Latest news with #RoyceDuplessis
Black America Web
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Black America Web
Louisiana Senate Vetoes Retrial Bill For People Convicted By Split Juries
Source: HPphoto / Getty The Louisiana Senate reaffirmed its commitment to Jim Crow-era practices this week by vetoing a bill that would've allowed incarcerated people convicted under split jury verdicts to seek a retrial. According to AP, the bill failed on a 9-26 vote that fell along party lines. The bill was authored by state Sen. Royce Duplessis (D) and would've added split jury convictions to the list of claims an incarcerated person could seek a retrial. There are an estimated 1,500 men and women currently incarcerated in Louisiana as a result of split jury convictions, 80 percent of whom are Black. 'If we choose to vote down this bill, we're saying that justice has an expiration date,' Duplessis told his colleagues during debate over the measure. 'We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.' Split jury convictions were found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2020, which acknowledged the racist origins of the practice and found it violated defendants' constitutional rights. At the time of the ruling, the only states that still allowed them were Oregon and Louisiana. For its part, Oregon's Supreme Court voted in 2022 to allow the then-400 people incarcerated through split jury convictions to seek a retrial. Conversely, the Louisiana Supreme Court voted to reject retroactively applying the Supreme Court's decision that same year. Split jury convictions were a cornerstone of Jim Crow policies and were inherently designed to uphold white supremacy. This isn't an opinion; split jury convictions were introduced in 1898 in the Louisiana State Constitution, a framework explicitly designed to 'reestablish the supremacy of the white race,' after the Civil War. Source: Kansuda Kaewwannarat / Getty Split jury convictions in particular were implemented to ensure that even if Black people were on a jury, their voices wouldn't sway the outcome of a case. This was a multilayered tactic as it allowed Black people to be convicted of felonies under questionable circumstances, which in turn would strip them of their voting rights. These verdicts were and still are used to strip Black people of both their freedom and political power. Knowing that history, it's hard not to look at the Louisiana Senate with a significant amount of side-eye. Their arguments against the measure were incredibly shallow, stating that they didn't want to overburden the courts and district attorneys. They choose not to rectify an explicitly racist, unconstitutional tactic…because of court scheduling. I would respect it more if they stopped playing in our faces and just said the quiet part out loud. Those in favor of the bill countered that it wouldn't automatically allow for a retrial; it simply would've provided a pathway for those incarcerated under split jury convictions, and that retrials would be granted under the discretion of the district attorneys. The fact that this move came as the Louisiana House of Representatives passed an anti-DEI bill that was widely viewed by the Black caucus as racist just goes to show how regressive the Louisiana state legislature is across the board. Making the veto even more egregious is the fact that a recent poll showed that the majority of Louisiana voters were in favor of the measure passing. So this clearly wasn't about doing what was in the best interest of their constituents. It was about reminding Black people how little their freedom matters to those in power. Whether it's 1898 or 2025, the playbook remains the same, and sadly, Louisiana will have to continue wearing this stain. SEE ALSO: Trump Administration Targets DEI Initiatives at Colleges California Teen Spurs Outrage With Racist Promposal SEE ALSO Louisiana Senate Vetoes Retrial Bill For People Convicted By Split Juries was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana Senate rejects bill for new trials on Jim Crow juries
BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — A segment of people in Louisiana prisons have lost their chance to appeal their cases. Proposed bill in Texas would prohibit minors from using social media. Learn tips for managing child's online activity The Louisiana Senate failed to pass Senate Bill 218, which Senator Royce Duplessis introduced and would have allowed people convicted by 'Jim Crow Juries' to receive new trials. In 1898, Louisiana adopted the split jury convictions during a constitutional convention. This allowed white majority juries to convict black people without coming to a unanimous decision. Louisiana House advances state budget in 2025 legislative session The practice of non-unanimous convictions continued in Louisiana until 2018. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the practice violated the right to an impartial jury, a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Oregon, the other state that allowed split decisions, granted new trials to hundreds of people. SB 218 would have given people in Louisiana jails the same relief. SB 218 failed on a 9-26 vote, completely 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 district attorneys would ultimately decide whether to hold new trials and that transcripts of testimony from old trials are already used in cases. DOJ dismisses investigations of civil rights violations by Louisiana State Police New Orleans Democrat Senator Royce Duplessis, who authored the bill, said, 'If we choose to vote down this bill, we're saying that justice has an expiration date. We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.' The lopsided nature of the vote, with only one month left in this year's Legislative Session, makes it unlikely that the bill will have another chance at this session despite the fact that 65% of voters surveyed supported it. For now, an estimated 1,000 men and women in Louisiana prisons, despite the jury not being unanimous, are waiting for a path out. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries the opportunity to ask for a new trial was rejected by Republican state senators on Wednesday, likely killing the measure. An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of 'Jim Crow' laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Advocates say it is past time for Louisiana to right a wrong and to give those people a chance at a fair trial. Proponents of the bill pointed to multiple examples of innocent people — since exonerated — who were wrongfully convicted by split juries and spent decades in prison. Supporters said the measure could have created a way for any other possibly innocent people behind bars who had been convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek another chance for a fair trial. The bill would have added non-unanimous verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. Proponents reiterated that the legislation would only have created the opportunity to do so and that it would not have automatically granted a retrial or release. During debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers raised concerns about overburdening courts and district attorneys with additional trials. Proponents said whether a new trial is granted is ultimately at the discretion of district attorneys. Opponents also raised concerns about the cases being decades-old with some witnesses possibly dead or evidence lost. Supporters countered that old cases are tried all the time and that transcripts of testimony from the original trials could be used. 