John Legend pens op-ed calling for Louisiana to ‘strip white supremacy from its constitution’

Musician John Legend has called on the state of Louisiana to “strip white supremacy from its constitution” by voting for an amendment that would require unanimous jury verdicts for convictions in all felony trials.

Legend on Monday wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post that the state’s current model works to “suppress the rights of African-Americans.”

In Louisiana, a person can be convicted of a felony with the support of 10 of 12 jurors. It is one of only two states, along with Oregon, in which a non-unanimous jury can convict a defendant of a felony.

Legend urged Louisiana voters to back the change in a referendum appearing on the November ballot.

{mosads}

“Ending the 10-2 jury rule in Louisiana will not solve the issue of mass incarceration or dismantle white supremacy, but it will deal a significant blow to both,” Legend wrote.

Legend pointed to a story appearing earlier this year in The Advocate that found that 40 percent of jury verdicts in the state were not unanimous and that the 10-2 majority requirement has reduced the roles of African-American jurors.

“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,’” Legend wrote. “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.

“…It’s time to come together, reject prejudice in all its forms and build a future in which everyone is valued and supported,” Legend wrote. “The 1898 constitutional convention was about denying voice to the expression of all of Louisiana’s citizens. This ballot question in November is about giving Louisiana her voice back.”