Louisiana
Louisiana Seeks to Build Upon Sun Belt-Opening Success on New Year’s Eve

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Ladies’s Basketball workforce seeks an ideal ending to the opening weekend of Solar Belt Convention play when the squad faces off with Coastal Carolina at 1:00 p.m. on New Yr’s Eve (December 31) on the Cajundome.
Louisiana (7-6, 1-0 SBC), which defeated Georgia State 54-41 within the SBC opener on Thursday, December 29 on the Cajundome, goals to seize its first 2-0 begin in SBC play because the 2015-16 season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns additionally search a three-game sweep of their present holidays homestand, having already knocked off LSU-Alexandria 81-50 again on December 19 adopted by Thursday’s win over GSU, and look to increase their dwelling courtroom profitable streak which is at present at 4 video games.
As a part of a New Yr’s Eve celebration, there can be a 2023 Blissful New Yr glasses eyewear giveaway on the entrance for followers in attendance. Admission to the sport – and all dwelling video games all through the whole season – is freed from cost for all and open to the general public. The sport can be streamed stay on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pxp) and Byron Starks (analyst) offering the commentary. Followers within the Acadiana area can take heed to name of the sport by Steve Peloquin on 103.3 FM The Goat and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Community. Dwell stats can be supplied by CajunStats.com.
The Ragin’ Cajuns maintain the true dwelling courtroom benefit in Saturday’s tilt, having opened SBC play on the Cajundome whereas Coastal needed to journey Friday (Dec. 30) from Harrisonburg, Virginia following its SBC opener on the street at James Madison.
Thursday’s Solar Belt-opening win gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a triumphant return from the Christmas break and was the primary conference-opening win because the 2019-20 season. Louisiana restricted Georgia State to its lowest level whole of the season and properly under its 44 % season capturing share (completed at 32.6 %).
Louisiana regained the providers of place to begin guard Future Rice and proceeded to have an help on 63 % (12-of-19) of its baskets vs. GSU led by Rice’s season-high six dimes. The squad additionally benefitted from the emergence of Mariah Stewart within the frontcourt as she poured in a season-high 12 factors on 6-of-10 capturing.
Lanay Wheaton continued her current pattern of offering a scoring punch as she wound up with 16 factors vs. GSU – all within the second half highlighted by her personally outscoring the Panthers 13-9 within the third quarter alone. Wheaton’s scored in double figures and led UL in scoring the final three video games, a pattern began by season-highs of 20 and 25 towards Lamar and LSUA.
The return of Rice additionally steadied the Ragin’ Cajuns turnover price with solely 10 miscues on Thursday, an enchancment following 25 turnovers vs. LSUA. It’ll be a key space once more on Saturday because the Chanticleers common simply 16.9 turnovers whereas forcing a mean of 19.0.
Tamera Johnson paces the Ragin’ Cajuns in scoring (10.3) and rebounding (7.0). The Lafayette native has generated seven double-digit scoring performances and three double-doubles. With the newest uptick in manufacturing, Wheaton (10.3) has raised her season scoring common over three full factors and tied Johnson for the team-leading common.
The Ragin’ Cajuns protection, which ranks High 20 nationally forcing 21.9 turnovers per sport, is led by Wheaton’s 27 steals with Johnson proper behind at 24 steals. Rice moved into the workforce lead in assists (20) after her season-high output on Thursday, with Wheaton intently following (19).
The Chanticleers are of their first yr underneath the route of head coach Kevin Pederson who made the transfer to the Solar Belt after a 17-year stint at Lander (S.C.) College. Just like Georgia State, one of many Solar Belt’s prime forwards paces Coastal Carolina in graduate scholar Aja Blount, a returning first workforce choice and three-time All-Solar Belt performer who’s capturing 50 % (67-of-134) and averaging 16.2 factors and eight.3 rebounds per sport.
GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (7-6, 1-0 SBC) vs. COASTAL CAROLINA (5-7, 0-1 SBC)
Date / Time: Saturday, December 31, 2022 / 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Web site: Lafayette, La.
