Jena Six: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Baisden-and-Sharpton.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Talk show host [[Michael Baisden]] and the [[Al Sharpton|Rev. Al Sharpton]] at the front of the September 20, 2007 march in Jena, Louisiana]] |
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'''Jena Six''' was the name given to a group of six [[African American|black]] teenagers [[criminal charge|charged]] with the beating of Justin Barker, a [[White American|white]] student at [[Jena High School]] in [[Jena, Louisiana|Jena]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States]], on December 4, 2006. Barker was injured, but was released from the emergency room the same day.<ref name="wapo"/> He has since brought suit against members of the Jena Six, their parents, the school district, and others allegedly involved.<ref name="USA Today"/> |
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A number of events took place in and around Jena in the months preceding the Barker assault, which have been linked to an alleged escalation of racial tensions. These events included the hanging of [[noose]]s from a tree in the high school courtyard, two violent confrontations between white and black youths, and the destruction by fire of the main building of Jena High School. The incidents were often linked in the extensive news coverage regarding the Jena Six.<ref name = "NPR"/> |
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Six individuals (Robert Bailey, then aged 17; Mychal Bell, then 16; Carwin Jones, then 18; Bryant Purvis, then 17; Jesse Ray Beard, then 14; and Theo Shaw, then 17) were [[arrest]]ed in the assault on Barker. One, Mychal Bell, was initially convicted as an adult of [[Assault#Aggravated_assault|aggravated battery]] and [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to commit aggravated battery. His convictions were overturned on the ground that he should have been tried as a [[minor (law)|juvenile]]. Prior to a retrial in [[juvenile court]], he pled guilty to a reduced charge of [[battery (crime)|simple battery]]. The other five defendants still await [[Trial#Criminal_trial|trial]].<ref name = "Yeager"/> |
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The Jena Six case sparked protests by those viewing the arrests and subsequent charges, initially [[attempted murder|attempted second-degree murder]] (though later reduced), as excessive and racially discriminatory. The protesters asserted that white Jena youths involved in other incidents were treated leniently. On September 20, 2007, between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena in what was described as the "largest civil rights demonstration in years".<ref>{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Gallacher |title=Huge rally in small-town Louisiana |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7005866.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |location=Jena, Louisiana |date=September 21, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Maria |last=Newman |title=Jena, La. |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/louisiana/jena/index.html |work=The New York Times |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=September 24, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> Related protests were held in other US cities on the same day.<ref>{{cite news |first=Christine |last=Simmons |title="Jena 6" Protest at Justice Dept. |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100202254.html |publisher=Associated Press via ''The Washington Post'' |location=Washington, D.C. |date=October 2, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> Subsequent reactions include songs alluding to the Jena Six, a considerable number of editorials and opinion columns, and Congressional hearings. |
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==Background to the assault== |
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===Noose hanging=== |
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[[Image:Rsz schoolpicture.gif|thumb|Jena High School]] |
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At [[Jena High School]], about 10% of students are black and more than 80% are white, reflecting the population of the city of Jena, which has about 3,000 people.<ref name="cdata">{{cite web |url=http://www.city-data.com/city/Jena-Louisiana.html |title=Jena, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile |accessdate=2008-08-25 |year=2007 |publisher=City-data.com}}</ref> Some early reporting indicated that students of different races seldom sat together, although this has been disputed.<ref name="nowhitetree">{{cite news |first=Todd |last=Lewan |title=Black and White Becomes Gray in La. Town |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3638431&page=1 |publisher=Associated Press via ABC News |location=Jena, Louisiana |pages=1–4 |date=September 22, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> According to early reports, black students typically sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large tree in the center of the school courtyard, referred to as the "white tree" or "[[Preppy|prep]] tree".<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |first=Wade |last=Goodwyn |title=Beating Charges Split La. Town Along Racial Lines |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12353776 |work=All Things Considered |publisher=National Public Radio |date=July 30, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> According to some of the school's teachers and administrators, the tree in question was not a "white tree" and students of all races had sat under it at one time or another.<ref name="nowhitetree"/> |
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A school assembly was held on August 31, 2006. A black male freshman asked the principal whether he could sit under the tree.<ref name="stealth">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/6685441.stm |title='Stealth racism' stalks deep South |last=Mangold |first=Tom |publisher=BBC News |date=August 16, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23}}</ref> According to Donald Washington, [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana|Western District of Louisiana]], the principal stated that the question was posed in a "jocular fashion".<ref name="clearup">{{cite web |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990004 |title=Official sought to clear up 'Jena Six' 'misinformation' |last=Brown |first=Abbey |publisher=''The Town Talk'' |location=Alexandria-Pineville, Louisiana |date=July 31, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23}}</ref> The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted".<ref name="stealth"/> According to some reports, the freshman and his friends then sat under the tree.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/19/jackson.jena6/ |title=Jesse Jackson: Obama needs to bring more attention to Jena 6 |last=Mooney |first=Alexander |publisher=CNN |date=September 19, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23}}</ref> |
