Louisiana rocked as civil rights marchers descend on town

[JTD]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/je ... index.html

JENA, Louisiana (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters clogged the tiny town of Jena, Louisiana, Thursday to show their indignation over what they consider unjust, unequal punishments meted out in two racially charged incidents.

Officers lead Al Sharpton, center, through Jena, Louisiana, during Thursday's protest.

1 of 4 more photos » They swarmed over the grounds of Jena High School, where nooses were hung from a tree in early August 2006, about three months before six black teens known as the "Jena 6" were accused of beating a white classmate.

While the tension was palpable, news broke Thursday afternoon that the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ordered a hearing within 72 hours to determine if the only one of the six still behind bars can be released.

I'll have to look into this more but right now, this seems like a clear case of racism to me and shows that the civil rights movement still isn't completely where it needs to be at in the U.S.

[fasterdisaster]

That article was kinda poorly written and hard(for me at least) to understand, but if I understood correctly, then I say good for those protesters! Doesn't look racially charged IMO.

[HarlequinBoy]

I understand that the "noose" and "white tree" are examples of bigotry and racism (like.. WHO would ever do that? That is just sick.), but IMO it seems both groups of kids/people are at fault because they both antagonized each other in the following months. And regardless, a student was beaten (although I question just HOW badly he was beaten if he can go to a ring ceremony that same night) so charges should definitely have been filed. I heard that five of them were being charged with second degree battery? Is that unusually harsh for beating someone?

[CajunMama]

The noose and the beating are totally unrelated. Here's the DA's statement on the Jena 6.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/9883227.html
I found it interesting that UL students went to the protest. I wonder if they were excused from class for it and i wonder who paid for their bus ride up there.

Another interesting note. The mother of Mychael Bell bought a jaguar with the funds that were donated for her sons defense.

[HarlequinBoy]

So it was not the hanging of the noose that sparked the heightened tensions at the HS that semester? That was my understanding of the connection.

The noose incident occurred on September 1 (I think) and the assault on December 4.. which is a wide gap IMO.

[Cyclenall]

I understand that the "noose" and "white tree" are examples of bigotry and racism (like.. WHO would ever do that? That is just sick.), but IMO it seems both groups of kids/people are at fault because they both antagonized each other in the following months. And regardless, a student was beaten (although I question just HOW badly he was beaten if he can go to a ring ceremony that same night) so charges should definitely have been filed.

The person had to go to the hospital (not for a short time either probably) after that beating I believe so it must have been after the ring ceremony.

[CajunMama]

How badly was he beaten? There were 6 of them kicking him with their shoes on while he was down on the ground.

I found this in the local paper....

Q&A: More on the 'Jena Six'

Was it really an all-white jury that convicted Bell?
Yes. There were 150 people summoned for jury duty, although only about 50 appeared. That ratio is normal for LaSalle Parish, court officials said. Of those 50 who appeared, none were black. There was no effort to find the nearly 100 who didn't appear, both black and white. That too is common in LaSalle Parish. Punishment for dodging jury duty is at the discretion of the judge.
Community members have squabbled about how many minorities appeared on the list of 150 potential jurors, with numbers ranging from four to more than 20. There is no entry in the juror database for race to ensure that bias isn't used in jury selection, a court official said.


Why were some of the boys charged as juveniles and others as adults?
According to Louisiana's Children's Code, if someone is 15 or older - Bell was 16 at the time of the incident and Beard was 14 - and they are charged with one of a list of specific charges - including attempted murder - they must be tried in the adult justice system. If a defendant is under the age of 15, he can't be charged as an adult. This decision isn't one resting in the hands of the judge or district attorney but is clearly spelled out in law.

The point of contention in this case was when the charges were reduced from a crime that a child can be charged as an adult - such as attempted murder - to a crime that a child can't be charged as an adult - aggravated battery.
Bell's attorneys argued that the adult court no longer had jurisdiction, while Walters contended that according to law, he did.

