A remnant of the racist post-Reconstruction Redeemer sociopolitical agenda, Louisiana\'s Nonunanimous jury-verdict law permitted juries to convict Criminal defendants with only nine, and later ten, out of twelve votes: a legal oddity.
Although it faced multiple legal challenges through the years, the law endured well.
In practice, the law funneled many convicts--especially African Americans--into Louisiana\'s burgeoning convict lease system.
On the surface, it was meant to speed convictions.
A remnant of the racist post-Reconstruction Redeemer sociopolitical agenda, Louisiana\'s Nonunanimous jury-verdict law permitted juries to convict Criminal defendants with only nine, and later ten, out of twelve votes: a legal oddity