Supreme Court to consider non-unanimous jury verdict

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court will consider overturning a criminal conviction by a 10-2 vote in Louisiana.

The justice acted Monday, four months after Louisiana voters amended the state constitution to prohibit non-unanimous verdicts in criminal cases.

Oregon is the only state that still allows them.

The high court also is agreeing Monday to decide whether states can eliminate the so-called insanity defense for criminal defendants without violating the Constitution.

The appeal comes from a Kansas man who has been sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and the wife’s grandmother.

The cases will be argued in the fall.