Statement on Louisiana House Judiciary Committee’s Failure to Pass House Bill 346
NEW ORLEANS – Jamila Johnson, Managing Attorney for The Promise of Justice Initiative’s Jim Crow Juries Project, issued the following statement in response to the Louisiana House Judiciary Committee’s failure to pass House Bill 346:
“This fight is far from over. Louisiana voters spoke loud and clear in support of dismantling this relic of Jim Crow, and that mandate has not disappeared because a handful of committee members chose to put politics before the people's right to a fair trial. An overwhelming majority of Louisianans demanded our state’s criminal justice system be more fair and operate in accordance with the U.S. Constitution--our lawmakers and district attorneys remain obligated to respect the will of the voters, and finish the job of restoring justice and repairing the harm this practice inflicted.
“As Justice Bernette Johnson said in her testimony on behalf of HB 346, “It is never too late to do the right thing.” So we will continue this fight, along with the incredible family members, survivors, advocates and community leaders who work every day on behalf of the 1,500+ Louisianans unjustly convicted by Jim Crow and who are still waiting for justice.
The systemically racist practice of Jim Crow juries has shaped our past, but it must not continue to cast a shadow over our future. We look forward to continuing to work with state and local officials to restore justice and continue the process of healing from this racist practice that has devastated Louisiana families and communities for generations.”
Background on the Jim Crow Juries Project and House Bill 346:
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.
House Bill 346 would allow anyone serving time due to a Jim Crow jury conviction to file a petition for post-conviction relief over a three-year period. Once their post-conviction relief applications are resolved, prosecutors could seek new trials or offer plea deals to people imprisoned on the basis of Jim Crow jury verdicts. A three-year window for filings would allow for an orderly, manageable process of restoring justice.
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