'This is about what's right, not about what's easy or convenient,' Sen. Royce Duplessis, the New Orleans Democrat who authored the bill, said to his colleagues. Louisiana adopted the practice of split jury convictions in 1898 during a constitutional convention that was fueled by efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. Diluting the voice of Black jurors allowed the often-white majority to determine the outcome. Louisiana voters did not get rid of the practice until 2018, two years before the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 6th Amendment's guarantee of the right to an impartial jury. At the time, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states that allowed split decisions — 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes — to result in convictions. The Oregon Supreme Court granted new trials to hundreds of people. But Louisiana's Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively. 'If we choose to vote down this bill we're saying that justice has an expiration date,' Duplessis said. 'We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.' The bill failed on a vote of 9-26, along party lines. Given the overwhelming lack of support for the bill in the Senate and that there is only a month left in this year's Legislative Session, the measure currently has no viable path forward and is likely dead.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries the opportunity to ask for a new trial was rejected by Republican state senators on Wednesday, likely killing the measure. An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of 'Jim Crow' laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Advocates say it is past time for Louisiana to right a wrong and to give those people a chance at a fair trial. Proponents of the bill pointed to multiple examples of innocent people — since exonerated — who were wrongfully convicted by split juries and spent decades in prison. Supporters said the measure could have created a way for any other possibly innocent people behind bars who had been convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek another chance for a fair trial. The bill would have added non-unanimous verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. Proponents reiterated that the legislation would only have created the opportunity to do so and that it would not have automatically granted a retrial or release. During debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers raised concerns about overburdening courts and district attorneys with additional trials. Proponents said whether a new trial is granted is ultimately at the discretion of district attorneys. Opponents also raised concerns about the cases being decades-old with some witnesses possibly dead or evidence lost. Supporters countered that old cases are tried all the time and that transcripts of testimony from the original trials could be used. 'This is about what's right, not about what's easy or convenient,' Sen. Royce Duplessis, the New Orleans Democrat who authored the bill, said to his colleagues. Louisiana adopted the practice of split jury convictions in 1898 during a constitutional convention that was fueled by efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. Diluting the voice of Black jurors allowed the often-white majority to determine the outcome. Louisiana voters did not get rid of the practice until 2018, two years before the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 6th Amendment's guarantee of the right to an impartial jury. At the time, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states that allowed split decisions — 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes — to result in convictions. The Oregon Supreme Court granted new trials to hundreds of people. But Louisiana's Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively. 'If we choose to vote down this bill we're saying that justice has an expiration date,' Duplessis said. 'We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.' The bill failed on a vote of 9-26, along party lines. Given the overwhelming lack of support for the bill in the Senate and that there is only a month left in this year's Legislative Session, the measure currently has no viable path forward and is likely dead.
Hamilton Spectator
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries the opportunity to ask for a new trial was rejected by Republican state senators on Wednesday, likely killing the measure. An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of 'Jim Crow' laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Advocates say it is past time for Louisiana to right a wrong and to give those people a chance at a fair trial. Proponents of the bill pointed to multiple examples of innocent people — since exonerated — who were wrongfully convicted by split juries and spent decades in prison. Supporters said the measure could have created a way for any other possibly innocent people behind bars who had been convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek another chance for a fair trial. The bill would have added non-unanimous verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. Proponents reiterated that the legislation would only have created the opportunity to do so and that it would not have automatically granted a retrial or release. During debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers raised concerns about overburdening courts and district attorneys with additional trials. Proponents said whether a new trial is granted is ultimately at the discretion of district attorneys. Opponents also raised concerns about the cases being decades-old with some witnesses possibly dead or evidence lost. Supporters countered that old cases are tried all the time and that transcripts of testimony from the original trials could be used. 'This is about what's right, not about what's easy or convenient,' Sen. Royce Duplessis, the New Orleans Democrat who authored the bill, said to his colleagues. Louisiana adopted the practice of split jury convictions in 1898 during a constitutional convention that was fueled by efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. Diluting the voice of Black jurors allowed the often-white majority to determine the outcome. Louisiana voters did not get rid of the practice until 2018, two years before the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 6th Amendment's guarantee of the right to an impartial jury. At the time, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states that allowed split decisions — 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes — to result in convictions. The Oregon Supreme Court granted new trials to hundreds of people. But Louisiana's Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively. 'If we choose to vote down this bill we're saying that justice has an expiration date,' Duplessis said. 'We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.' The bill failed on a vote of 9-26, along party lines. Given the overwhelming lack of support for the bill in the Senate and that there is only a month left in this year's Legislative Session, the measure currently has no viable path forward and is likely dead.
