The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Louisiana’s policy of sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the opportunity for release was unconstitutional. In 2016, the highest court doubled down on its original ruling and, in Montgomery v. Louisiana, determined that its decision applied retroactively.  However, many advocates for juvenile justice reform are concerned about the slow process of the releases. Of the three states with the highest number of juvenile lifers, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Louisiana, the Bayou State had only released 8 percent of its total population. Pennsylvania and Michigan on the other hand, have released approximately 30 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The Advocate’s Grace Toohey reports:

Legislators last year targeted inmates convicted of murders committed when they were 15, 16 or 17. Part of the criminal justice reform 10-bill package, Act 277, gave all of Louisiana’s about 300 juvenile lifers the automatic opportunity for parole, but in about a third of those cases district attorneys argued to maintain ‘life means life’ sentences.  While the majority of those 100 or so cases still await resolution from a judge, juvenile advocates are also monitoring how Louisiana is actually implementing the new sentences and whether it is providing a meaningful opportunity for release through parole. “The (parole) hearings are moving at a slow pace,” said Kerry Myers, the deputy director for Louisiana Parole Project, a nonprofit that assists the juvenile lifers with their parole hearings and, if granted, their reentry into society. “There are states that have done completely the opposite, they’re holding hearings, they’re expediting the process.”

Broad support for unanimous jury amendment
Louisiana voters have the opportunity to right an historic wrong on Nov. 6 by voting for Amendment 2. This amendment would end the state’s practice of allowing non-unanimous jury verdicts for serious felony offenses, a policy that is steeped in racism, encourages prosecutors to ‘over-charge’ defendants and played a major role in in Louisiana for years having the nation’s highest incarceration rate. The Nola.com/Times Picayune editorial board notes the bipartisan support from a broad coalition of lawmakers and activists and encourages voters to join them in ending this unjust policy.

There is strong, bipartisan support for Amendment 2 — from the state Republican Party and Americans for Prosperity-Louisiana to the ACLU Louisiana. CABL, which in non-partisan, argues it this way: “Clearly, in this case Louisiana is out of step with other states and the federal government. The racist origins of our current law hurt Louisiana’s image, even if those who support it don’t harbor any of that racial intent. It is time for Louisiana to step into the mainstream on this issue and send a message that we are leaving behind a tarnished legacy we no longer embrace.” It is long past time for Louisiana to correct this unjust law. Vote “yes” for Amendment 2.

Click here to read the extensive reporting on the issue by a team of journalists at The Advocate, and go here to learn more about the Unanimous Jury Coalition.

Access to higher education is key to social mobility
It’s well-documented that a obtaining college degree is one of the best ways to achieve social mobility. Accordingly, with Louisiana’s lack of adequate investment in its institutions of higher education and needs-based scholarships, it should come as no surprise that Louisiana had the second-highest poverty rate in the nation and the fourth-lowest median income in 2017. Jarvis DeBerry with Nola.com/Times Picayune looks at how these statistics are connected and the solutions needed to break down these barriers to success:

According to a 2016 report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, the U.S. economy had added 11.6 million jobs since the Great Recession, and 11.5 million (or 99 percent of them) required at least some college. Despite the persistent belief that college isn’t for everybody, it’s just about mandatory for anybody who wants to take advantage of new job opportunities that are being created. … If people don’t want to go to college, then that’s fine, but those who want to go shouldn’t have state officials placing that dream out of reach.

Real wages remain stagnant
The median household income in the U.S. increased to $61,370 in 2017, a 1.8 percent increase, after adjusting for inflation, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Unfortunately, real wage growth has remained largely flat. Ryan Nunn and Jay Shambaugh with Brookings  try to answer why real incomes are rising even as real wages are flat?

The answer lies in the simple fact that both hours worked and employment have been rising consistently. Annual income depends not only on wages, but also on the number of hours a person works in a year and the share of the population that is working. There are many other factors that will play a role in determining the household income growth rate for 2018. But given what we know today, it appears that household income is continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace than a few years ago. In order to achieve more robust real income growth in 2019 and beyond, growth in real hourly wages will need to increase from its current pace.

Number of the Day
23 – Number of former juvenile serving a life sentence in Louisiana who have been released on parole since 2016. (Source: The Advocate)