On Sept. 4, 28th Judicial District Court Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. agreed with Bell's attorneys when they said Mauffray never had jurisdiction on the conspiracy charge and threw out that conviction. But he contended that he retained jurisdiction of the battery charge. The appeals court didn't agree.

The Third Circuit ruled Sept. 14 that the "trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion" to vacate the adult battery conviction. The three-judge panel ruled that "jurisdiction remains exclusively in juvenile court" for that charge.

In a statement made Sept. 14 following the appeals court's decision, LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters said that after reviewing the ruling, "I will ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the decision of the court of appeals."


Were there really nooses found in connection with this case?
Two nooses were found hanging from a tree at Jena High after a black student asked in a "jocular fashion," according to U.S. Attorney Donald Washington, if the black students could sit under the tree where white students sat. Three students were accused of placing the nooses, and the school principal recommended expulsion for the students. A committee of the LaSalle Parish School Board overruled the decision, and the students were suspended. Details of the suspension aren't a public record. Washington said none of the statements of the accused or the witnesses from the Dec. 4 incident included anything about the nooses. The "Jena Six" supporters and family contend that the noose incident is what precipitated the Dec. 4 incident.

Who was the victim? What happened to him?
Justin Barker was a student at Jena High. He was knocked unconscious and suffered several injuries to his face during the attack. Barker was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was treated for three hours. That evening he attended a ring ceremony at the high school.
Just a few days before the end of the school year, months after the Dec. 4 incident, Barker was expelled after a hunting gun was found in his car on the school grounds. He was charged as an adult with possession of a firearm in a firearm-free zone. His expulsion carried through to this school year.


Was he involved in any of the previous incidents?
Barker wasn't one of the three students disciplined for the noose incident, and he hasn't been named in any of the fights in Jena leading up to the Dec. 4 incident.

Was the arson at Jena High School connected to the nooses or other incidents?
Police have no leads in the investigation into the November arson that destroyed the main building of the school.

Do any of the 'Jena Six' defendants have a criminal past?
Bell has been adjudicated of four previous crimes of violence - two for battery and two for criminal damage to property. He was placed on probation until his 18th birthday Jan. 18, 2008. Juvenile records are normally sealed, but Bell's juvenile record was discussed during a hearing to set bond after his June adult felony conviction. If any of the other students have previous convictions, it hasn't yet been made public.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070920/NEWS01/709200342

[Dionne]

So what I'm reading from this....Bell is already a habitual criminal and not yet 18? I find it rather ironic that thousands traveled to protest for "justice" for the young man. But like all the protestors are saying....it's not about color. Six black kids kicking a white kid on the ground......come on.....it's all about color. This is the deep south. It's not going to change.

[Derek Ortt]

the two incidents are totally different.

One was in awful taste, yet nobody was physically harmed. The second nearly killed somebody. Where are the rights of the victim?

[x-y-no]

the two incidents are totally different.

One was in awful taste, yet nobody was physically harmed. The second nearly killed somebody. Where are the rights of the victim?

Ummm .. if it "nearly killed" him, how does that fit with this:

Who was the victim? What happened to him?
Justin Barker was a student at Jena High. He was knocked unconscious and suffered several injuries to his face during the attack. Barker was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was treated for three hours. That evening he attended a ring ceremony at the high school.
Just a few days before the end of the school year, months after the Dec. 4 incident, Barker was expelled after a hunting gun was found in his car on the school grounds. He was charged as an adult with possession of a firearm in a firearm-free zone. His expulsion carried through to this school year.

[Ptarmigan]

the two incidents are totally different.

One was in awful taste, yet nobody was physically harmed. The second nearly killed somebody. Where are the rights of the victim?

Ummm .. if it "nearly killed" him, how does that fit with this:

Who was the victim? What happened to him?
Justin Barker was a student at Jena High. He was knocked unconscious and suffered several injuries to his face during the attack. Barker was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was treated for three hours. That evening he attended a ring ceremony at the high school.
Just a few days before the end of the school year, months after the Dec. 4 incident, Barker was expelled after a hunting gun was found in his car on the school grounds. He was charged as an adult with possession of a firearm in a firearm-free zone. His expulsion carried through to this school year.

