2024 Louisiana Legislative Session Recap of PJI Issues

During the 2024 legislative session, the Louisiana Legislature, at the behest of Governor Jeff Landry and support of Attorney General Liz Murrill, passed dozens of bills that will harm people in prison and increase mass incarceration. These bills were adopted during both the February special session on crime and the regular legislative session and all were promptly signed into law by Gov. Landry. These new laws reversed many critical, bi-partisan reforms that were implemented in recent years and will have a massive impact on our criminal legal system. These measures make our system harsher and crueler while doing nothing to prevent violent crime from happening. Experts predict these laws will double Louisiana’s prison population in just six years.

This session, PJI successfully amended several bills, made efforts to block harmful bills, including the expansion of methods of executions and brought two bills: Sentencing relief for people convicted of non-unanimous juries (Jim Crow Juries) and the Justice for Survivors Act. Though neither bill passed out of committee, in an environment where bills that keep us safe and promote humanity had no chance at all, PJI successfully moved enough lawmakers to secure narrow margin of votes for both bills.  

RECAP OF OUR WORK: 

HB 6: Expanding methods of execution

PJI and allies put up a strong fight against legalizing gassing and the electric chair as methods of killing people, as well as allowing the government to kill people in secret under the new secrecy law. Until we got the bill amended, the original bill would have made it a crime to reveal where, how, or who procured or used secret poisons to kill Louisianans on death row. In the fight against gassing as a new method of killing people in Louisiana, Deanna Smith, widow of Mr. Kenneth Smith, the first person in the United States to be gassed to death, provided testimony.

These extreme measures are so controversial that lawmakers fought it out in both special and regular sessions, but ultimately the new methods passed. We gained a tremendous amount of insight into Republicans and the death penalty during these two sessions and are creating strategy for the future.

SB 383: Providing sentencing relief for people convicted by non-unanimous juries

PJI mobilized more than 300 family members from across Louisiana whose loved ones remain trapped in Louisiana prisons on unconstitutional non-unanimous jury convictions. These family members provided nearly two hours of testimony in support of the non-unanimous jury bill, Senate Bill 383, which PJI drafted and filed in partnership with the 10-2 committee and Senator Royce Duplessis. Though the bill did not pass out of committee, it came close to succeeding with a tied vote of 4-4.

PJI’s client, Jermaine Hudson, testified next to Bobby Gumpright, who falsely identified Jermaine as the perpetrator in an armed robbery that never took place, sending Jermaine to prison for life. Their joint testimony, in support of the non-unanimous jury bill, exposed how easy it was to convict a Black person of a crime under the Jim Crow Jury regime that lasted more than 100 years.

HB 631: The Justice for Survivors Act

With widespread support from victim advocates, service providers, and law enforcement, the Justice for Survivors Act (House Bill 631), came close to passing out of committee but ultimately failed with a vote of 7-6 due to opposition from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association (LDAA).  Sponsored by Rep. Denise Marcelle, the bill would have allowed judges to provide lower sentencing ranges for survivors who acted out of desperation to defend themselves against an abuser/trafficker or who were coerced into participating in a crime by an abuser/trafficker.

PJI’s coalition, Louisiana Survivors for Reform, held its fourth annual Survivors of Violence Lobby Day where coalition members convened to meet with lawmakers, share experiences, and strengthen our resolve to challenge the State to invest in resources and violence prevention strategies.  

This past legislative session, our community came together to defend Louisiana. We know from the success of past reforms that our community fought for and won that mass incarceration destroys communities and does not make our community safer. Looking to next year, to build power for the change that we need, PJI is travelling the state to develop a statewide, people-centered strategy.

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