Attorney General Liz Murrill’s recent motion to force the recusal of three Black judges in Baton Rouge — Chief Judge Donald R. Johnson, Judge Ronald R. Johnson and Judge Gail Horne Ray — is a direct assault on the voters who put them on the bench.
By attempting to strip these judges of nearly 100 cases, the attorney general is trying to nullify our elections. This isn’t a procedural formality; it is a tactical strike. These judges are being targeted because they dared to challenge a judicial redistricting law. Since when does defending the constitutional rights of your constituents disqualify you from doing your job?
The stakes are life and death. These three judges oversee all death row cases from East Baton Rouge. Notably, every person on death row from our parish is Black. By removing these judges, the state is clearing “roadblocks” to executions by removing the very oversight that understands the systemic biases of our legal system…