NEW ORLEANS - City Council Vice President Jason Williams has released the following statement in response to news of today's U.S. Supreme Court decision abolishing split juries:
 

"The result of today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is truly momentous, as it creates a more equitable opportunity to achieve justice in a historically slanted system. Even very conservative judges weighed in strongly, noting 'evidence that the racism that spawned the split verdict law 120 years ago in Louisiana remains embedded within it today.' The decision is also a reminder that we should not blindly rely on old, broken policies and systems to achieve the goal of real public safety.
 

Over a year ago, local innovators in criminal justice system reform, such as Senator JP Morrell, Unanimous Jury Coalition, and the Promise of Justice Initiative, devoted their time and energy to building a movement that pushed the needle forward nationally. I am proud to have supported this effort on the municipal level, along with my colleagues and other local public servants.
 

Strong leadership at our statehouse listened to the testimonies and policy recommendations of the formerly incarcerated and exonerated who are now on the front lines of the fight for full restoration of rights. National entities and organizations got involved in creative ways. Suddenly, Louisiana's racist past was front and center, and the reality of countless lives taken and irreversibly changed was unavoidable. That movement pushed a reform package through a conservative statehouse, and the waves it created ultimately resulted in this important decision.
 

Regrettably, our own local prosecutorial system has not embodied the sort of transformative foresight that its counterparts around the country have exhibited. For years we have worked with many of these same organizations to push reform in New Orleans. Predictably, when efforts to reform bail, reduce jail population, and welfare releases for COVID-19 vulnerable pre-trial detainees are proposed, Leon Cannizarro launches opposition. While 80% of Orleans Parish overwhelmingly shouted their support for abolishing non-unanimous juries, DA Cannizaro stood on the wrong side of history - even fast-tracking some cases so they could be tried under a system rooted in white supremacy.
 

This decision is a reminder that we need to seriously reexamine how we have dispensed justice for generations of Louisianans and Americans. The judicial process is hardwired to seek punishment of the already marginalized as opposed to genuine justice for victims and the accused alike. We have a wealth of interdisciplinary research about the far-reaching ill effects of these inequitable systems and procedures that got us here. We will be doomed to find ourselves on the wrong side of history yet again if we don't take action to remove similar disparities from our criminal legal system."