Enviornment: Cajundome (12,362)
RADIO/TVRadio: The GOAT 103.3 FM / 1420 AMExpertise: Steve Peloquin (PxP)TV: ESPN+ [espn.com]Expertise: Dan McDonald (PxP); Byron Starks (analyst)
LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIALive Stats: CajunStats.com [statb.us]Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsWBB [twitter.com] | #GeauxCajuns
SERIES HISTORYOverall: Coastal Carolina leads, 4-2In Lafayette: Tied, 1-1Streak: Coastal Carolina +3
Final Assembly: CCU 83-74, 2/29/20 (Conway, S.C.)
Noteworthy: Assembly for the seventh (seventh) time general, nonetheless it’s the primary matchup to be performed because the COVID restrictions had been lifted following the 2020-21 season … scheduled assembly in Conway final season was canceled attributable to COVID-related protocols … the Ragin’ Cajuns and Chanticleers are assembly on the Cajundome for the primary time since February 2019 … applications break up the earlier two contests on the Cajundome … CCU carries a three-game sequence win streak into the New Yr’s Eve outing … sequence started in J. Kelley Corridor’s second season (2003-04) in Myrtle Seashore, S.C. within the Seashore Ball Basic held in December 2003 (Cajuns gained 62-56) … play resumed as soon as Coastal Carolina joined the Solar Belt Convention within the 2016-17 season … Louisiana’s lone SBC win over Coastal occurred on the Cajundome again on January 16, 2018 (W, 59-55).
LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Ladies’s Basketball workforce seeks an ideal ending to the opening weekend of Solar Belt Convention play when the squad faces off with Coastal Carolina at 1:00 p.m. on New Yr’s Eve (December 31) on the Cajundome.
Louisiana (7-6, 1-0 SBC), which defeated Georgia State 54-41 within the SBC opener on Thursday, December 29 on the Cajundome, goals to seize its first 2-0 begin in SBC play because the 2015-16 season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns additionally search a three-game sweep of their present holidays homestand, having already knocked off LSU-Alexandria 81-50 again on December 19 adopted by Thursday’s win over GSU, and look to increase their dwelling courtroom profitable streak which is at present at 4 video games.
As a part of a New Yr’s Eve celebration, there can be a 2023 Blissful New Yr glasses eyewear giveaway on the entrance for followers in attendance. Admission to the sport – and all dwelling video games all through the whole season – is freed from cost for all and open to the general public.
The sport can be streamed stay on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pxp) and Byron Starks (analyst) offering the commentary. Followers within the Acadiana area can take heed to name of the sport by Steve Peloquin on 103.3 FM The Goat and 1420 AM and worldwide on the Varsity Community. Dwell stats can be supplied by CajunStats.com.
The Ragin’ Cajuns maintain the true dwelling courtroom benefit in Saturday’s tilt, having opened SBC play on the Cajundome whereas Coastal needed to journey Friday (Dec. 30) from Harrisonburg, Virginia following its SBC opener on the street at James Madison.
Thursday’s Solar Belt-opening win gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a triumphant return from the Christmas break and was the primary conference-opening win because the 2019-20 season. Louisiana restricted Georgia State to its lowest level whole of the season and properly under its 44 % season capturing share (completed at 32.6 %).
Louisiana regained the providers of place to begin guard Future Rice and proceeded to have an help on 63 % (12-of-19) of its baskets vs. GSU led by Rice’s season-high six dimes. The squad additionally benefitted from the emergence of Mariah Stewart within the frontcourt as she poured in a season-high 12 factors on 6-of-10 capturing.
Lanay Wheaton continued her current pattern of offering a scoring punch as she wound up with 16 factors vs. GSU – all within the second half highlighted by her personally outscoring the Panthers 13-9 within the third quarter alone. Wheaton’s scored in double figures and led UL in scoring the final three video games, a pattern began by season-highs of 20 and 25 towards Lamar and LSUA.
