Promise of Justice Initiative Applauds State Court Decision to Vacate Non-Unanimous Jury Conviction

14th Judicial District Court in Calcasieu Parish first to declare Ramos v. Louisiana to be retroactive, vacating conviction of man convicted by Jim Crow jury

Lake Charles, La – Today the Honorable Kendrick J. Guidry vacated the conviction of David A. Nelson, a 38-year-old man who was sentenced to 30 years hard labor after being convicted of manslaughter by a Jim Crow jury. The decision is the first to correctly declare that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Ramos v. Louisiana applies to men and women with final convictions. 

The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court recently, in Edwards v. Louisiana, decided it would not require judges to grant new trials to men and women whose convictions had already become final. The Court, in that decision, left open the possibility that the states, under their own laws, might choose to grant new trials to these individuals.

“Today’s ruling is significant because it demonstrates that where the Supreme Court stepped back, state courts can step in and restore justice to people imprisoned by a practice that everyone agrees was both racist and unconstitutional,” said Hardell Ward, an attorney at Promise of Justice Initiative, the non-profit running the Jim Crow Juries Project. Mr. Ward represented Mr. Nelson in today’s hearing. 

Mr. Nelson was convicted in March 2012 by a 10-2 non-unanimous jury--known as a Jim Crow jury for its discriminatory roots and application--after just 1 hour and 40 minutes of deliberation. Mr. Nelson, a father of two, has maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration. While the 14th Judicial District Court has ruled his conviction must be vacated, Mr. Nelson will remain incarcerated as the district attorney for the 14th Judicial District asks the appellate courts to review the decision.

Mr. Nelson, who is White, is representative of nearly 20 percent of the more than 1,500 men and women in Louisiana with non-unanimous jury convictions. 

“While 80 percent of the men and women in Louisiana’s prisons with these convictions are Black, this Jim Crow practice has injured all Louisianans,” said Mr. Ward.  “This is an important step towards dismantling a structural error in our court system originating from the dawn of Jim Crow. Now the work continues – case by case – to eradicate this relic of Jim Crow and restore justice to all those who remain imprisoned by non-unanimous jury verdicts.”

The Jim Crow Juries Project is made up of attorneys and advocates at PJI and more than 700 volunteer lawyers from Seattle to Singapore. Pro Bono attorneys from Dorsey & Whitney LLP worked with PJI attorneys in representing Mr. Nelson. 

“We are pleased that the court granted Mr. Nelson’s post-conviction relief application, which we understand to be the first application granted as part of the Jim Crow Juries project and that we hope will open the door to more opportunities to provide relief to those convicted by this unjust practice,” said Dorsey Co-Pro Bono Partner Alissa Smith. “It is important for the legal industry to come together and dig deeper in addressing systemic racism, so Dorsey, in partnership with UnitedHealth Group and CHS volunteers, was eager to be part of the PJI project to address non-unanimous jury laws in Louisiana.”

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