48 states require juries to reach a unanimous verdict in felony trial, but Louisiana does not.
We in Louisiana pride ourselves on being different. But sometimes being different is not such a good thing.
Case in point: only Louisiana and Oregon allow juries to convict people with less than a unanimous verdict. We require only 10 of 12 jurors in felony trials.
A year-long investigation by The Advocate found, conclusively, that Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury law disproportionately punishes black defendants. The law itself, first enshrined in our constitution in 1898, was adopted specifically to make it easier to convict black defendants.
The Louisiana Senate has already approved a proposed constitutional amendment to require unanimous verdicts in felony trials. The House should do likewise, and voters should approve the change.
Because this is one way that Louisiana should not be different.