The return of Rice additionally steadied the Ragin’ Cajuns turnover price with solely 10 miscues on Thursday, an enchancment following 25 turnovers vs. LSUA. It’ll be a key space once more on Saturday because the Chanticleers common simply 16.9 turnovers whereas forcing a mean of 19.0.
Tamera Johnson paces the Ragin’ Cajuns in scoring (10.3) and rebounding (7.0). The Lafayette native has generated seven double-digit scoring performances and three double-doubles. With the newest uptick in manufacturing, Wheaton (10.3) has raised her season scoring common over three full factors and tied Johnson for the team-leading common.
The Ragin’ Cajuns protection, which ranks High 20 nationally forcing 21.9 turnovers per sport, is led by Wheaton’s 27 steals with Johnson proper behind at 24 steals. Rice moved into the workforce lead in assists (20) after her season-high output on Thursday, with Wheaton intently following (19).
The Chanticleers are of their first yr underneath the route of head coach Kevin Pederson who made the transfer to the Solar Belt after a 17-year stint at Lander (S.C.) College. Just like Georgia State, one of many Solar Belt’s prime forwards paces Coastal Carolina in graduate scholar Aja Blount, a returning first workforce choice and three-time All-Solar Belt performer who’s capturing 50 % (67-of-134) and averaging 16.2 factors and eight.3 rebounds per sport.
GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (7-6, 1-0 SBC) vs. COASTAL CAROLINA (5-7, 0-1 SBC)
Date / Time: Saturday, December 31, 2022 / 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Web site: Lafayette, La.
Enviornment: Cajundome (12,362)
RADIO/TVRadio: The GOAT 103.3 FM / 1420 AM
Expertise: Steve Peloquin (PxP)
TV: ESPN+ [espn.com]
Expertise: Dan McDonald (PxP); Byron Starks (analyst)
LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIALive Stats: CajunStats.com [statb.us]Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsWBB [twitter.com] | #GeauxCajuns
SERIES HISTORYOverall: Coastal Carolina leads, 4-2
In Lafayette: Tied, 1-1
Streak: Coastal Carolina +3
Final Assembly: CCU 83-74, 2/29/20 (Conway, S.C.)
FIVE-PLUS THINGS TO KNOW
- Life is Grand within the Solar: Louisiana, a member because the 1991-92 season, is in its thirty second season of competitors inside the Solar Belt Convention. The Ragin’ Cajuns went 91-86 in league play by the primary 10 years within the Garry Brodhead period.
- Solar Belt Success Story: Courting again to the 2020-21 season during which Louisiana gained the common season championship, this system has gained 23 of its final 28 Solar Belt Convention video games.
- New Improvement: The Ragin’ Cajuns could have discovered a tag workforce accomplice on offense for Tamera Johnson within the publish in JUCO switch Mariah Stewart. Boosted by Stewart’s season-high of 12 factors on Thursday vs. Georgia State, the frontcourt combo totaled 22 factors.
- Going for the Trifecta: Louisiana seems to make it a 3-for-3 holidays homestand on New Yr’s Eve. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who began the homestand on December 19, have already claimed wins over LSU-Alexandria (81-50) and Georgia State (54-41).
- Arriving in Time: The 20-point efficiency at Lamar, season-high 25-point effort vs. LSUA and 16-point explosion within the second half vs. Georgia State from Lanay Wheaton is proof that the scoring punch she packed within the 2021-22 season has returned. She seems to be shaking off the consequences of a minor wrist damage that is persevered up to now this season – simply in time for Solar Belt Convention play.
- Turning ‘Em Over: Eight occasions – and in 4 of the final 5 video games – the Ragin’ Cajuns have pressured the opposition into 20-plus turnovers. Earlier this season, Louisiana turned over then-No. 3 Texas (Nov. 11) 25 occasions and most not too long ago pressured a season-high 37 turnovers from LSU-Alexandria (Dec. 19). Louisiana ranks High 20 (at No. 18) nationally in turnovers pressured per sport (21.9).
