competition to dave ventured into a solar storm has produced, spectacular light shows across northern parts of the globe. the aurora borealis, or the northern lights lit up skies in north america and northern europe. overnight on tuesday, the strength of the solar option meant the phenomenon could be seen much further south than usual. ah, and now reminder of the top stories on al jazeera, russia's president has denied his country, is behind an energy shortage in europe saying moscow is standing by to help natural gas prices have skyrocketed to around 6 times higher than this time. last year, european commissioners recommended a series of support measures as the content heads into winter, including tax cuts, emergency support for households and increased investment in renewable. well,

meanwhile, the u. s. government is stepping up efforts to fix global supply chain issues that have led to shortages of many goods and higher prices. u. s. president joe biden says his administration will work with companies and ports to alleviate bottlenecks with some to start operating 24 hours a day. 5 people have been killed and several others injured after a man use the bow and the arrows to attack them in norway. the incident took place in the town of cons bag, which is southwest of the capitol, oslo authorities believe the suspect opened fire at a supermarket before then moving through the town. oh, there is a mirror. the arrested person is a man, and that's all i can say about the person suspected. in this case, he's been taken to prison. the husband and there will continue to be a large police presence overnight. there are many crime scenes. the perpetrator operated over a large area. these places have been secured by police and not being searched by

the crime scene. officials, the air and ground offensive ac opiates, military against forces from the northern te grade region is reported to be intensifying. a spokesman for the to grand forces say that there has been that there have been many casualties with the battle taking place on several fronts, including in the neighboring amara and afar regions. the actor who made a career out of exploring the calls most has returned from his 1st real life mission there. thank year old william shatner known of course for playing captain james kirk in star trek as become the oldest person to make the journey to space. he blasted off from texas on a blue origin spacecraft. those are the top stories of fort lyons is next. i'll see you tomorrow. thanks for watching the way the world is warming. and green lynn's ice sheet is melting, which is changing everything from sea levels to the way people live. and now

even exposing the remnants of a cold war pulse greenland, the melting of the frozen noon on al jazeera. i don't even think there's a word that i can describe will have been filled up between a variety of knowing that i've been a cause. i don't remember word dictionary and i've been waking up like dad since 1990 c's. i think about it all day. every day afforded no, probably 50. ready december so you spend all of your young adult life into now in, in prison and you, you basically see i grew up in prison. brandon jackson was convicted of armed robbery in 1997,

a crime. he says he didn't commit and sentenced to life. the verdict and brandon's case was not unanimous 10 years, but a guilty to jurors voted not guilty and 48 out of 50 states. brandon would have had the right to re trial but not in louisiana. ready it's important to have a unanimous jury verdict because it is important to make sure that there are not reasonable doubts as to someone scalp. so in one or 2 jurors will say that they have a doubt about guilt. how you can continue to plug someone in prison is, is beyond me. brandon has been fighting to get out of prison for years. in 2020, there was hope when the supreme court ruled that these convictions were unconstitutional. but the court later said the ruling would not be retroactive, meaning brandon wouldn't get a new trial. and you ruled dated with julian. boy, you speak really? you know why we know why?

because didn't it affected more african american males than indeed any other race fault lines partnered with the lens. a non profit news room in new orleans to investigate the path forward for people locked up on non unanimous convictions. have you thought through what the day would be like the day that you leave prison? don't they? that i look forward to very they were broad deal. my mind is probably just devote mom. is it you know, just just a moment in just a just general, you know, i love lucy. she was she had to say because i know she will never stop growing. ah ah, happy mother's day. he is your heart,

his son. you are my mother of fargo, family ambition. bring in. i'm praying that all will be trying when i go to court. so as you bow waves, don, pray for my release. but i remember in his time, night owl was you have a special relationship with brian. because he was the one bed needed me most and i didn't load my other kids in the med, but brandon was always sickly. as a young child, brandon had severe asthma and needed constant medical attention. so he spent his very 15 years in house on the breathed the machine, or else he was in a half bedroom, morgan math, he was a shared key. i. when he turned 15 and was able to master his at tags,

he tried to make go. but the can read, he and now, and that's when he beginning to dear to the male. trying the phoebe and, and given what does it been like for you as a mother to have him be put behind bars for so long is indescribable. you don't bring your child into the world to become a prisoner. and to me, an estate of lose an hour being incarcerated is just another form of slavery. he hasn't been brothers, haven't visa jam in 25 years. nobody visited hamburg me. and i, my family has died. and so right now, oh, he hes, is me too 24 years after his conviction. brandon's asking for a new trial based on the fact that the verdict in his case was non unanimous list

