Jacob Dunne was 19 years old when he threw a single punch on a night out in Nottingham which resulted in the senseless death of James Hodgkinson in 201107:56, 29 Jul 2026In 2011, a young Jacob Dunne was told that an unprovoked punch he had thrown on a night out had led to the tragic death of a 28-year-old paramedic called James Hodgkinson.‌However, rather than express sympathy for the victim after hearing this news, he has now revealed that there was only one thing on his mind. “At the time, I didn’t really have any remorse,” he admitted. “I was just thinking of myself.”‌He made the comments to former Love Islander Zara McDermott on the Truth Be Told channel — where he also revealed that a heatbreaking phone call from his mum while he was in jail transformed his perspective.‌However, before reaching that point, he continued: “And I was like, ‘How am I going to get away with this? Is this even happening to me? What the hell is going on? How am I sat in a police cell being told I’ve killed somebody?’“This can’t be happening. I need to wake up. I was banging my head against the wall, like wake up. And I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to tell my mum that I’ve killed someone? That I’m being arrested for murder? Is my life over?‌“So all of those things are running through my mind. I was just, yeah, thinking of myself. What evidence is there? Was I on CCTV? What are my friends saying? Are they going ‘no comment’ or are they stitching? I wasn’t thinking about the harm I caused. I was just thinking about how to get away with it.”Dunne did not get away with it, and he spent 14 months behind bars for manslaughter. But after getting sentenced, and even after spending one week in jail, he said the gravity of his actions had still not hit him, until one phone call from his mum changed everything.During the emotional conversation, his mum asked him: “What about that boy you’ve killed? What about their mum? I can’t imagine someone killing you.”‌Dunne grew up on a council estate in Nottingham where he became part of a postcode gang.It was called the Waterfront Gang and he recalled: “We thought we were untouchable and invincible. And that pride of my little group and our little area and how we were badder than anybody else from any other area."And then we started mixing that with alcohol and going out and getting into fights and that kind of seemed to be a way of where we would like, how we’d strengthen our bonds as friends together.”‌This way of behaving tragically led to him punching a stranger in July 2011 in Nottingham city centre.The victim eventually died from the head injury and James Hodgkinson left behind his devastated parents Joan and David.‌After serving his time, Dunne left prison and took part in a "restorative justice” where he was encouraged to do better with his life by the mum and dad of the man he killed who met him in person.They forgave him for his “stupid mistake” but asked him to make something of himself.This led to him getting a first in criminology and he is now a youth justice campaigner who set up the Common Ground Justice Project.‌There has been a play made about his redemption story called Punch which has attracted sold out shows in both London and New York on the West End and Broadway.He said his bond with Joan and David was his “most precious” relationship and he explained that they simply did not want two lives to be lost and for James’ death to be in vain.Article continues belowDunne said he now honours James by being the best version of himself, and as for his victim’s parents, he added: “They didn’t want his legacy to be me just getting into drugs and in and out of prison, and me being a complete waste of space and time.”He also wrote an autobiography called Right from Wrong: My Story of Guilt and Redemption.