Louisiana House acts after Senate fails on Jim Crow reform

BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The Louisiana House may offer a measure of relief to citizens convicted by non-unanimous juries after the Senate failed to do so.

Non-unanimous convictions, known as Jim Crow laws, were adopted in an 1898 constitutional convention as a direct response to black citizens gaining rights. Before, prosecutors could depend on all white juries to convict black citizens, this allowed them to still convict black citizens even with members of the jury voting not guilty.

Non-unanimous convictions remained Louisiana law until 2018 and in 2020 the Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional as a violation of the sixth amendment.

In May a Senate bill meant to give citizens jailed by non-unanimous juries the right to seek new trials failed along party lines. Republican lawmakers were concerned with overburdening courts with additional trials and the possibility of witnesses being dead or evidence being lost.

Supporters countered that leaving someone wrongly convicted in jail to avoid raising the workload of the courts is inhuman. They also pointed out district attorneys would ultimately decide whether to hold new trials and that transcripts of testimony from old trials are already used in cases.

While House Resolution 243 does not take immediate action, it does set in motion studies to examine the impact establishing and operating a sentencing review panel. The resolution passed through the House Appropriations Committee and now goes to the full House for a vote.