose.” (Colin Reingold, 05:16)

Human Stakes and Mathematical Brutality

[06:41–08:38]

• The tradeoff: take a guilty plea and serve a fixed term, or risk life or decades in prison at trial.
• Colin:

  “Do you pick the possibility of life in prison or guaranteed what you'll get is 20, and maybe you'll get out in 15 if you do well and get parole. How does a person make a choice like that?” (Colin Reingold, 06:50)

• The system creates “devil's bargains” even for those believed innocent by their lawyers:

  “My job as a lawyer is to try to help them, but I know I have clients who probably didn't do what they were charged with ... but took this kind of devil's bargain because they had seen what happened to friends… and you see that happen enough times, you think, I know I didn't do it, but I also don't want to go to Angola for the rest of my life. So maybe I'll just go to Angola for 10 years and I can make it, and then I'll come back and see my mom and dad and my brother and sister again, or my kids.” (Colin Reingold, 07:35)

Jermaine’s Integrity and Aftermath

[08:38]

• Jermaine’s refusal to plead guilty, rooted in his innocence, resulted in a 22-year sentence—not 5 years. His wife Kristin believed his steadfastness validated his innocence.
• Jade concludes: “Louisiana's darker past must reckon with a more hopeful and just future.” (08:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jermaine Hudson:

  “You gonna help me do [the five years]? Are you gonna help me do five years?” (02:54)

• Colin Reingold:

  “I can't imagine the clients I have who are willing to do more time because they're steadfast in maintaining their innocence have a strength that I can't imagine ... I wouldn't want to spend any ... extra night in prison, especially not Angola.” (05:36)

  “There's not a lot of justice in it the way it's operating in a lot of places in our country.” (04:27)

  “Those are the markers we use ... when we're talking to people about making these hard choices. And oftentimes my job is to say it's probably the smart thing to do to take it, even if I believe them that they didn't do it.” (08:00)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:20: Jade recalls the original five-year plea offer and defense tactics.
• 02:38: Jermaine recounts the plea pressure.
• 03:28: Colin Reingold critiques the broader justice system.
• 04:11: Colin reflects on the aged incarcerated population and flaws in criminal justice.
• 05:16: Colin unpacks the math behind plea deals vs. trial risk.
• 06:41: The core dilemma: risking life in prison or guaranteed years.
• 07:35: Colin articulates the emotional toll and impossible choices faced by innocent defendants.
• 08:38: Jade wraps the episode with a forward-looking remark about Louisiana's need for change.

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Episode Tone & Style

• Language and Tone: Compassionate, candid, and unflinching. The speakers balance empathy for the individuals caught in the system with sharp critique of its structure.
• Accessibility: The conversation is clear and vivid, infused with genuine emotion and real-life urgency.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Many plea deals are accepted out of fear—not guilt.
• The “criminal justice system” often operates more as a system of expediency and harsh punishment rather than fairness, especially in Louisiana.
• The cost of maintaining innocence can mean losing decades of one’s life.
• Attorneys, even those who care deeply, are often forced into counseling their clients to accept “devil’s bargains” under a system stacked against the accused.
• The hope for reform rests on facing these uncomfortable truths.

Next episode promises more on Jermaine’s quest for justice—subscribe for updates.

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End of summary.

Transcript

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[Jade Abdul Malik]

Hi, I'm Jade Abdul Malik, another producer on Burden of Guilt. You might recall in an earlier episode when Jermaine Hudson's public defender urged him to take a five year plea deal for the armed robbery. Jermaine didn't take it because he knew he was innocent, but his attorney at the time wanted him to take the plea deal.

[Jermaine Hudson]

He even sent a young lady that was a court reporter clerk back there where I was waiting to go to trial. He sent her back there to talk to me. She said, jermaine, these people is not playing. I don't want to see you get your life thrown away, man. Take them five years. I said, you gonna help me do them? Are you gonna help me do five years?

[Jade Abdul Malik]

When we first heard this, we were shocked that a defense attorney would push their innocent client so hard to a plea. During our reporting, we got a chance to talk with a former Louisiana public defender about this, and what he had to say shifted our perspective. Colin Reingold represented Jermaine in his lawsuit against the state of Louisiana, seeking restitution for false imprisonment. Colin helped Jermaine recover the maximum amount from the state, $400,000.

