The First Confession | EP 1 | Season 2

Summary

Burden of Guilt — Season 2, Episode 1: "The First Confession" (Feb 11, 2026)

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode of Burden of Guilt, hosted by Nancy Glass, launches a new season with an exploration of how a single lie, uttered under desperation, can ruin lives and test the limits of justice, redemption, and accountability. The season follows the real-life story of Jermaine Hudson—convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison for a violent crime in New Orleans in 1999—and Bobby Gumpright, whose testimony sealed that fate but was later revealed to be a devastating fabrication. Through personal interviews, court documents, and immersive storytelling, the show unravels the ripple effects of that lie and the long, painful journey toward truth.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Trauma, Redemption, and an Unthinkable Lie

• Nancy Glass recounts her experience as a journalist and sets up the season’s premise: this is not just another wrongful conviction story ([03:00]).
• Nancy says:

  "This case has stolen lives, destroyed families, challenged legal systems, and in the end, it left everyone transformed, maybe even redeemed." ([03:39])

2. A Stranger’s Confession at Church

• The episode opens at True Light Baptist Church in Eunice, Louisiana, where Pastor Jermaine Tezeno notices a downtrodden stranger, Bobby Gumpright, during a Sunday service in March 2021 ([04:08]).

• Pastor Tezeno’s internal alarm at the sight of a white man, apparently homeless, in a predominantly Black congregation is colored by memories of racial violence, yet he chooses to show kindness.

• Notable moment as Tezeno prioritizes his congregation’s safety:

  "It's not going to be dead here. I will die for my sheep." ([06:34])

• After service, Pastor Tezeno and Dr. Leon Gallo speak privately with Bobby, prompting Gumpright to ask, "Do you do confessions?" ([08:05])

• Bobby confesses "a secret so terrible, it felt like a thousand-pound weight," leaving the pastor in shock ([08:19]).

3. The Weight of Childhood Trauma

• The narrative shifts to Bobby Gumpright’s upbringing:
  • Raised in a military family; his mom disappears from his life at age 3; his father Captain Gumpright remarries ([11:31]).
  • Bobby experiences intense longing for maternal affection and stability ([13:04]).
• Formative trauma: At age 8, Bobby accidentally shoots his friend Joey while playing with his father's gun ([14:06], [19:03]).
  Bobby describes the aftermath:

  "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." ([19:03])

• Both boys lie to authorities about what happened, but eventually, Bobby confesses ([20:20]).
• The episode highlights how this event shapes Bobby’s sense of trust and self-worth—feeling his stepmother’s “love was conditional on my actions” ([22:04]).

4. A Pattern of Avoidance and Deceit

• Bobby struggles with social anxiety, adapts chameleon-like to fit in, and later turns to alcohol ([24:26], [24:50]).
• After failing out of college, he forges a transcript to hide his failure ([26:13]).
• When caught, his father forces him into the Coast Guard; Bobby again fails to adapt, is discharged, and returns home ([27:41]).

5. The Night Everything Changed: The Robbery

• Working as a bartender in New Orleans, Bobby is robbed at gunpoint one night after work ([29:36]):

  "He pulled out a gun and he put it to my face." ([30:12])

• He gives police a statement, providing a description of the perpetrator as a Black man, and later identifies Jermaine Hudson in a photo lineup ([32:07], [33:29]).

• The show underscores how Bobby, feeling like a failure in other aspects of his life, feels validated by law enforcement’s attention ([34:43]).

6. Trial and Conviction of Jermaine Hudson

• Courtroom reenactments (with voice actors) provide a compelling reconstruction of Bobby’s testimony at Jermaine’s trial ([39:13]).

• Key quote (Bobby, under oath):

  "110% certain." — Bobby identifying Jermaine as the robber ([43:44])

• The cross-examination probes the reliability of Bobby’s identification under duress ([44:30]-[46:46]).

• The jury convicts Jermaine Hudson after just 37 minutes of deliberation ([47:22]), and he is sentenced to 99 years without parole ([48:02]).