of people, families that are with us today. and was trying to help with our elderly days and have a blessed and i s n g with ms. cheryl, it's july and there's a hearing at the courthouse and bowser parish, north west louisiana. brandon's fate is in the hands of the judge in this conservative part of the state, the district attorney, or da here, as opposed brandon's effort to get out how many hearings have you been? oh, to live now. and how are you feeling about the hearing that we're going to today? i just pray for a positive outcome because my hopes have been day, shall manage on gone to this court. how brandon ended up with a life sentence for a crime in which no one was hurt is as much

a story about the harsh laws passed in the 19 ninety's during the so called war on drugs. the prosecutor seized on 3 previous drug convictions to give brandon life. in 2019, his sentence was reduced to 40 years that made him eligible for parole for the 1st time that his application was denied. his mother was devastated. i had the hard jew must lay every kiss at our we as wireless stress, not just hold it in hold, then hold. so if your sticker tow loma by that you thought that the heart attack because of what happened to random. yeah. it, it, it was in their cars, but it helped you know, go hard, good. take so much. brandon jackson's trial was here at the bowser parish court

house. he was accused of robbing an applebee's restaurant at gunpoint. there was no physical evidence that connected him to the crime, but the state had a star witness. tell me, who is joseph young? oh, josie young was my brother in law. he was all day my sister at the time. joseph young worked at the applebees. he initially denied any involvement in the robbery, but later changed his story and told police he planned it with brandon. he said he opened up the back door and let 2 armed men walk in. they tied up the staff and stole more than $6000.00. nobody was injured. young testified the brandon was one of the 2 gunmen and paid him $1000.00 to participate. did you commit the robbery? no. in the ever did show that none of the de description of the individuals looked alive mean. oh,

was built like me and all that was brought up. the biggest thing to me is that no physical evidence were found on brandon jackson's person. no physical evidence was found in his home. all the evidence of a no fingerprints on the guns or money didn't have, they couldn't like any of that to brandon jackson's finger, correct. and so like all they have is the testimony of joseph young. we obtained and reviewed the transcripts of brandon's trial. so right here the prosecutor is questioning joseph young and he asked them so you would hope that this helps you with your sentence. is that correct? in other words, you're testifying against your friend to reduce your sentence and clear as day. joseph young says yes sir. joseph young serve 3 month in jail and was placed on probation for his role in the robbery. we also obtained and digitized a videotape that hasn't been seen in 25 years. it's a statement joseph young gave to brandon's lawyer at the time before the trial. he

claimed that neither of the robbers looked like brandon brandon. that's right. yes . and you know how he's built their own bill. now the judge didn't allow the jury to see this video ruling, but joseph young had made the statement in confidence to an attorney. he was a star witness. how common is it that the star witness would be changing his story? more common than he faked, but it's still ultimately problematic. but i think even without that video being admitted to evidence, something in the way that the state presented the case convinced 2 years ago not guilty. and so, in most states, it would have been a miss trial in louisiana, though it was a, it was enough to convicted what sticks out with brandon's case is what sticks out with so many other men and women's cases that we have with non unanimous tre verdicts. and it's that there are serious doubts as to guilt right. ah,

the accuracy of these convictions are really in doubt. they involve witnesses who get a benefit for testifying against another. as was the case and brandon's, they involve long sentences. this is not what would happen elsewhere. louisiana's laws are unduly harsh the history of this harsh lawn, louisiana dates back to the gym pro error following the civil war. black americans began to exercise newfound civil rights like access to the ballot box and serving on juries. white politicians responded with poll taxes and literacy test tools to disenfranchise voters. he also implemented non unanimous jury convictions. there was a constitutional convention limit 898 and the goal professor goal it was said

it was actually written down its purpose was to ensure the supremacy of the white race in perpetuity to the greatest extent permissible under federal law. and so that i know that was the purpose, that is what the official journal of the proceedings states and one of the way they thought they needed to accomplish that mission was to marginalize some of the voices that might wind up on a jury. so as opposed to having all 12 people decide guilt or innocence after reconstruction was possible that it could be some black folks who might get on a jury. their intent was to get mixed more black people and to silence the voices of laughter. in practice, they have convicted more black people and have disproportionately silenced black jurors. there are now more than 1500 people in prison in louisiana, convicted by non unanimous juries,

