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Fault Lines

Feb 9 • 9 tweets • 6 min read

@YoungRJeremy

🧵Hi there, I’m @YoungRJeremy, a Senior Producer with Fault Lines at @AJEnglish. I want to share an update with you about a story we started working on in 2020 and one man's chance to walk free this week after 25 years behind bars. Thread:

@TheLensNOLA

In partnership with @TheLensNOLA, we spent more than nine months investigating the case of Brandon Jackson, who was convicted by a non-unanimous jury in 1997. This Friday February 11th he has a shot at parole after spending half of his life in prison.

@64parishes

Non-unanimous jury convictions were codified into law in 1898. The goal was to nullify the voices of Black jurors and convict Black defendants so they could take part in convict leasing programs. More on that from @64parishes: 64parishes.org/entry/convict-…

@nchrastil

Working with @nchrastil, @Singeli, and @ndeltoro, we found the two jurors who voted against convicting Brandon, who are Black. Nearly 100 years after the law was first passed, it worked exactly as designed. The voices of Black jurors were muted and a Black man was convicted.

@ACLUofLouisiana

The prosecutor seized on three prior non-violent drug convictions in order to sentence Brandon to life in prison. It’s called the habitual offender law and is similar to a three strikes and you’re out law, @ACLUofLouisiana explains: bit.ly/34Fqe5V

@shreveporttimes

Brandon has challenged his conviction based on the fact that it was non-unanimous, but judges have kicked the can down the road. This month a judge refused to rule on his challenge until the state supreme court weighs in. The latest from @shreveporttimes: bit.ly/3oyhmGy

@JusticesPromise

To be clear, non-unanimous convictions are now illegal, but state legislators won't pass a bill to go back and revisit past cases. @JusticesPromise estimates more than 1,500 people are in prison today on a non-unanimous conviction. More on their work:

https://twitter.com/AJFaultLines/status/1458090719957209091?s=20&t=YXRiZxyUhPsCen0mkkKo0w

@conradjwilson

The only other state with the same conundrum is #Oregon. Their law has its roots in another type of racism: anti-Semitism toward Eastern European immigrants. @conradjwilson has an excellent recent story for @OPB on the challenges facing legislators there: bit.ly/3uEzkL9

@AJFaultLines

Continue to follow us @AJFaultLines and @TheLensNOLA for the latest updates on Brandon’s effort to walk free and reunite with his mom Mollie Peoples, who’s trying to stay alive long enough to have a cup of coffee with her son. ☕

Photo by @nchrastil.

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