FIVE-PLUS THINGS TO KNOW
- Life is Grand within the Solar: Louisiana, a member because the 1991-92 season, is in its thirty second season of competitors inside the Solar Belt Convention. The Ragin’ Cajuns went 91-86 in league play by the primary 10 years within the Garry Brodhead period.
- Solar Belt Success Story: Courting again to the 2020-21 season during which Louisiana gained the common season championship, this system has gained 23 of its final 28 Solar Belt Convention video games.
- New Improvement: The Ragin’ Cajuns could have discovered a tag workforce accomplice on offense for Tamera Johnson within the publish in JUCO switch Mariah Stewart. Boosted by Stewart’s season-high of 12 factors on Thursday vs. Georgia State, the frontcourt combo totaled 22 factors.
- Going for the Trifecta: Louisiana seems to make it a 3-for-3 holidays homestand on New Yr’s Eve. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who began the homestand on December 19, have already claimed wins over LSU-Alexandria (81-50) and Georgia State (54-41).
- Arriving in Time: The 20-point efficiency at Lamar, season-high 25-point effort vs. LSUA and 16-point explosion within the second half vs. Georgia State from Lanay Wheaton is proof that the scoring punch she packed within the 2021-22 season has returned. She seems to be shaking off the consequences of a minor wrist damage that is persevered up to now this season – simply in time for Solar Belt Convention play.
- Turning ‘Em Over: Eight occasions – and in 4 of the final 5 video games – the Ragin’ Cajuns have pressured the opposition into 20-plus turnovers. Earlier this season, Louisiana turned over then-No. 3 Texas (Nov. 11) 25 occasions and most not too long ago pressured a season-high 37 turnovers from LSU-Alexandria (Dec. 19). Louisiana ranks High 20 (at No. 18) nationally in turnovers pressured per sport (21.9).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana’s first video games of the brand new yr (2023) happen on the street with the Ragin’ Cajuns touring for a weekend set with Southern Miss and Texas State from Thursday-Saturday, January 5-7.
First up is a cease in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Thursday (Jan. 5) for the first-ever Solar Belt contest with USM that begins at 6:00 p.m. in Reed Inexperienced Coliseum.
The Ragin’ Cajuns conclude their first convention street journey of the 2022-23 season on Saturday (Jan. 7) with a 2:00 p.m. matinee with Texas State at Strahan Enviornment in San Marcos, Texas.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Comply with the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsWBB [twitter.com]), Fb (/RaginCajunsWBB [facebook.com]) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsWBB [instagram.com]) to remain up-to-date on all that’s taking place with Louisiana Ladies’s Basketball.
Followers are additionally inspired to remain engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click on right here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and right here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
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Louisiana
Authorities search for escaped Louisiana inmate; was unaware murder suspect was missing until tipped off by public

Authorities in Louisiana are looking for an inmate who escaped jail for the second time in a year after a member of the public tipped them off Thursday.
Tra’Von Johnson, 19, was awaiting trial in Tangipahoa Parish Jail for his alleged role in a 2022 Hammond-area home invasion where a man was killed and his child was injured, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said it received a call just before 10 p.m. on Thursday from a member of the public who asked if Johnson was still in custody.
“Following an immediate headcount of the jail population and a review of Johnson’s movements throughout the day, it was determined Johnson escaped around 4:30 p.m. when another inmate helped lift him over the perimeter fence,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, adding that Johnson was the only inmate to have escaped Thursday.
No information was immediately available about anyone who allegedly assisted Johnson in his escape.
This is Johnson’s second escape from the jail in a year, according to the sheriff’s office, who said he was one of four inmates who broke out of the facility “a year ago this month.” Details about Johnson’s 2024 escape were not immediately available.
The sheriff’s office said it called on law enforcement partners for help in the search to find Johnson, alerted victims of his escape and contacted his family members and “known associates.”
Johnson is 5 feet and 5 inches, weighs 120 pounds and is from the Tickfaw area, according to the sheriff’s office. Anyone who sees Johnson or has information on his whereabouts is encouraged to get in touch with the sheriff’s office.
