Original Article: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/04/663522243/jim-crow-s-last-stand-in-louisiana-may-fall-to-ballot-measure
Many would probably be surprised to learn that in Lousiana, there is a split-jury rule that says that 10/12 jurors can sentence someone to life in prison without parole. Norris Harrison, a man who was proclaimed guilty for 2nd degree murder by only 10 of 12 jurors and spent 27 years in prison until a judge released him, calls this law “Jim Crow’s last stand.” The only other state that does not always require a unanimous jury is Oregon, and even there, murder trials do require one. A lot of people have come out in support of repealing this law in the election on Tuesday. This is a measure that has united Democrats and Republicans which is a rare thing to see.
I don’t even have to make a comparison to the past with this law because it was literally written in 1898 at Louisiana’s constitutional convention. A quote taken from that convention over a hundred years ago says that these laws were made “to maintain the supremacy of the white race.” White supremacy is a social system that was created with the race lie to justify slavery, and it is sad but unsurprising that vestiges of it are easy to pick out in our laws today. I think the amendment to the Louisiana constitution that would get rid of the Jim Crow split jury law is a promising outcome of the upcoming elections.
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