• Note the emotional impact:

  "When I tell you, my heart dropped. I was like, no, this can't be real. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real." ([48:40])

• Nancy reveals only Jermaine and Bobby knew the truth: "(A)lmost everything you heard from Bobby Gumpright in that courtroom was a lie. And not just in the way you think it was." ([48:54])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nancy Glass:

  "...this is something different, something I hope I never hear again." ([03:29])

• Pastor Tezeno (reflecting on Bobby’s confession):

  "I really didn't respond too much because I was in shock." ([08:46])

• Bobby Gumpright (on shooting his friend):

  "I just came clean." ([21:28])

• Bobby Gumpright (on seeking affirmation via prosecution):

  "I just, I saw maybe a glimpse of, hey, I can be somebody." ([34:43])

• Testimony at trial:

  "Will you ever forget Jermaine Hudson’s face?"
  "No, sir. You don’t forget something like that." ([43:25])

• Nancy Glass (revelation):

  "...the truth was that almost everything you heard from Bobby Gumpright in that courtroom was a lie." ([48:54])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment & Importance | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 03:00–04:00 | Nancy frames the season’s premise and stakes | | 04:08–08:46 | Bobby’s confession to Pastor Tezeno | | 11:21–13:40 | Bobby’s early childhood and loss of his mother | | 14:06–22:31 | Accidental shooting and its emotional aftermath | | 24:26–27:41 | Bobby’s struggles with fitting in, substance abuse, and academic deceit | | 29:36–31:03 | Bobby describes the night of the armed robbery | | 33:29–34:43 | Bobby identifies Jermaine Hudson, and reflects on validation from authorities | | 39:13–48:54 | Courtroom reenactment: Bobby's detailed (false) testimony, cross-examination, and Jermaine's conviction | | 48:54–49:23 | Nancy’s reveal: almost all Bobby’s testimony was a lie |

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Episode Flow & Tone

• The storytelling is personal and immersive, alternating between first-person reflection, interviews, and journalistic commentary.
• Tone is empathetic, yet candid—unafraid to explore profound discomfort, shame, and the capacity for self-deception.
• The episode's twist—teasing the falsehood at the core of Bobby's testimony—sets up an investigative arc that promises deeper revelations in future episodes.

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For Listeners New to the Series

• This episode is both a character study (of Bobby) and the launching point for a wider investigation into wrongful conviction, the failures of memory and identification, and the high cost of living with guilt.
• Through careful layering of events and testimony, it invites the audience into the minds of both victim and perpetrator, with empathy and skepticism in equal measure.

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Next Episode Tease

• The closing minutes hint at unraveling the truth behind Bobby’s lies and the fate of Jermaine Hudson—posing pressing questions about justice and accountability.

"I was scared to death that somebody would find out the truth." — Bobby ([49:23])

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Contact/More Info:
Follow @glasspodcasts on Instagram.
Burden of Guilt team: [e-mail]

End of Summary.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Bobby Gumpright]

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

See Terms Foreign. I'm Nancy Glass. I've been a journalist for decades. I've covered some of the biggest crime stories in modern times. I was on the scene of the Oklahoma bombings, attended the O.J. simpson trial, and I interviewed serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. You might recall that on the last season of Burden of Guilt, we told the story of a remarkable woman, Tracy Raquel Burns. She was framed for the murder of her baby brother when she was just two years old. She spent decades looking for answers and finally getting justice for her baby brother and for herself. On this season of Burden of Guilt, I want to tell you another extraordinary story. When I began hearing about this story, I thought I've heard that before, that somebody's convicted of a crime they didn't commit. But I was wrong. Because that's not this story. This is something different, something I hope I never hear again. This case has stolen lives, destroyed families, challenged legal systems, and in the end, it left everyone transformed, maybe even redeemed.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Let's not stop giving the praise now.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Amen.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

We're at True Light Baptist Church in Eunice. It's a small town in the southern part of Louisiana known as the Prairie Cajun Capital. Every Sunday for 125 years, the congregation has met here in the same building.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Money? Yes, sir, can buy your clock, but he can't buy your time. A true pastor will care for his congregation. The pastor responsibility is to shepherd the flock.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