80 percent of those prisoners for black. we tried to contact all of the jurors and brandon's case, some of died and some we spoke to didn't remember the trial very well. we did confirm that the 2 jurors who voted against convicting brandon were black. one of the 2 was willing to speak with us, but she asked us not to reveal her name or show her face. what i mainly remember that when i presented the case, then i'll wait to liberate it. i was my companion that it was proven in why were you having doubts about that? no one say it that they knew what it was brand that they recognized, and i think it manner is. no one was able to say enough to convince me that they were sure that it was like, committed to robbery. you did you express your point of view to the jurors? i'm sure i agree. explain one, right? and then with it, and when they dismissed your concerns,

how did that make you feel? i felt like ok, i voice my opinion. and i was hoping that maybe what i say it has thinking and i'll someone is made. i'm think about it is that change your mind even if they did a lot of the room, but from the verdict that did not happen, we track down one of the jurors who voted to convict brandon. there was just a multitude of things that made me believe that he was guilty of this crap. did you have any doubts in your mind about his guilt? no, i did not. i remember, and brandon jackson coming into the jury into the courtroom and he was very sure of himself. he seemed to have a very and he smiled a law. he seemed very relaxed. but i remember brandon made a lot of our contact with the jurors and he seemed to be pretty sure of himself.

and like i said, i felt he was real, really over confident. and so there was so many years about his doing something about his demeanour that it was like he was trying to win us over to his side with his, my, all his, he made a lot of eye contact. i remember and, and so i think, i think that was i remember that real strongly about him and so it was attended to conviction. i was at 10 to 200. okay. and the 2 who did not agree were african were both african american. oh okay. we actually caught up with the one woman. oh, she didn't think he was guilty or she just wasn't convinced because she said that nobody had, nobody was able to identify him. right. because they all had ski mask or they had bandanas on. nobody was able to identify him except for the co conspirator who. how

does that make you feel about non unanimous jury convictions? do i mean, does that become problematic for you if there's one person or more than one person on the jury that doesn't feel like their voice is being heard, especially someone of color and well, you know, i've, i've been raised, i've lived in the south, my whole life i was, you know, born here raised here, and i don't believe that their voice was not heard. i mean, i, i've, i don't think i'm not sure that are. i don't even remember if she explained why she didn't think of is guilty. i don't, i don't even mean that i don't think that their voice isn't heard. i just think that there were more people that thought he was guilty. one of the reasons why she thought you know that you were guilty was because you were looking at the jury and you were making eye contact with the jury. don't day that i was doing a dead time was what i was asked to do by my turn. he said, always give the jury. i couldn't take, you know?

so if she based her decision on the way, did i look you know, what, what, what does, what does it say about the type of world that we living a look are you blow me with? i don't him sit where, you know. so you tell me about the never looked at you what i did look at the jewish the whole time. i would be sitting right here because you would have found me not guilty. it's very, very telling. it really sort of speaks to the language and that 1898 costume you haven't mentioned that created this law. a black male making eye contact with a white person years ago could cause him to lose his life. and in this particular situation, it caused him to lose his freedom. and you were a little bit nervous about talking to us on camera. why was that?

what was it to get back to my boss? it did have a negative effect on why is that? ok, thanks a lot of like the jury yet, which is a straight lock at what the little lock or maybe even if i may live in on there for get this bridge or somebody jurors place someone was actually this man before the burden was handed down. but, emma, may, emma better? i may, i go to, because i'm with you. what happened to me to actually to try to change some of these logs? ah, if brandon hopes to change the laws,

she will likely have to do it at the louisiana state house in baton rouge. in april, democratic state, lawmakers proposed to bill that would read visit pass convictions like brandon's, but it was rejected by republicans who said banning the practice moving forward was enough. i can't really look at it through that lens and say, i'm gonna look back and see what could have been done. different i'm wanting to look at what can be done forward and try and make changed that way if it was deemed unconstitutional. and we know that is rooted in a racist origin, and there is a, there's 1500 people there that are sitting there. they sleep there at night. and a lot of them are in there for a life. don't they deserve their case to be looked at again, i feel pretty confident the mother because the supreme court said that the way we did it was correct. how was it not unconstitutional for the people there who are there now the supreme court said we were fine. so i can't argue with what, what do you think? i think what we did was bowl monumental and i'm happy that we got that push forward

