The mistaken identity of a PhD student in Philadelphia has resulted in her spending nearly one week in jail for a crime she did not commit.
“When you know that you didn’t do anything wrong, it makes you feel crazy,” Julie Hudson, 31, told NBC10 shortly after she was released.
The saga began when someone was spotted shoplifting at a sports store in Webster, Texas, according to reports. Police in the area would identify Hudson as the suspect.
A screenshot of surveillance footage captured an image of a woman who looked similar to Hudson. Ironically, the real suspect shares the same first and last name with the wrongfully accused.
After being denied several jobs she later discovered that she had a criminal record. She visited a local Philadelphia police station to find out why only to be arrested and placed in custody.
“Everybody is sure that you did something, that you’re [a] criminal, but you know that that’s not who you are,” Hudson said.
Outraged, her family reached out to law enforcement in both Texas and Pennsylvania pleading with her to be released. It wasn’t until they contacted the media that authorities began to investigate the matter more closely.
“If it had not been for the media and the press, nobody would have taken the time to do what they did today,” Hudson’s sister, Charon Hudson, said.
On Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas filed a motion to dismiss the charges against the student, citing insufficient evidence.
“We accept charges based on the sworn evidence presented to us by law enforcement,” a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office wrote in a statement. “Tuesday, Webster Police notified the court of the error. We dismissed the case within five minutes and immediately contacted Philadelphia Police to release our hold on Ms. Hudson.”
While Hudson is glad to be free again, she is demanding answers.
“I want to find out what happened,” she said. “I want to find out how this happened and I want it to not happen to anyone else ever again.”
Authorities released the following statement after her release:
“Julie Hudson is a Philadelphia resident who has no criminal record and is pursuing a Ph.D. What happened to her should not have happened, and her family deserves a great deal of credit for successfully advocating for her freedom with the media in Houston and in Philadelphia. I am also thankful for the quick action of our Charging Unit, led by Supervising ADA Amanda Hedrick; city Managing Director Tumar Alexander; the First Judicial District; Northwest Detectives; and Department of Prisons for effectuating Ms. Hudson’s release within a matter of hours. I am proud to lead a prosecutor’s office that works closely with law enforcement and the judiciary to ensure a rigorous process of approving arrest and search warrants.”
The family is considering taking legal action.
