NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A new report by criminal justice advocates says more than 1,500 current Louisiana inmates were convicted by nonunanimous juries. That includes 900 serving life sentences without parole eligibility.
The report was released by the New Orleans-based Promise of Justice Initiative. It comes ahead of a Dec. 2 hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court that could determine whether longstanding split-jury verdicts should be retroactively thrown out.
The high court has barred nonunanimous verdicts in future cases and those still on appeal.