https://www.yahoo.com/news/historic-acquittal-louisiana-fuels-fight-064526666.html
Historic acquittal in Louisiana fuels fight to review 'Jim Crow' verdicts
Nonunanimous Juries Louisiana
FILE - Attorneys and criminal justice advocates stand outside Louisiana's Supreme Court on May 10, 2022, after arguing that people convicted by nonunanimous juries should be granted new trials. Nonunanimous verdicts are no longer legal but state and federal courts have refused to make that policy retroactive in Louisiana, so advocates have turned to the state Legislature
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Evangelisto Ramos walked out of a New Orleans courthouse and away from a life sentence accompanying a 10-2 jury conviction, thanks in large part to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision bearing his name.
Ramos v. Louisiana outlawed nonunanimous jury convictions as unconstitutional, with justices on the 6-3 majority acknowledging the practice as a vestige of racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws enforcing racial segregation.
The 2020 ruling meant a new trial for Ramos, who was acquitted in March — this time by a unanimous jury — after defense lawyers highlighted weakness in the investigation leading to his prosecution.
But prospects for freedom remain murky for hundreds of people convicted on 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes whose appeals were exhausted before the Ramos case was decided. The advocacy group Promise of Justice Initiative estimates there are more than 1,500 such people locked up in Louisiana.
In Oregon, the only other state that allowed nonunanimous verdicts for convictions before the Ramos case, the state Supreme Court granted new trials. But the U.S. Supreme Court and the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively.
Louisiana advocates also have turned to the Legislature in recent years. But the latest potential remedy stalled in the House and appears dead after representatives voted 50-38 against the measure Thursday. It is unlikely supporters can revive the bill with two weeks left in the legislative session.
Historic acquittal in Louisiana fuels fight to review 'Jim Crow' verdicts
Nonunanimous Juries Louisiana
FILE - Attorneys and criminal justice advocates stand outside Louisiana's Supreme Court on May 10, 2022, after arguing that people convicted by nonunanimous juries should be granted new trials. Nonunanimous verdicts are no longer legal but state and federal courts have refused to make that policy retroactive in Louisiana, so advocates have turned to the state Legislature
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Evangelisto Ramos walked out of a New Orleans courthouse and away from a life sentence accompanying a 10-2 jury conviction, thanks in large part to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision bearing his name.
Ramos v. Louisiana outlawed nonunanimous jury convictions as unconstitutional, with justices on the 6-3 majority acknowledging the practice as a vestige of racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws enforcing racial segregation.
The 2020 ruling meant a new trial for Ramos, who was acquitted in March — this time by a unanimous jury — after defense lawyers highlighted weakness in the investigation leading to his prosecution.
But prospects for freedom remain murky for hundreds of people convicted on 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes whose appeals were exhausted before the Ramos case was decided. The advocacy group Promise of Justice Initiative estimates there are more than 1,500 such people locked up in Louisiana.
In Oregon, the only other state that allowed nonunanimous verdicts for convictions before the Ramos case, the state Supreme Court granted new trials. But the U.S. Supreme Court and the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively.
Louisiana advocates also have turned to the Legislature in recent years. But the latest potential remedy stalled in the House and appears dead after representatives voted 50-38 against the measure Thursday. It is unlikely supporters can revive the bill with two weeks left in the legislative session.
