Meet Terrence Hayes. Father. Community leader. Caged 12 years bc of a *law passed by the KKK* in Oregon. The Supreme Court struck the law down. But Oregon's AG still blocking retrials. And get this: she was his trial judge. “I watched my kids grow up from behind bars.” Thread: 
The jury that convicted Terrence didn't all agree. 2 jurors thought he was innocent. “A jury of my peers is supposed to come from different backgrounds, different understandings. Those 2 jurors who clearly saw a different story—their voices were silenced.”portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/…
Up to 2020, Oregon was the only state that allowed non-unanimous juries. "The practice was approved by Oregon voters in 1934 following an explicitly xenophobic campaign, & a similar rule in Louisiana was enacted in the Jim Crow era to make it easier to convict Black defendants."
Yet even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled--& even Kavanaugh acknowledged--the law was "rooted in racism," Oregon's beloved "progressive" Attorney General, @EllenRosenblum, continues to fight to keep people like Terrence from getting relief. Her arguments are ludicrous & lies.
First, Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum *took Louisiana's side* in the Supreme Court case on the racist scourge of non-unanimous juries, defending them & arguing her state should be the one to decide whether or not they should persist. The Supreme Court strenuously disagreed w/ her.
Then after the Supreme Court ruled Oregon's non-unanimous jury law unconstitutional, Ellen Rosenblum seized the moment. Hailed the decision as a "good thing!" Acknowledged the law was racist. Celebrated that Oregon could move beyond the "embarrassing stain" she fought to keep.
Today, Ellen Rosenblum is blocking retrials for those convicted before Supreme Court's decision. Claims it's the court's role to decide: Not true. She has the power. Claims concern re: overwhelming courts. Oregon is able to handle 75k cases per year. This is a tiny fraction more.
Terrence: “[@EllenRosenblum] talking about overwhelming the courts. What about my life? What about the anxiety, the stress, overwhelming everyday feelings of being marked as a felon? They’re not concerned with that, but they’re concerned about the DA's having to do their jobs?”
"Terrence knows he’ll never get back the time he lost in prison. But relief could open new doors for him. Able to get more work as an electrician. Rent a home. Allowed to coach his son’s football and basketball teams. "It changes how I see myself." portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/…
TAKE ACTION: Watch & share this video on Calvin Duncan, the brilliant former jailhouse lawyer who fought for decades to get the Supreme Court to hear the case. And how @EllenRosenblum has fought change every step of the way. And follow @stillinprison.
TAKE ACTION: Visit StillinPrison.org for more information and other tools to take action.
Final word from Terrence: "It’d be nice to get a little redemption. I’m looking for my person back, and to not have to answer for a crime I was convicted of unconstitutionally.”
Final word from Terrence: "It’d be nice to get a little redemption. I’m looking for my person back, and to not have to answer for a crime I was convicted of unconstitutionally.”
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