Promise of Justice Initiative Applauds Creation of Equal Justice Task Force

Louisiana lawmakers create task force to create plan to address unconstitutional Jim Crow jury convictions

NEW ORLEANS – The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) today applauded the creation of the Equal Justice Task Force. On the final day of the state legislative session, lawmakers passed HR 197--a resolution creating the task force which will be charged with creating a plan to address the more than 1,500 Louisianans serving time in prison due to an unconstitutional non-unanimous jury conviction.

“With the creation of the Equal Justice Task Force, Louisiana can continue to root out Jim Crow in our laws and take a critical step toward restoring justice to the more than 1,500 men and women who are serving time in prison due to unconstitutional Jim Crow jury verdicts,” said Jamila Johnson, Managing Attorney for PJI’s Jim Crow Juries Project. “We look forward to serving on the task force while continuing to work with state and local officials to restore justice and continue the process of healing from a systemically racist practice that has devastated Louisiana families and communities for generations.”

Background on PJI’s Jim Crow Juries Project:

For more than 120 years, Louisiana was an outlier among states allowing people to be convicted of serious offenses without the unanimous consent of a jury. In 2018, 64% of Louisiana voters voted for Amendment 2, which ended the practice of Jim Crow juries for future trials. In April 2020, the Supreme Court in Ramos v. Louisiana ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous jury applies in Louisiana. 

Neither of these efforts addressed many people who were convicted long ago by non-unanimous verdicts, leaving more than 1,500 Louisianans imprisoned on the basis of Jim Crow jury convictions--most of whom are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. 

Working in partnership with more than 60 pro bono law firms and more than 700 lawyers across the country, PJI’s Jim Crow Juries Project is a campaign to heal the wounds inflicted by Jim Crow juries and restore the promise of justice to the more than 1,500 Louisianans who are still in prison due to non-unanimous jury convictions.

CONTACT: Laura Swinford, laura@gpsimpact.com, (314) 856-2799