This week’s A Pause for Thought features Southern University Law Professor Angela Allen-Bell on Louisiana’s unusual non-unanimous jury law and the upcoming November 6th vote on constitutional amendment #2 to change the law to require jury unanimity. You can listen on-demand here to host Wayne Parker and Dr. Allen-Bell discuss the history of the 10-2 jury law, its effects in Louisiana courtrooms, and the efforts to reform the law leading up to this November’s mid-term election vote.
Category: Featured
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Louisiana All-American Sports on Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury law, the Angola 3 and criminal justice reform
Louisiana All-American Sports spoke with Southern University Law Center Professor Angela Allen-Bell for the hour during their August 18th program.
Among the topics discussed in this excellent discussion, Professor Bell spoke about the November 6th constitutional amendment to change Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury law, the history of the 10-2 jury conviction law in Louisiana and its consequences for criminal justice. She also explained the case of the Angola 3, three men put into solitary confinement for decades for organizing a Black Panther chapter inside the Louisiana State Penitentiary to stop prisoner abuse.
We encourage you to listen to this episode of LAAS if you missed it originally and pass it on to others.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline direct action protests and felony arrests largely ignored by local media, but you can hear them on WHYR
On August 1st, Louisiana’s new industry-backed criminal trespassing law for ‘critical infrastructure’ came into effect. The law is intended to hyper-criminalize protests against the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, currently being constructed between Lake Charles and the Mississippi River. Earlier this summer, a state judge ruled Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC (BBP) and state government are violating state law by not providing an emergency evacuation route for residents living near the pipeline’s eastern terminus in St. James Parish.
In the past few days, opponents of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in the Atchafalaya Basin have been arrested based on this law. Three activists and a journalist were charged with felonies for blocking construction across a private property owner’s land without their consent on August 19th. You won’t hear or read much about this in Louisiana, because most Louisiana media have chosen to ignore the story. But you will hear this, and much more, when you listen to Baton Rouge Community Radio at 96.9FM or streaming online.
The audio feature below ran on Between the Lines, a syndicated news program heard on WHYR every Thursday at 5:00pm.
Bayou Bridge Pipeline Opponents Employ Direct Action to Block Construction
Indian Country Today, August 20th: “Louisiana arrests water protectors, journalists at Bayou Bridge Pipeline”