That's Pastor Jermaine Tezeno. He's been leading the congregation at true light for 30 years. It's the kind of church where everyone knows everyone.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Amen.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Which is why Pastor Tezeno remembers this one Sunday so clearly. It was in March of 2021. When he looked up from the pulpit, he saw a stranger sitting alone in the back pew.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I noticed somebody in the congregation sitting, and in my mind I'm thinking, okay, who invited you? He didn't have the best clothes on. You could tell he was on the street. I would say he looked broken.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

He was broken. But it would be years before the pastor understood why or what had compelled this man to walk into his church that day. Pastor Tezeno eyed him closely.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

You are Caucasian and you are in the majority African American church. Like, what's your intentions?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Pastor Tesano's thoughts jumped to the church, shooting at Mother Emanuel. AME Church in Charleston. In that case, a 21 year old white man had been welcomed into bible study only to later murder nine black parishioners hoping to spark a race war.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And my thinking was like, it's not going to be dead here. I will die for my sheep.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Pastor Tesno finished his sermon, keeping an eye on this man in the back row. And when the service was over, he walked up to the stranger and extended a hand.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I just shook his hand. I said, can you meet me in my office?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The man agreed, and they went into the pastor's office. Tesano asked one of his ministers, Dr. Leon Gallo, to join the conversation.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Just to be safe, rightfully so, because this was definitely someone no one had ever seen.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Pastor Tezeno and Dr. Leon learned that the man was homeless and had spent the night before in an abandoned house. They wanted to help him. Dr. Leon stepped out of the room to start calling local shelters. The man was having a hard time making eye contact with pastor Tezeno, so he asked the man for his name.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He told me, Bobby Gumprite.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby Gumpright. That was his real name. But he didn't say much else.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

We knew that he was an addict. We knew that he was traveling from place to place, but didn't really know a whole lot more.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby Gumpright was actually there with a purpose.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

So he asked me the question, do you do confessions? I said, well, I'm not catholic, but I'm like, what's on your mind?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

He was carrying a secret. A secret so terrible, it felt like a thousand pound weight pressing down on his chest.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He needed to make that confession.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

After 30 years on the job, Pastor Tesano had heard a lot of stories. But what Bobby Gumprite told him left him speechless.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I really didn't respond too much because I was in shock.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Pastor Tesano didn't know what to do with information like this. Bobby had just confessed to a terrible crime, A crime that had destroyed lives, including his own. The pastor would need time to make a plan, but in the meantime, he could help Bobby with his immediate needs.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I said, you know what? Let's get you somewhere to stay overnight.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

There wasn't room in a shelter for him that night, so Pastor Tezeno and Dr. Leon picked up some essentials and paid for a hotel room at the day's Inn. He could take a shower and get a good night's sleep.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

After we got him the hotel, we got in a circle and we prayed for him. And I told him, I'm going to check on you the next day, tomorrow. And when I went back the next morning, the hotel management said he left. I was like, what?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

When Bobby left, his secret left with him. And until this story was exposed, another man's life would hang in the balance. This is season two of Burden of Guilt, Episode one, the first confession. It's been over four years since Bobby Gumprite walked into that church. Back then, he had long, greasy hair and a full beard. Today, Bobby looks dramatically different. He looks clean cut and healthy. But the choices he made as a young man are still there, just under the surface. To understand what Bobby confessed to inside that church, we have to go back to the beginning of this story. Now, you might consider what you're about to hear to be a villain origin story. It might be a blueprint for the making of a monster. You might hear this as the story of a little boy who didn't get the love he needed. Or maybe you'll consider it to be a story of strength and redemption. Meet Bobby Gumpright.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the Navy. He was out to see quite a bit when I was real young.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Robert Gumprite, Bobby's father, was a respected Navy captain.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I was working on a four aircraft ship as an electronics technician.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

That's Captain Gumprite, Bobby's dad. In 1979, he married Debbie and Bobby was born a year later. His voice is very weak due to an earlier cancer treatment. And because of that strain, we asked a voice actor to step in from here on out and read the transcript of his interview.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He's my only son, and I made a choice way back when that I would never have any more children other than him. So he's always had my love and full support.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

But his parents didn't stay together. They got divorced when Bobby was three. Captain Gumpright got full custody of his son, Bobby.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I never saw my mom again until I was in my 20s.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

As a kid, Bobby didn't understand where his mom had gone and why she wasn't around anymore.