The victim is no saint, but still having six people attacking him is over the top. U.S. Attorney Donald Washington looked into this case and said there was NO racial bias, even though he points out the school district did screw up. U.S. Attorney Donald Washington is Black by the way.

Link

[gtalum]

the two incidents are totally different.

One was in awful taste, yet nobody was physically harmed. The second nearly killed somebody. Where are the rights of the victim?

What rights should the victim have? The perps are being tried, though the charge of attempted murder was much too stiff and they screwed up trying to charge the 16 year old as an adult. They should and probably ultimately will be tried for aggravated assault. A trial for the alleged perpetrator(s) is the only "right" that alleged victims have or should have.

The kids who hung the nooses in the trees (not the kid who was attacked, by the way) should have been expelled immediately. It would have gone a long way towards defusing this situation.

There were failures all around in this case.

[Derek Ortt]

yes there were failures all around

the nooses should have at least resulted in a 45 day suspension if not expulsion and being required to repeat the term

A charge of aggrivated battery, IMO, would have been appropriate, not attempted murder (which is what one of the 6 was convicted of... the jury rejected attempted murder)

[Meso]

A count of attempted murder is just wrong.Being tried for assault,or maybe assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm.But being beaten via being kicked is pretty much normal for every high school fight.Happens all the time,but you don't see the people getting tried for attempted murder.

[gtalum]

yes there were failures all around

the nooses should have at least resulted in a 45 day suspension if not expulsion and being required to repeat the term

A charge of aggrivated battery, IMO, would have been appropriate, not attempted murder (which is what one of the 6 was convicted of... the jury rejected attempted murder)

In that case we're more or less on the same page this time.

The perps ARE being charged. The problem with the conviction of Bell is that eh was tried as an adult even though he shouldn't have been. The bright side is that the state was in the process of fixing that problem before the protest march ever took place.

[Ptarmigan]

All I can say is, this case is a mess.

[Derek Ortt]

I had never seen a high school fight that involved kicking once someone was already down

The issue of trying as an adult vs juvinille is alwasy tricky. One one hadn, the boys knew right from wrong and should be punished accordingly. Equal protection under the law should mean equal punishments for crimes committed. However, full citizenship is not granted until age 18. As a compromise, maybe I'd try those as adults who were the most involved with the kicking on the ground, and the rest as juvinilles or better yet, let the school principal give them a 10 day suspension for fighting (not Bell, as from what I have heard, he was one of the most involved)

[CajunMama]

I'm wondering if the gun in the vehicle might (and i'm saying MIGHT) have been because Louisiana is a hunter's playground. There's been kids here in Lafayette parish that have been caught with shotguns in their car because they were coming back from hunting or going hunting after school and forgot to take them out. Heck, one parish even closes school the first day of squirrel season

The murder charge was because the young men were wearing SHOES.

[Stephanie]

From what I've read, it seemed that the noose incident was the starting point for increased tensions in the area.

The white students that hung the nooses should've been expelled.

Would the beating of that other white student still have happened if the nooses weren't there? Maybe, maybe not. He shouldn't have been beaten and the 6 black students should be disciplined - but attempted murder, uh, NO!

So far, there seems to be a large inequity in the way the black students have been treated as opposed to the white students over all.

It is a messed up situation.

[HarlequinBoy]

I understand that the "noose" and "white tree" are examples of bigotry and racism (like.. WHO would ever do that? That is just sick.), but IMO it seems both groups of kids/people are at fault because they both antagonized each other in the following months. And regardless, a student was beaten (although I question just HOW badly he was beaten if he can go to a ring ceremony that same night) so charges should definitely have been filed.

The person had to go to the hospital (not for a short time either probably) after that beating I believe so it must have been after the ring ceremony.

No, the beating was BEFORE the ring ceremony. I am not doubting that he was injured or justifying their actions though.