ANDERSON — A man who admitted to kidnapping an Anderson attorney at knifepoint faces up to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced Monday.

Richard L. Hudson, 52, Anderson, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in December to kidnapping and armed robbery for abducting attorney Thomas E. Hamer in July. Hudson faces 20 to 50 years in prison when Madison Superior Court 1 Judge Dennis Carroll sentences him.

Deputy Prosecutor Rudolph Pyle III declined to say how much time he thinks Hudson should serve in prison, but said Hamer is expected to testify during at the hearing.

“(Hudson) needs to receive a severe punishment from the court for what he did,” Pyle said. “Anyone who takes advantage of the legal community for his benefit and uses violence is going to meet a severe sanction.”

Hudson’s public defender, Anderson attorney Thomas Godfrey, declined comment.

In a plea agreement, a felony charge of resisting police and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving will be dismissed. Hudson’s guilty but mentally ill plea means he’ll receive mental health treatment while behind bars. His exact mental illness has not been released.

According to court documents:

Hudson kidnapped Hamer, Anderson, on July 7, while the two were returning to Madison County after a civil court hearing in Indianapolis.

Hudson was previously being held at the jail on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge; police allege he beat his live-in girlfriend in June. His attorney received permission from Anderson City Court officials to transport Hudson to Indianapolis for the July Social Security disability hearing.

When the two returned to Anderson and neared the jail, Hudson quickly got out of Hamer’s SUV, climbed into the rear and held a knife to the lawyer’s throat. They drove to an Anderson cemetery, where Hudson tied up Hamer. Hudson then drove to the Rangeline Nature Preserve and released the lawyer. Hamer was able to free himself and get help. He suffered only minor injuries in the attack.

Prosecutors also charged Hudson with resisting and reckless driving for leading police on a high-speed chase through Anderson after stealing a pickup in Chesterfield on July 12, shortly after midnight.

He was apprehended not long afterward. However, before Anderson officers could take Hudson into custody near the intersection of Scatterfield Road and East 32nd Street, he slashed his throat several times with a box cutter.

Hamer said he is withholding public comment about the incident until after the hearing.

Contact reporter Shawn McGrath at 640-4883 and shawn.mcgrath@heraldbulletin.com.