[Bobby Gumpright]

My dad at that point had decided that it wasn't in my best interest to see her. So I spent a big chunk of my childhood in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is where he was stationed between the ages of like 3 and 8.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby was deeply wounded by his mother's absence. His father tried to fill the gap the best he could.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I remember when he was very young and I was running him out to the child care in the morning and I'd say, who loves you? And he'd say, you do. And I'd say, yeah, I do. I love you. And he would give me a big hug.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

When Bobby was six, his father remarried. His stepmother's name was Sharon.

[Bobby Gumpright]

She didn't have any other kids, so I was the only thing that she had.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Sharon raised Bobby. She tried to fill in the role of a mother and love him unconditionally. But when Bobby was in elementary school, something tragic happened in their home. A formative experience that would shape Bobby's worldview and influence the person he became.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Around eight years old, I was at home with a friend of mine. You know, it was the afternoon my mom, I think, was at school and my dad was at work and this was a friend of mine, Joey. We were just playing after school. We played baseball together and he was just in the same neighborhood. And one day he was at my house and we got into my dad's room and found a gun and pulled the gun out and started running around the house with it. Got downstairs, we had a living room downstairs and a sliding glass door that went out to the back porch. And he went outside and shut the door. And I was standing on the inside of the door, the glass door, and I was kind of holding the gun like pretending he was the robber and I was the cop. And I jumped out. And as soon as I jumped out, I don't know if I pulled the trigger or my finger slipped. I didn't know it was loaded, but either way the gun went off and shattered the door and he was on the ground.

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Eight year old Bobby Gumprite was home alone with his friend Joey when he found his dad's gun. Bobby decided to pick it up so he and his friend could play cops and robbers. Bobby lifted the pistol, pointing it through a sliding glass door and then the gun went off. Bobby didn't know the gun was loaded.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I was kind of in shock there for a second. So I run out and he's laying on the ground and he's just bleeding and glass in his face and just blood everywhere. And he gets up but he's bleeding everywhere and crying and I'm crying and we get him into the bathroom and I'm just sitting there. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby had shot his friend in the mouth. He was gushing blood. The kids began to panic.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I called the police at that point. I was young but I knew that he needed help and I wouldn't be able to provide it.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The boys knew instinctively instantly that telling the truth would get them in a whole lot of trouble. During the chaos that followed the gunshot, Bobby came up with a plan. They couldn't tell the adults what had really happened. Not their parents and definitely not the police. Joey sat in the bathroom floor holding a blood soaked towel to his face. But Bobby had the presence of mind to put the gun back in his father's room and then waited for help to arrive.

[Bobby Gumpright]

They showed up and we gave them a story that I was in the house and he was on the back porch and that we heard a shot come from the woods behind the house. We just, we thought it would be a logical story.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The police started walking through the house collecting evidence. Bobby's stepmother Sharon arrived shortly after. All she knew was that the boys had been playing when one of them was shot.

[Bobby Gumpright]

When my stepmom got there, she run over and she was hugging me and that was a rare moment of like motherly, just embrace that I wasn't used to from her.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Although Sharon took care of Bobby and loved him, according to him, she wasn't an outwardly affectionate person. So seeing her relief, feeling her arms around him, it felt like the kind of comfort only a mother could give. Sharon believed the kids account of the gunshot coming from the woods. But the police, well they weren't buying it.

[Bobby Gumpright]

All the glass was laying out on the patio, not inside the house. And it was just things that an 8 year old wouldn't think of but were very obvious to the police. So I had a detective actually walk me out to the woods and explain how he knew. There's no way the shot came from the woods. I just remember thinking, is there any other way to explain this? And there wasn't. And I just came clean.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

According to Bobby, when his stepmother learned what really happened, the warmth and affection she had just given him went cold.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I remember vividly that the detective said what had happened and she just, she just let go. And I think it was in shock of what she had heard. She just lets go out of the embrace. And to me at the moment it made me feel like love was being removed. At that moment it made me feel like love was conditional on my actions.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

