PJI Client Brandon Jackson granted parole after serving 25 years in prison as a result of a non-unanimous jury conviction
Brandon Jackson after reuniting with his mother Mollie Peoples. Photo courtesy of Henrietta Wildsmith via the Shreveport Times.
PJI client Brandon Jackson walked free on February 11 after spending 25 years in prison. All 3 parole board members present at Mr. Jackson’s parole hearing voted to grant him parole. Mr. Jackson was originally convicted by a non-unanimous, Jim Crow jury, in 1997. The Jim Crow jury allowed Mr. Jackson to be convicted of a crime even though 2 jurors, both Black, voted not guilty. Mr. Jackson has maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration.
Mr. Jackson’s conviction was based almost exclusively on witness testimony which changed several times, and led to the witness receiving a lighter sentence in exchange for testifying against Mr. Jackson. Mr. Jackson was initially sentenced to life in prison under Louisiana’s extraordinarily harsh habitual offender law. His sentence was later reduced to 40 years.
“Brandon has spent more than half of his life incarcerated because of an unconstitutional, Jim Crow jury verdict,” said PJI staff attorney, Claude-Michael Comeau who represented Mr. Jackson at the parole board. “We’re very happy that his relentless optimism in the face of such adversity has resulted in this victory today, and a much deserved reunion with his mother, who has been missing her son for too long.”
Mr. Jackson was the subject of an Al Jazeera Fault Lines investigation into his case and the legacy of Jim Crow jury convictions across the state.
Non-unanimous “Jim Crow” juries were born out of the Jim Crow era, and were created to silence the voices of Black jurors and “establish the supremacy of the white race” according to the 1898 constitutional convention. Non-unanimous juries were legal in Louisiana until 2018 when an overwhelming majority of Louisianans voted to ban the practice. In 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous juries are unconstitutional.
However, the law was not applied retroactively, leaving more than 1,000 people incarcerated as a result of unconstitutional Jim Crow jury verdicts. 80% of them are Black. House Bill 271 was recently filed in the Louisiana Legislature to provide legal remedy to everyone who remains incarcerated as a result of a Jim Crow jury verdict.
Mr. Jackson was welcomed home by his mother, Mollie Peoples, and lives with her in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Brandon Jackson with his mother Mollie Peoples and friend Roslyn Lancaster. Photo courtesy of Henrietta Wildsmith via the Shreveport Times.
Coverage on Brandon Jackson’s release:
Brandon Jackson wants to help others convicted by split juries – NPR
Louisiana ‘Jim Crow jury’ prisoner Brandon Jackson granted parole – Al-Jazeera
Louisiana man sentenced to life in 1997 by Jim Crow jury practice granted parole – Shreveport Times
A Conversation on Jim Crow juries – Al Jazeera via TweetDeck