[Colin Reingold]

I think that as a society generally, and particularly in the Deep south and in New Orleans, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world, we have used incarceration as a crutch and as a way for politicians to score points on the campaign trail without really ever looking at the damage that's done to society and whether or not incarceration is a public safety benefit. Certainly not the way we've been going about it.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

After seeing it with his own eyes, Colin wonders if there's any logic to the system at all.

[Colin Reingold]

The number of times you see just elderly people in prison for things they did when they were 20 makes you really question the wisdom of the money we are spending and the communities and families we're ruining with the current version of our criminal legal system. I'd been saying criminal justice system, but there's not a lot of justice in it the way it's operating in a lot of places in our country.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

Colin wasn't the attorney who represented Jermaine back in 1999 when he was offered the five year prison sentence if he pleaded guilty. For people charged with serious crimes in Louisiana, the consequences of going to trial can be huge, because if a jury finds you guilty, the punishment is often devastating. Sometimes decades, sometimes the rest of your life. The vast majority of cases never make it to trial at all. Instead, they end with a plea deal. But what if, like Jermaine, you're accused of a crime you didn't commit? Do you take the plea? We asked Colin about this.

[Colin Reingold]

In Jermaine's case, he has the choice of do you stand by your values of maintaining your innocence, or do you take the opportunity? After 20 years, you're handed a Ticket out. You get a conviction, but you get your freedom. I've never spent a night in jail or prison, but I spent a lot of time visiting people in both. And I. I can't imagine the clients I have who are willing to do more time because they're steadfast in maintaining their innocence have a strength that I can't imagine because I wouldn't want to spend any. A single extra night in prison, especially not Angola. So anyone who makes that trade off, I 100% understand. But when I had clients who wanted to go to trial because they were innocent, LA has such harsh sentencing laws that my job as a lawyer is to say, look, I'll take you to trial. I'll do a pretty decent job. I think we have a strategy, but if we lose, you're looking at often 20 years, 30, 40, sometimes life, 99 years. And they're offering you. You know, sometimes it was reasonable, sometimes it wasn't, but it was always less than what I could be fairly certain the judge was gonna give them if they go to trial and lose.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

So lawyers like Colin who genuinely care about their clients are sometimes in the position of urging them to make a really hard choice.

[Colin Reingold]

So you're arrested on murder that you say you didn't do, and we can't slam dunk. Prove you're innocent, and the jury could go either way. Do you pick the possibility of life in prison or guaranteed what you'll get is 20, and maybe you'll get out in 15 if you do well and get parole. How does a person make a choice like that?

[Jade Abdul Malik]

We're talking 20 whole years, maybe 15 with good behavior. That's still a massive chunk of someone's life. But compared to life in prison, especially Angola, it can feel like the only option. Collins says this dynamic creates something that many defense attorneys know all too well, a kind of impossible calculation.

[Colin Reingold]

I mean, my job as a lawyer is to try to help them, but I know I have clients who probably didn't do what they were charged with, or certainly not, or certainly there was more to it than the state was alleging, but took a this kind of devil's bargain because they had seen what happened to friends, other people who were in jail with them awaiting trial, who said that they were going to go to trial and prove their innocence, and then off they go to Angola for the rest of their life. And you see that happen enough times, you think, I know I didn't do it, but I also don't want to go to Angola for the rest of my life. So maybe I'll just go to Angola for 10 years and I can make it, and then I'll come back and see my mom and dad and my brother and sister again, or my kids. So many people have little kids when they're arrested, and do they want to see them graduate middle school, high school? Those are the markers we use when we're talking to people about making these hard choices. And oftentimes my job is to say it's probably the smart thing to do to take it, even if I believe them that they didn't do it.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

If Jermaine had taken that guilty plea back in 99, he would have likely served five years instead of 22. But he took the chance of going to trial because he wasn't going to confess to a crime he didn't commit. His wife, Kristin, says that this decision is what convinced her of Jermaine's innocence. Louisiana's darker past must reckon with a more hopeful and just future. Find out how things shake out in the next episode of Burden of Guilt. Subscribe to Season 2 of Burden of Guilt so you don't miss any of our bonus content. And check out our Instagram glasspodcast to

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