Non-Unanimous “Jim Crow” Jury Conviction Bill Passes Out of Senate Committee

Senate Bill 218 moves forward to full Senate consideration following strong advocacy efforts

Today, a Louisiana state senate committee voted to advance Sen. Royce Duplessis’ bill (SB218) to provide a new remedy to people incarcerated with unconstitutional non-unanimous jury verdicts. The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) and other advocates worked with families and loved ones of people incarcerated with non-unanimous jury convictions as well as individuals who were exonerated following such convictions to advocate for the legislation.

“Today, this Senate committee accepted their responsibility to right this wrong and move our state toward long-awaited justice for those convicted by Jim Crow juries,” said Hardell Ward, PJI’s Director of Community Impact and former lead attorney for the Non-Unanimous Jury project at PJI. “Louisiana is the only state where hundreds of people with non-unanimous jury convictions are still incarcerated in prisons. We thank Senator Duplessis for his leadership on this issue, and we will continue to stand with the hundreds of individuals and their families impacted by these illegal jury verdicts as this bill moves through the legislative process.”

Sen. Duplessis’ bill would add a non-unanimous jury verdict to an existing list of grounds upon which an incarcerated person can file for post-conviction relief to receive the opportunity for a new trial. The bill advanced on a 5-1 vote including three Democrats and two Republicans voting in favor.

“While justice has been delayed for too long, we are very glad to see these Senators take a stand against the ongoing stain of Jim Crow juries on our state’s legal system,” said Samantha Kennedy, PJI Executive Director. “Louisiana’s loophole to trap people without constitutional convictions in prison is unconscionable, and the U.S. Supreme Court made in clear in Ramos that juries must agree on a person’s guilt to take their freedom away. The historical record is clear in showing the original racist intent of the non-unanimous jury as a tool of Jim Crow oppression of Black people in Louisiana. Louisiana lawmakers now have an opportunity to finally address this history and to recognize the right of every Louisianan to a fair process in the criminal legal system.”

In 2018, advocates and supporters organized the “Yes on 2” campaign which resulted in a successful state constitutional amendment outlawing non-unanimous jury convictions in Louisiana going forward. In 2019, the Promise of Justice Initiative took the case Ramos v. Louisiana to the United States Supreme Court which ruled that non-unanimous jury verdicts violate the Sixth Amendment. However, the Louisiana Supreme Court subsequently refused to apply the Ramos decision for past convictions, initially denying about 1,500 people legal relief.

Non-unanimous juries are called “Jim Crow Juries” because they originated as laws intended to subjugate Black Louisianans during the Jim Crow era following Reconstruction. Learn more about Jim Crow Juries at www.promiseofjustice.org/jimcrowjuries