To 8 year old Bobby it felt like rejection. But to a mother, even a stepmother, it might have been shock. Learning your son had shot another child. Bobby's father, Captain Gumpright rushed home and discovered the truth. It was his gun that had been used in the accidental shooting.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

The officer asked me for my weapon and when we opened them up they smelled of gunpowder. I was extremely shaken and kick myself.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

For not locking everything up more first responders arrived. The most immediate concern was of course Joey's injuries.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

His friend had been shot in the roof of his mouth, right behind his front teeth in the roof. The bullet had lodged and he was okay, but he did have to have surgery.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

It could have been so much worse. Joey could have been killed. That was the last time Bobby ever saw his friend.

[Bobby Gumpright]

His parents definitely weren't going to have him hanging around me anymore.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The next day when Captain Gumpride drove Bobby to school, a news report about the accidental shooting was broadcast on the radio. Though the kids weren't named, it was obviously him. The story was out there. His mistake was now the news.

[Bobby Gumpright]

And I just broke down into tears and just started bawling and he ended up taking me home and I didn't go to school. And then I got sent to counseling and at that point I'd already shut down. I wasn't sharing anything with anybody about my feelings.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

And as a military brat, Bobby moved every few years. It made it hard for him to create long term friendships and he learned to dread school.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Being the new kid is not easy. I turned into what I call a chameleon. I would just blend in. I would try and act like you were acting. If I was hanging out with the Goff kids, I was acting like a golf. If I was hanging out with the jocks, I was acting like a jock.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

By the time Bobby got to middle school, he had discovered a way to ease his anxiety.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I was skipping school that day and my parents had a bar downstairs. I remember taking some peach knobs and some orange juice and my dad came home early that day and caught me.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby's dad grounded him. Soon after that, the Gumpright family was on the move again. When Bobby was 16, his dad got orders to move to New Orleans. Bobby had enough credits to graduate high.

[Advertiser/Promoter]

School early.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

So he enrolled in college at the University of New Orleans.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Started school, joined a fraternity, and that's when my drinking really took off, right when I joined the fraternity.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

In his first semester, Bobby stopped going to class altogether. But his parents didn't have a clue.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I think I went to two classes my first semester. Got a 0.0 GPA. It was in the middle of the semester, and grades had come out, and I was failing everything, right? And so I had an opportunity to either take that failing transcript home and show my dad or not.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby had an idea, something that would solve his problem, at least in the short term.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I chose to manufacture a fake one on my computer. And so I just took a transcript that, you know, I knew what it looked like, and I typed up a new one and printed it out, and I gave myself, like, B's and C's. I knew what would be red flags and what wouldn't.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby had developed the ability to lie seamlessly as a kid, so he had no problem faking his college transcript.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I took it home, and I remember he was like, well, that's good. You're doing good.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The ruse didn't last long. Captain Gumprite eventually figured out the transcript was a work of fiction, and he wasn't happy.

[Bobby Gumpright]

And then my dad was like, I'm not going to continue paying for this. So ended up getting an option to either go into the military or get a job. And so I went into the Coast Guard and got sent to Michigan.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby was assigned to work on a ship called the Eagle. It was one of those ships used for training future officers. But he was still immature and unfocused. He didn't take his military career seriously. Mostly he chased girls and went to parties. He was trying to recreate the fun he had in college. But the Coast Guard wasn't putting up with it, so they invited Bobby to leave.

[Bobby Gumpright]

My discharge status was unsuitability was what they called means that I was unable to adapt to the military way of living is the exact definition. So now I've dropped out of college and left the military. Just turned 18.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

With no other options left, Bobby moved back in with his parents in New Orleans. And his dad told him, first thing.

[Bobby Gumpright]

You'Re gonna do is go get a job. So I went and got a job at Applebee's waiting tables, and I excelled.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

It's funny. He had tried college and the military, but it took working in a chain restaurant for Bobby to find his sweet spot. He had a gift for hospitality.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I love talking to people. I love being around people I loved like. And I was a really good server. I was just. I was on top of my game when it came to just waiting on people. That was the first time I felt like I was good at something.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

He was quick. Quickly promoted to bartender, even though he was 18, still too young to drink legally. Bobby had the gift of gab, and he had a sympathetic ear. It made him a great bartender. It was New Orleans in the late 90s. Every day was a party, especially for Bobby.

