Community, Compassion, and Purpose -A Weekend We’ll Never Forget

Nyssha Chase
Apr 6
2 min read

This past weekend, the JAI Foundation hosted our first community Easter event in Windsor - and what unfolded was nothing short of beauty of Gods work.

Despite thunderstorms earlier in the day and again later that evening, the skies cleared right when it mattered most. In that moment, our community showed up... strong, present, and full of love.

Families gathered, children laughed and played, and for a few hours, we created a space rooted in connection, joy, and purpose.

But beyond the celebration, we came together for something deeper.

Before the egg hunt began, we paused for a civic moment of reflection. Honoring the 900+ individuals still incarcerated under unconstitutional non-unanimous jury verdicts in Louisiana, as well as the lives already lost while waiting for justice.

During this moment, members of our community each held the name of an individual impacted by a 10–2 jury verdict.

Each paper represented a real person, a life, a family, a story still waiting to be fully heard.

As we stood together, it became clear that this injustice does not just affect one individual. It ripples outward. One conviction reaches into entire families, into children, into communities and over time, into generations.

In front of us, we placed white crosses in the ground… each one representing a life lost while still waiting for the chance at a fair trial.

They never got that opportunity. And that truth sat with all of us.

By holding their names, we were not only acknowledging their existence we were standing in place of the juror who did not agree. The voice that was overlooked. The doubt that was silenced.

Because in a system where even one juror believed there was reasonable doubt, that voice should have mattered.

And so we stood together as a community, honoring both the lives still waiting… and the lives lost waiting.

A reminder that one voice, one life, one person has always been enough to change everything.

It was quiet. It was powerful. And it reminded us exactly why this work matters.

We are incredibly grateful to every person who came out, volunteered, supported, and stood beside us. Your presence meant more than words can express.

We are also deeply thankful to CTV News Windsor for taking the time to share this moment and help bring visibility to families who are so often unseen.

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