. do you think that those people deserve or remedy? i think there is a remedy. what is the remedy? the remedy is the da can review it. but if the da decides not to review, then they don't, they don't ever em. and how do you feel about that? you think that's right. i feel confident in what we did. but look, i don't look at it from a racial lens. what we did was not about race was about normal was right. they did exactly what has been done. so many times before, when we say we've fixed the law, live and called it at jim crow law. but we refused to acknowledge that there are people who are carrying the weight of this. and we refuse to take that laid off of their shoulders. there are no black republicans here, right. so when they note it that the people that this would benefit don't look like the unlikely bib groping. and mabel is likely don't know anyone. they could contact them, they'll care about it. so i'm, you can eliminate that. the racial element because i would guarantee you if 80 percent of the folks that we were talking about were white,

the bill would have passed period if brandon jackson can't get help with the state legislature, his only hope is back in both parish. the district attorney here could agree to look at his case again, but very few days throughout the state have agreed to re examine all cases. so we are back at the bowser court house. we've been trying to get in touch with sta multiple times and he's not returning any of our messages. so we're gonna see if he's here, maybe we can find them here and ask him a few questions. is he here today? no, ma'am, you're not. he did not. okay. i thought well so he is out of town. i just spoke with his daughter. so she took down my name and number and said she would tell him to call me ah old case of

a gentleman named brandon jackson. i dont know if you remember the details of that case. i'm not familiar with this particular case level with this conventional rather this wasn't bozer, this was in bowser it was in 1997 to you know, to realize that in united states supreme court to 75 years told it was okay or not on the us constitution and so now in 2020 to tell us is not okay. we know that the origins of this law go back to, you know, dim crow times and, and in this case these, it was, it worked exactly like it was intended to, to, to, to mute the voices of these black jurors. well i'm, you know, i'm not disputing original law. i think all of that got a lot of action with the legislature in order to grow. ok,

so here i don't have any time in our history and i get all that. i do believe in our juries is too big use for the most part they get it right. it's glorious. what the facts on am giving you details about this one particular case because this is the one that i've been looking at and that i'm interested in. does this sound like the kind of case that you would be willing to go back and look at and retry sure? sure, i don't have a problem with that. his name was randon jackson, brandon jackson jacks. and if you could look into brandon jackson's case, and give me a call back, i would really appreciate that. i'll call you back. thank you, sir. have a great, have a great weekend, bye bye. bye. more than 3 weeks later, in a letter to fault lines, bozer parish district attorney skyler, marvin said, quote, my office will not vacate and retry convictions solely because of a non unanimous verdict back at the bowser paris court house. brandon still

has one last possible remedy. i've been up here so many times at deer like i need to give me or how in the judge in his case still needs to one his application for a re trial. but it's not going to happen today. even though the state had months to prepare. ready the judge decided to give them even more time to respond. it's black, we're in a holding pattern. vegas are longer turn him loose in his lips lagged me is a good old board make were so and there was a waiting game. i don't have laurel mass said my heart surgeries on 6 months and i'm trying to stay up it's god allowed me to live longer than there to see him go free. but ed disarray. i'm not gonna make me. ah, how does it make you feel to see that confederate monument right outside of the court

house and both your parents? i think in seeing the convent or is that you is like that constant reminder that the system was not built for black people. this same jury system ways erected in the way that that statue was and in order to send a message to black defendants that this isn't in place for you. i was gonna ask you one more question. when you, you said to me the other day that was very important to you, you've made it to all brandon's hearings. even if you have to drive, however far, you go to everything. why is it so important to you to be there for every single one? i never warm brown enter, be a good. he has been forgotten. i want him to know that he's worried no matter how long he's gonna be in prison or what else is gonna have. he would never be forgotten. his mom, mom, when never. ready ready ever forgive him?

well, you'd be able to get out in time to have that cup of coffee with her immediate floors or hill. yes. as more to say there's this there's some didn't want to go and know. you know, she don't been to every thing. did it years to go? do you know, heart attacks there? kidneys, council colgate. and guess what? a would turn are called the she always say, jeremiah, go, no, well joe, i see him come room. i did as while friday every day. you know, and i will continue to fight good till i get there would, because i know she need. thank you, lou

ah. in the world's most populous nation, one in every 4 women suffers domestic violence. while one east investigates china's battle ground at hon, one out 0 on era on line be part of the debate or pacific people, the ocean is our identity and the source of well being. we are the ocean when no topic is off the table. it's a shooting site atmosphere. people are demoralized, they're exhausted, and many health care workers are experiencing p t s d like symptoms. jump into this dream, angelina global community, of your online on youtube. right now, you can be part of both conversations. wealth this stream. oh, now to sierra. mm. mm. be the hero, the world needs right now. washer.

ah, to. ready let him hear putin says russia is ready to boast, gas deliveries to europe as energy prices surge. ah, i'll buy this and this is all the 0 live from doha. also coming up, the u. s. president, demands as largest ports runs 247 as prices are forced up by supply chain log jam.