[Bobby Gumpright]

We had karaoke on the weekends, and it was like working in a bar. That's where I felt like I was accepted and life of the party, and it just felt good.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Life was looking up for Bobby. But one night around 11pm after closing up and heading home, everything changed. His trip home became the most terrifying moment of his life.

[Bobby Gumpright]

We lived on the West Bank. The west bank had a reputation for not being the safest. Sometimes I left work riding my bicycle home, and when I was coming down MacArthur Boulevard, I saw a man who stopped me and asked if I knew what time the bus stopped running. So I stopped and looked at my watch. And as I was looking at my watch, he pulled out a gun and he put it to my face.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The man shouted orders at Bobby and he followed them. He was scared to death.

[Bobby Gumpright]

He rips my chain off my neck and tells me to lie down on the ground and rifles through my bag and takes my money and tells me not to get up until he's gone. And as I heard him running away, I looked up, and when I thought it was a safe distance, I got back on my bike and rode home.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby was shaking with fear, but he was alive. He was desperate to tell his parents what had just happened. So he pedaled his bike home as quickly as he could. And normally when he got home, his parents would ask about his night at work and how much money he made. But that night.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I threw my bike on the front lawn, went into the house, they were asleep. And I woke him up and said, I just got robbed.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

His father remembers Bobby being in a frenzy.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He was in tears, he was frantic. He was very frightened, and I mean, totally lost it. We asked him what happened, and he was shaking and, I mean, we tried to calm him down, and he said he'd been robbed. So I immediately called the police.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Police showed up. I gave him a description. You know, guy about my height, black. I gave him a clothing description.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

He remembered that the perpetrator trader was wearing a dark Blue or black T shirt and a baseball cap with a white insignia on it.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I think he asked me if I ever saw him again, if I would know if it was him. And I. I think I did say yes.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The police took Bobby's statement and said they'd be in touch.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I continued working at Applebee's, continued, you know, just doing my thing.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby's dad was really unnerved by the robbery. There were nearly 6,000 violent crimes in New Orleans in 1999. His son had become a statistic. Captain Gumprite would not risk his only child again.

[Bobby Gumpright]

My dad bought me a car because he was worried about me riding my bike through that neighborhood anymore.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Weeks passed and Bobby heard nothing from the New Orleans Police Department. He figured they didn't have any leads.

[Bobby Gumpright]

And I was like, okay, nothing's ever going to come of it. And then a couple months later, I'm in the back of the restaurant and somebody comes in and says, hey, there's two New Orleans city detectives out there wanting to talk to you. So I go to this table and we sit down. They said, we're here about your report and we'd like to show you some pictures. And they pull out a piece of paper that has six pictures on it. And they said, do you recognize any of these men as the one who robbed you? I pointed at one and I said, that's him. That looks like him. It was just something that kind of stood out to me.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The man Bobby identified was Jermaine Hudson. Jermaine was 20 years old in 1999, and he was already known to police. He'd been arrested at 14 for riding in a stolen vehicle and at 16 for armed robbery during an attempted carjacking. When Bobby pointed at the photo of the man who robbed him, they said.

[Bobby Gumpright]

That'S who we thought it was. They told me that they had been trying to get him and they weren't able to. They said, we haven't had anybody that would testify. Would you be willing to testify? I'm kind of excited. I was being asked to do something important.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Something important. And doing something important made Bobby feel special. At just 18, he already felt like a failure. He had the feeling he disappointed people and he hadn't accomplished much. So helping the police offered him a chance to flip the script and hold the man who robbed him, a career criminal, accountable.

[Bobby Gumpright]

You know, college dropout, military dropout, living in my parents house. My life was not very good at that time. And I just, I saw maybe a glimpse of, hey, I can be somebody.

