A split jury and a lie sent him to prison. Now he’s working to change Louisiana’s law

As 18-year-old Bobby Gumpright rode his bike home from his bartending job in New Orleans in 1999, he began to concoct a story about why he didn't have any money. In the throes of addiction and not wanting to admit he had spent his paycheck on drugs, Gumpright lied to his father and said a Black man had robbed him at gunpoint. The fabrication spun out of control when a detective, armed with photos of potential suspects, asked Gumpright to point to the culprit.