Thread by @ScottHech

THREAD: On how a law passed by the KKK 80+ years ago to maintain white supremacy keeps disproportionately Black people locked up in Oregon. How a jailhouse lawyer got the case to the Supreme Court. And how to topple this monument to racism. Read on & watch:

Most think of the KKK in terms of physical violence. Lynchings. Intimidation. But they also used legal & legislative process to pass laws exacting legal violence. In Louisiana & Oregon they pushed laws to silence Black jurors. To convict who they wanted. "Non-unanimous juries."

Every juror’s voice is supposed to matter. In every other state in the country *every juror* has to vote that prosecution proved guilt beyond a reasonable donut. Oregon & Louisiana allowed up to 2 jurors to be disregarded & silenced. The jury could and did convict without them.

In Louisiana in 1898, the KKK pushed non-unanimous juries to “establish the supremacy of the white race" & “ensure African-American juror service would be meaningless.” In 1934, Oregon joined them. At the time of the law’s passage there were *34,000+ active KKK members in Oregon.

Impact: Black people are already less likely to be selected to be on a jury. More likely to be accused of crime. Non-unanimous juries led to disproportionate convictions. *They would have never been convicted & sent to prison anywhere else in the country.* The KKK got their way.

The impact of non-unanimous Jim Crow juries wasn't only felt by those locked up because of them. Non-white jurors were demoralized. Shut down. Attacked by their "peers." Shut up. Silenced. "I kept trying to point out there wasn't enough evidence. But instead I got attacked."

Enter Calvin Duncan. The one who would change everything. He grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then moved to Portland, Oregon as a young man seeking solace & safety from the environment he group up in. But was soon after brought back to New Orleans. Falsely accused of murder.

Calvin knew he was innocent. Everyone told him he was going to be put to death. He asked folks what he could do to help himself. "Calvin, you've got to learn the law." And boy, did Calvin learn the law. Didn't help him unfortunately. Convicted. Sent to Angola prison for life.

While imprisoned on Angola Calvin stuck to the law. He became a jailhouse lawyer, paid 20 cents/hr to help other men with legal cases. His first motion was “A motion for a law book.” He had been forced to rely on newspaper clippings for his research. Calvin won his first motion.

Once Calvin got real law books, he dove even deeper into the practice of law on the inside. And while representing other men incarcerated, he first discovered the issue of non-unanimous juries. He filed petition after petition challenging them. He repeatedly lost. Didn't give up.

Calvin lost motions for a new trial based on racist non-unanimous jury verdicts for literal decades imprisoned. After *28.5 years* wrongfully imprisoned, Calvin was finally released in 2011.

What he did: Moved back to Oregon. Began as a paralegal. And got right back to work.

Calvin joined forces with attorney Ben Cohen. "If you find the cases, we'll take them all the way to the Supreme Court." Calvin worked with jailhouse lawyers in Louisiana & Oregon to find cases. Filed petitions 22 times over course of 7 years. Denied everytime. He kept fighting.

Calvin: “Every time we got denied, we brought another case."

Asked Ben Cohen if he was still up for it.

Ben: "Calvin, if you're not tired, I'm not tired."

Calvin: "I'm not ever going to get tired. Because no law should be on the books to preserve white supremacy."

Finally, on Calvin's 23rd attempt, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Ramos v. Louisiana. Calvin was there to watch it. And in oral argument, the majority of the Justices were appalled. Even Justice Kavanaugh acknowledged non-unanimous juries were "rooted in racism."

Justice Sotomayor: Hamilton himself said, the right to a unanimous jury is so self-evident we don't need to include it [explicitly in the language of the U.S. Constitution."

And Justice Ginsburg (😭😭😭): "The words 'jury trial' themselves mean unanimous verdict."

IT HAPPENED. In April 2020, the Supreme Court finally acknowledged what was long obvious: This racist law was unconstitutional. "I was happy for my friends & the people I left in prison. The reason for them being in for all those years, our Supreme Court has said it was wrong.”

Ramos v. Louisiana was a great win. But it only applies to future cases. But what about all those convicted in the past?

Right now, they're out of luck. Hundreds still in prison in Oregon. Thousands since released are burdened by their unconstitutional conviction. Why on earth?

Oregon can fix this. There's no reason why people should still be oppressed by a racist law the Supreme Court called unconstitutional. Oregon's Attorney General called the law "an embarrassment to our otherwise progressive state." But shes the one who can do something. Instead...

Oregon Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, is fighting to prevent people from getting a new, fair trial untainted by the racism and discrimination of non-unanimous juries. Calvin: "It's sad that a person with so much power can just let those people remain in prison."

Meet Tacuma Jackson. “I’m passionate about helping others. Selfless without looking for something in return." Convicted by a non-unanimous jury in Oregon in 2001.

Meet Nick McGuffin. Devoted father. Dedicated Chef. Convicted by a non-unanimous jury in Oregon in 2011. Since exonerated.

Meet Terrence Hayes. Father. Husband. Community Organizer. Convicted by a non-unanimous jury in Oregon in 2004. And guess who his judge was who rejected the argument then that non-unanimous jury was unconstitutional & then sentenced him to 12 years? Ellen Rosenblum.

The Attorney General of Oregon could end the persisting injustice, she has acknowledged is racist, if she simply stopped blocking people from seeking a fair trial. That's all people want. If DAs have evidence to convict with a constitutional jury, they're free to retry the case.

This week is the launch of StillinPrison.org, a campaign to topple--finally--this legal monument to racisn. And call on Oregon leaders to end the impact of the non-unanimous jury law passed nearly a century ago by the KKK. We are deeply hopeful Oregon will do right.

What you can do: 1. Please watch & share this video, featuring Calvin Duncan, the former jailhouse lawyer & law student, who got the Supreme Court to strike down non-unanimous juries & say they're racist.

What you can do: 2. Visit the website, learn more, and click here to sign up for updates: stillinprison.org/sign-up

What you can do: 3. If you or someone you know have been the victim of a non-unanimous jury, please reach out with this form here. One sad fact is that so many people in Oregon don't have any idea that they were convicted in this way or may have relief: stillinprison.org/share

For now, an epilogue: In addition to continuing to fight for justice, Calvin is now in his first year of law school at Lewis & Clark. Frankly, he should be teaching everyone else the law. But he's enjoying it. "I'm 57 years old. It's a dream come true." Calvin walking to class!

Shout out to Michael Kleiman (@MichaelKleiman) of @MediaTankFilm and Abby Goldberg (@DigiAbby) of @VariantStrateg1 for directing & producing the powerful film. And of course to my friend, Calvin, for revisiting the pain of his journey to share his story & advocate for justice.

Oh and if you've made it this far down, please follow the new account: @stillinprison!