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

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[Advertiser/Promoter]

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[Narrator/Advertiser]

It's called Melissa and it's absurd in the best way.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

It stars Melissa McCarthy, TV doctor Nicholas.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

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[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

18 year old bartender Bobby Gumprite was the victim of an armed robbery on the evening of March 1, 1990. Nine weeks later, the New Orleans Police Department assembled six photographs of men with prior convictions that fit Bobby's description of the perpetrator. Bobby studied the photos and recognized one as the man who had held the gun to his head demanding money. It was 20 year old Jermaine Hudson. Jermaine was a knockaround guy who grew up in the Fisher Projects, a housing project on the Mississippi River. Fisher Projects was notorious for violence, drug dealing and police brutality towards the residents. Jermaine had been in trouble before as a teenager and served time in prison. The trial was set for March 22, 2000. Bobby would be the star witness.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I remember going over the questions with the prosecutor, being told when to give detail and when not to give detail.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Bobby, now 19, was really nervous. It was the first time he would see the man who robbed him again.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I was very, very emotional. I just wanted to do what they wanted me to do there and just get out of there.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

So the trial took place over 25 years ago in the year 2000. The trial wasn't recorded, but my team got access to the transcripts from the proceedings. So we hired voice actors to read excerpts of what happened in the courtroom. I'm going to ask you to listen carefully because what happens in this courtroom is going to come back later. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Aaron Greenstone. He calls Bobby by his legal name. Name, Robert. It was time for the star witness to take the stand.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Robert, are you nervous right now?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Why are you nervous?

[Podcast Host]

Why?

[Bobby Gumpright]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Because I'm in the same room with the person that held a gun to me.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Okay, now thanks for bringing that up. I'm going to take you back to.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

March 1st of 1999. Where were you working?

[Podcast Host]

Applebee's.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

How did you get to and from.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Work on March 1?

[Podcast Host]

I was riding a bike at the time.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

And did you have cash on You?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And was it normal for you to have cash being a bartender every night?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Greenstone asked Bobby about being stopped on the street by the accused.

[Podcast Host]

He asked what time, if I knew what time the bus stopped running.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

When you say he, do you see.

[Bobby Gumpright]

The person who asked you for the time?

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Right now?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Where is he?

[Podcast Host]

Sitting at the table over there.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The defendant, Bobby, testified that what began as a friendly exchange took a sudden and very frightening turn. He said that Jermaine threatened his life.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Life.

[Podcast Host]

Then I proceeded to look up as he pulled a gun from behind.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

What happened then?

[Podcast Host]

He had the gun up to my face. I mean, with some profanity, he basically just told me not to look at him. And then? And then he ripped my. I had a St. Christopher medallion that I had since I was born, and he ripped it off my neck. Just popped the chain and told me to get off the bike. Then he had me lay on the ground and took my bag. And as I was laying on the ground, I heard him ruffling through it, going through all the stuff. And then as he proceeded to run down the street, I looked for a split second to see which way he was running. Once I thought he was a safe distance where I couldn't see him anymore. Then I grabbed my stuff and got home as quick as I.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Now, you said you had some money on you. How much money?

[Podcast Host]

Between 75 to $100.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And did Jermaine Hudson take the money?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir. He had me empty out all of my pockets onto the ground before I laid down.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

And when he approached you the first.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Time, you looked right in his eyes?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Is it fair to say that you got a real good look at him?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And would you characterize yourself as being.

[Bobby Gumpright]

Good with faces, good with names?

[Podcast Host]

That's my business. That's how I make money. I make money by remembering people's first names and their faces. Basically, we want to give the impression you want to be their friend. The better friend you are, the better tips you get.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Will you ever forget Jermaine Hudson's face?

[Podcast Host]

No, sir. You don't forget something like that.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And are you a hundred percent certain.

[Bobby Gumpright]

That this man right here put a.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Gun to your head and robbed you?

[Podcast Host]

110% certain.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Well, as you can hear, Bobby was a compelling witness. So compelling there seemed to be little doubt about his story. Jermaine Hudson was represented by veteran public defender Don Donnelly. When it was his turn to question Bobby, Donnelly asked him to describe what the perpetrator was wearing. Bobby listed the clothing and said the Assailant had a baseball cap pulled low over his face. Now, keep in mind what you're about to hear is the cross examination read by voice actors.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

At that point, when you see the gun, is your attention focused on the gun or on the person's face?

