BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – House Bill 346 is a hot button issue being discussed at the Louisiana Legislature on Thursday.
The bill would “provide relative to post-conviction relief or parole when a verdict is rendered by a non-unanimous jury.”
Testimony was heard in the Louisiana Legislature and you can watch here.
According to the Promise of Justice Initiative, “more than 1,500 people in Louisiana are still imprisoned due to Jim Crow juries.”
House Bill 346 was filed by Representative Randal L. Gaines.
“This hearing is an important step toward restoring justice to the people still imprisoned by this racist and unconstitutional practice,” said Jamila Johnson, managing attorney for PJI’s Jim Crow Juries Project. “Louisiana voters repudiated Jim Crow juries in 2018, but more than 1,500 people remain imprisoned – separated from their families and communities – by this racist and unconstitutional practice. We don’t know what the Supreme Court will decide, but we do know this: Louisiana lawmakers have the power to address this injustice now, without waiting on Washington to dictate the solution for us. This is a chance for lawmakers to pass a common-sense Louisiana solution for a long-running injustice that’s inflicted terrible harm on families and communities.”
The Promise of Justice Initiative is reacting to the testimony at the Louisiana State Capitol.
The non-profit expects a group of community leaders, family members, survivors and attorneys to gather at a Thursday morning news conference.
The news conference can be viewed here.
