Hernandez Govan walked free after a jury found him not guilty in the Young Dolph murder trial, with the jury foreman later saying the case should have never reached a courtroom.
The panel reached its decision after just three hours of deliberation, concluding that prosecutors failed to meet the legal standard of proof.
The foreman, speaking to WREG, pointed to the prosecution’s reliance on Cornelius Smith—a co-defendant-turned-witness—and his girlfriend, Angela, both of whom the jury found to be unreliable.
“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove in court. Statement after statement, he was rebutted by his own statements. So if this is the prosecution’s star witness, that case should have never went to trial,” the jury foreman said.
Govan had faced charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy in connection with the November 2021 killing of the Memphis rapper outside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies.
Prosecutors alleged Govan helped coordinate the shooting, acting as a middleman between the suspected mastermind and the shooters.
Smith testified that Govan recruited him and Justin Johnson to carry out the hit, allegedly offering $100,000. However, the defense attacked Smith’s credibility, arguing he was trying to reduce his own sentence and noting inconsistencies in his testimony.
Phone records showed contact between Govan, Smith, Johnson and Big Jook, who prosecutors said was tied to a feud between Young Dolph’s Paper Route Empire and Yo Gotti’s CMG.
But the jury wasn’t convinced the digital trail proved Govan’s involvement in planning the murder.
“It is not what was there, but what wasn’t there,” the foreman added, explaining that the lack of hard evidence ultimately led to Govan’s acquittal.
Despite the emotional weight of the case, the jury focused strictly on the legal threshold.
“You have to understand, I don’t think anybody—but I will just go with myself—felt great about the verdict,” the foreman said. “There were tears afterwards. Even the judge said, ‘This is a big thing.'”
Govan hugged his attorney and thanked the judge before walking out a free man on August 21, 2025.