State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Louisiana takes aim at Jim Crow-era jury law

Associated Press: Louisiana is one of only two states in the country allowing a non-unanimous jury to convict a defendant of a felony, and a Louisiana lawmaker says it is time for the practice to end.

Sen. J.P. Morrell says the unusual rule is a remnant of the Jim Crow era, stemming from a constitutional convention in 1898 and longstanding efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. And he wants a change.

“This is something that is wholly unnecessary that was born of this fusion of racism and disenfranchisement,” he said. “It’s a self-defeating, illogical position to have two jurors say ‘we don’t think he did it,’ then prosecutors to say we met our reasonable doubt standard.”

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