[Podcast Host]

Well, obviously down the barrel, yes.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Can you describe that gun for us?

[Podcast Host]

I'm not very. I'm not a very big gun person, but as close as I could say, it resembled a nine millimeter. You see, I was in the Coast Guard, and I used a 9 millimeter while I was in the Coast Guard. And that's the closest I would say it would resemble.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Since the case was based on Bobby's identification of Jermaine, the defense attorney shifted.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Now, let me ask you this. From the time you pull up to this person who asked you when the bus passes, until you're no longer looking.

[Podcast Host]

At his face, how long is this period? What are we talking about, a minute, two minutes?

[Narrator/Advertiser]

A minute or two minutes, you're focusing on his face?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

A minute and a half. You were eyeball to eyeball?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Donnelly pressed Bobby harder, specifically about the photo lineup shown to him at Applebee's.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

What did they tell you?

[Podcast Host]

They asked me to take a good look and see if I recognized any of the faces.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And you recognized one?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

How long did it take you to recognize this face?

[Podcast Host]

It took about 20. A good 20 seconds to make sure.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Did anybody in that lineup have on a baseball cap?

[Podcast Host]

No. Nobody did. Nobody did.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

So you had a little different view of the person that night and in the first photographic lineup.

[Podcast Host]

Correct.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Defense attorney Donnelly attempted to plant doubt in the jury. He suggested that someone who feared for his life would struggle to be absolutely certain about an assailant's identity in the dark.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Were you afraid at the time, Mr. Gumpright?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

And yet you say without a doubt that the person sitting right here is the person who is was pointing a gun at you that night?

[Podcast Host]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

There were no further questions. Photos of the crime scene were submitted into evidence. The state also submitted a map that showed Jermaine Hudson's home and its proximity to the crime scene just a few blocks away. Finally, each side gave their closing arguments.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Ladies and gentlemen, please retire to the jury deliberation room to commence your deliberations.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The jury returned with its verdict. It took just 37 minutes.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

The state of Louisiana versus Jermaine Hudson, criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, case number 407 888, section G. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.

[Bobby Gumpright]

As charged.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

The guilty verdict hit Jermaine's family like a ton of bricks. They immediately started crying. And on the prosecutor's side, well, it was a win. What happened next took the entire courtroom by surprise.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Mr. Hudson, you've been found guilty by a jury of the offense of armed robbery. And considering Mr. Hudson's prior criminal history, it is the sentence of this court that you serve 99 years in the Department of Corrections at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Yeah, you heard. You heard that right. Jermaine Hudson would be spending every day for the rest of his life in a prison cell. He was in disbelief.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

When I tell you, my heart dropped. I was like, no, this can't be real. I'm like, lord, this can't be real.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

There were dozens of people in the courtroom that day, but only two of them knew the truth. Jermaine Hudson and Bobby Gumpright. And the truth was that almost everything you heard from Bobby Gumpright in that courtroom was a lie. And not just in the way you think it was. Coming up on Burden of Guilt.

[Bobby Gumpright]

I was scared to death that somebody would find out the truth.

[Podcast Host]

This can't be the end of my life.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

This can't be my final destination.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying Burden of Guilt, subscribe rate and review the series with five stars.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yay.

[Narrator/Nancy Glass]

It helps other people find our show. You can reach out to the Burden of guilt [e-mail] that's burdenofgiltpodmail.com Burden of Guilt is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The series is executive produced and hosted by me, Nancy Glass. This episode was written and produced by Carrie Hartman, also produced by Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Our associate producer is Jade Abdul Malik. Our production manager is Kristin Melcuri. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krynczyk. Thank you to our voice actors, Brian Balthazar, Todd Ganz, Trae Morgan, Ben Reed and Rob Stoler. Audio editing by Dean Welsh, mixed and mastered by Anna Maclean. The Burden of Guilt theme is composed by Oliver Baines Music Library, provided by Mod Music. And we want to give our special thanks to Jermaine Hudson and Bobby Gumprite. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app or Apple Podcasts.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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We can't wait to meet you.

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[Podcast Host]

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