John Legend is urging the state of Louisiana to change its constitution in regards to a “120-year-old measure” which he says “suppresses the rights of African Americans.”
The 39-year-old singer is a huge advocate for criminal justice reform and his latest focus is on the Louisiana constitution and its continued acceptance of non-unanimous jury decisions.
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“It’s time for Louisiana to strip white supremacy from its constitution,” Legend writes in an opinion piece for the Washington Post.
The Grammy winner, who visited Baton Rouge last year to support reforms to reduce the incarceration rate in Louisiana, is now hoping people will support the move to get rid of non-unanimous decisions by juries.
“Louisiana is one of only two states – the other is Oregon – in which a person can be convicted of a felony and sent to prison without a unanimous vote of the jury,” Legend explains. “As a result, Louisiana prosecutors do not truly have the burden of proving their case ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ They only need to persuade 10 of 12 jurors to send a defendant to prison, even for life.”
The “All of Me” hitmaker says the result of this is “a state justice system in which felony trials are held without the full participation of African Americans.”
“Here’s why: During Louisiana’s all-white constitutional convention in 1898, delegates passed a series of measures specifically designed to ‘perpetuate the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race in Louisiana,'” he continues.
“Non-unanimous juries were one of those measures, and the intent was clear: If the federal Constitution required that African Americans be allowed to serve on juries, the state constitution would make sure that minority votes could be discounted.”
In November, voters in Louisiana will be asked if they want to remove the non-unanimous jury decision clause from the state’s constitution.
“It’s time to come together, reject prejudice in all its forms and build a future in which everyone is valued and supported,” Legend states.