Johnson’s escape isn’t the only prison break that has plagued Louisiana this week.
A week ago in New Orleans, 10 inmates escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center, a realization that was discovered during a routine headcount. Five of the 10 inmates have since been apprehended, with the remaining five still at-large.
Sterling Williams, a maintenance worker at the facility, has been accused of cutting off the water so inmates could pull the toilet from the wall, leading to their escape, according to officials, who also said three employees were placed on leave without pay. It’s not clear whether Williams was one of those employees.
More than 200 law enforcement personnel are assisting in the search for the five who remain at large, officials said.
Louisiana
The Louisiana Senate passes contentious car insurance bills. See who won and who lost.

Gov. Jeff Landry showed who’s the boss at the State Capitol when he rammed a car insurance bill through the Senate late Wednesday night over the vehement objections of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and business trade groups.
House Bill 148 would grant the insurance commissioner greater authority to reject “excessive” rate increases, which Landry has said several times would prompt him to blame Temple if rates remain high. With a last-minute amendment sought by the governor, HB148 also would require insurance companies to make their rate filing requests public. They say this could force them to expose trade secrets.
But balancing out the scales, the Senate also passed five bills that affect who can sue and how much they can collect – measures that Temple, the insurance industry and their business allies say would reduce payouts and thus reduce rates. The Senate passed the bills over the opposition of trial lawyers and their Democratic allies.
“What just passed out of the Senate, and if passed into law, would be the most comprehensive insurance reform in Louisiana’s history,” said Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington. “These changes are geared toward addressing the unaffordable car insurance crisis in Louisiana.”
Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, offered a different take.
“We’re just taking away more people’s rights, and rates won’t go down,” he said, adding that the Senate’s rush to approve bills with late changes “leads to bad legislation.”
Temple supported the pro-insurance industry bills that passed but slammed the rate increase bill.
“It’s a false claim that rates are high because the commissioner doesn’t have some magical power,” he said. “It doesn’t address the fundamental problem in Louisiana – bodily injury and legal abuse.”
In sum, senators said, Landry emerged as the big winner politically, while Temple and the insurance industry appear to have had mixed results, with trial lawyers seemingly on the losing end.
Wednesday’s late night action sets up Landry to sign a raft of car insurance bills as early as Wednesday next week, legislative sources said.
He will sign all five bills passed by the Senate Monday night, the governor’s office said Thursday, although whether all five bills will have won final House approval by then is not clear.
The fight over how to address high car insurance rates has been the highest profile political battle since the legislative session began in mid-April.
Landry and legislators have been pulled by both sides throughout, with Temple and his business allies on the offensive and trial lawyers and their allies playing defense.
The governor has repeatedly positioned himself in the middle, saying he doesn’t like billboard lawyers (although he went turkey hunting in Texas with several prominent trial attorneys just before the session began) but also believes that insurance companies are earning big profits in Louisiana.
In a speech Thursday in New Iberia, Landry said a study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows that Louisiana is an outlier on one key metric: “Our minor injury claims are double the national average,” he said.
Temple has said Louisiana has had twice as many minor injury claims as New York even though that state counts five times as many residents.
Senate President Cameron Henry has been talking with Landry and Senate colleagues for days about how to handle the nearly 20 pro-insurance industry bills that passed the House.
Henry, R-Metairie, outlined his plans to Republican colleagues Wednesday afternoon in a private meeting in the Senate dining room: the Senate would approve five bills.
House Bill 450 by Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport, would require someone who sued over injuries in a car accident to show that the injuries actually occurred during the accident. HB450 goes to Landry for his signature.
House Bill 434 by Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Alexandria, would disallow a driver without car insurance from collecting an award for bodily injury medical expenses for any amount below $100,000, up from $15,000 today. HB434 also goes to Landry for his signature.
House Bill 431 by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, would bar drivers responsible for at least 51% of an accident from receiving a damage award to cover their injuries. Under current law, a driver responsible for, say, 51% of the accident can collect a payment equal to 49% of the overall damage award. Because of an amendment added to the bill, HB431 needs House approval before it can become law.
House Bill 436 by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollack, would prohibit undocumented immigrants who are injured in car accidents from collecting general damages. HB436 requires the House to accept the Senate changes to the bill.
Senate Bill 231 by Sen. Mike Reese, R-Leesville, would allow lawyers for insurance companies to tell jurors how much people injured in wrecks actually pay in medical bills. Under current law, jurors hear the total amount billed, regardless of what the plaintiff paid. A House committee is slated to take up SB231 next week.
Temple said HB431, HB450 and SB231 would “move the needle forward.”
Senate Democrats argued against the five bills, saying the Legislature has passed a host of pro-industry bills over the years, yet rates never come down.
Luneau, Sen. Sam Jenkins of Shreveport and Sen. Royce Duplessis of New Orleans all offered amendments to the Republican-sponsored bills that, if passed, would mandate a 2% reduction in rates. Republicans rejected those amendments on each bill.
Democrats also pointed to an April report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners which said that in 2023, insurance companies in Louisiana had the third highest underwriting profit, the fourth lowest loss ratio and the fifth highest return on net worth.
As part of Henry’s plan, the Senate also would adopt HB148 – the measure that Landry most wanted and that Temple didn’t want – after it had been amended.
HB148 is the only bill Landry testified in favor of during the legislative session, saying last month that Temple should want to have greater authority to hold down rates.
Senators expressed reluctance privately in recent days to advance the bill because it didn’t require the commissioner to cite actuarial data in rejecting proposed rate increases.
But Landry lobbied hard to get them to approve it Monday night, senators said Thursday. The amended version now includes actuarial language.
Sen. Kirk Talbot, a River Ridge Republican and a close friend of Henry’s, pushed the bill through the Senate.
That task fell to Talbot even though he has been one of the insurance industry’s strongest allies.
Talbot didn’t return a phone call Thursday.
HB148 returns to the House for approval of the Senate changes.
Louisiana
Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice – WTOP News

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by…
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries the opportunity to ask for a new trial was rejected by Republican state senators on Wednesday, likely killing the measure.
An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Advocates say it is past time for Louisiana to right a wrong and to give those people a chance at a fair trial.
Proponents of the bill pointed to multiple examples of innocent people — since exonerated — who were wrongfully convicted by split juries and spent decades in prison. Supporters said the measure could have created a way for any other possibly innocent people behind bars who had been convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek another chance for a fair trial.
The bill would have added non-unanimous verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. Proponents reiterated that the legislation would only have created the opportunity to do so and that it would not have automatically granted a retrial or release.
During debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers raised concerns about overburdening courts and district attorneys with additional trials. Proponents said whether a new trial is granted is ultimately at the discretion of district attorneys.
Opponents also raised concerns about the cases being decades-old with some witnesses possibly dead or evidence lost. Supporters countered that old cases are tried all the time and that transcripts of testimony from the original trials could be used.
“This is about what’s right, not about what’s easy or convenient,” Sen. Royce Duplessis, the New Orleans Democrat who authored the bill, said to his colleagues.
Louisiana adopted the practice of split jury convictions in 1898 during a constitutional convention that was fueled by efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. Diluting the voice of Black jurors allowed the often-white majority to determine the outcome.
Louisiana voters did not get rid of the practice until 2018, two years before the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 6th Amendment’s guarantee of the right to an impartial jury.
At the time, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states that allowed split decisions — 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes — to result in convictions. The Oregon Supreme Court granted new trials to hundreds of people. But Louisiana’s Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively.
“If we choose to vote down this bill we’re saying that justice has an expiration date,” Duplessis said. “We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it.”
The bill failed on a vote of 9-26, along party lines. Given the overwhelming lack of support for the bill in the Senate and that there is only a month left in this year’s Legislative Session, the measure currently has no viable path forward and is likely dead.
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