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The following morning, nooses were discovered hanging from the tree. Reports differ as to whether there were two<ref name="nowhitetree"/> or three<ref name="NPR"/>. A black teacher described seeing both white and black students "playing with [the nooses], pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them" that same day.<ref name="nowhitetree"/> Craig Franklin, assistant editor of ''The Jena Times'', stated that the nooses were actually a prank by three students aimed at white members of the school rodeo team, and that the school's investigating committee had concluded that "the three young teens had no knowledge that nooses symbolize the terrible legacy of the lynchings of countless blacks in American history."<ref name = "MediaMyths"/> The names of those who hung the nooses have not been publicly disclosed. |
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===Repercussions=== |
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The school disciplinary process that followed is unclear. It has been reported that the principal learned that three white students were responsible and recommended [[Expulsion (academia)|expulsion]], that the [[board of education]] overruled his recommendation, and that school superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed with the overruling. It was initially reported that the punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.<ref name="wapo">{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080302098.html |title=La. Town Fells 'White Tree,' but Tension Runs Deep |last=Fears |first=Darryl |publisher=''The Washington Post'' |accessdate=2008-08-23 |date=August 4, 2007}}</ref><ref name="NPR"/> However, the three students were isolated at an alternative school "for about a month",<ref name="nowhitetree"/> spent two weeks on in-school suspension, served Saturday detentions, had to attend Discipline Court, were referred to Families in Need of Services, and had to have an evaluation before they were able to return to school as part of the district's Crisis Management Policy Procedures.<ref name="nowhitetree"/> |
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The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody."<ref name="tribune2">{{cite news |first=Howard |last=Witt |title=Racial demons rear heads |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-elf2u1mmay20,1,3301167.story |publisher=''Chicago Tribune'' |location=Jena, Louisiana |date=May 20, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> Black residents of Jena have stated that this decision stoked racial tensions leading to subsequent events.<ref name="wapo"/> |
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According to US Attorney Donald Washington, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) investigators and federal examiners of the crime found that the hanging of the nooses "had all the markings of a [[hate crime]]". However, it could not be prosecuted as such because it failed to meet federal standards for the teens to be certified as adults.<ref name="notrelated">{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six.link/index.html |title=U.S. Attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related |date=September 19, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> [[La Salle Parish, Louisiana|La Salle Parish]] District Attorney [[J. Reed Walters]] stated that Washington had found no federal statute under which the teens could be prosecuted, just as he himself had found no applicable state statute.<ref name="daoped">{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/opinion/26walters.html |title=Justice in Jena |date=September 26, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Walters |first=Reed | publisher=''The New York Times''}}</ref> Walters opined: "The people that [hung the nooses] should be ashamed of what they unleashed on this town."<ref name="farwell">{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Farwell |title=North Texans marching behind 6 young men in Jena |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/092007dnmetjenasetup.3645e08.html |publisher=''The Dallas Morning News'' |date=September 20, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> |
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Police were called to the school in the days after the noose incident.<ref name="whitlock"/> The principal took action by calling an assembly on September 6, 2006. The Jena Police Department asked Walters to attend and speak at the assembly. Already pressed for time due to a case under preparation, Walters felt that the students were not paying proper attention to his message. Walters warned the students "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. With the stroke of a pen I can make life miserable for you or ruin your life. So I want you to call me before you do something stupid."<ref name="whitlock">{{cite web |url=http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/296701.html |title=Jena 6 case caught up in whirlwind of distortion, opportunism |last=Whitlock |first=Jason |authorlink=Jason Whitlock |date=September 29, 2007 |accessdate=2007-10-01| publisher=''The Kansas City Star''}}</ref> Though black students state Walters was looking at them when he made the comments, Walters and school board member Billy Fowler, also present, deny it.<ref name="NPR" /> Walters said that he was irritated at "two or three girls, white girls, [who] were chit-chatting on their cellphones or playing with their cellphones".<ref name=MediaMyths>{{cite web |last=Franklin |first=Craig |title=Media myths about the Jena 6 |publisher=''Christian Science Monitor'' |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html |date=October 24, 2007 |accessdate=2007-10-24}}</ref> |
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===School arson, fight, and confrontation=== |
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On November 30, 2006, the main building of the high school was set on fire and burned down. Although it would be many months before the perpetrators were known, the news media widely cited the fire as a racially-charged event leading up to the assault on Barker.<ref name="NPR"/> On December 28, 2007, LaSalle Parish Sheriff-elect Scott Franklin announced that an investigation had shown that the fire was set in an effort to destroy grade records in the building and to close the school for a time. Six racially diverse male suspects (three juveniles and three adults) had been arrested, and two more adult males were being sought. Franklin indicated that the fire was not racially motivated, and had no connection to the Jena Six.<ref name="face charges"/> |
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[[Image:Gotta go.jpg|thumb|The "Gotta Go" convenience store outside Jena, Louisiana]] |
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On Friday, December 1, 2006, a private party was held at the Jena Fair Barn.<ref name="clearup"/> Bailey and four other black youths attempted to enter the party at about 11:00 p.m. According to US Attorney Washington, they were told by a woman that no one was allowed inside without an invitation. The youths persisted, stating that some friends were already in attendance at the party. A white male, who was not a student, then jumped in front of the woman and a fight ensued. After the fight broke up, the woman told both the white male and the black students to leave the party. Once outside, the black students were involved in another fight with a group of white males who were not students.<ref name="clearup" /> Justin Sloan, a white male, was charged with [[battery (crime)|battery]] for his role in the fight and was put on [[probation]]. Bailey later stated that one of the white males broke a beer bottle over his head,<ref name="wapo"/> but there are no records of Bailey receiving medical treatment.<ref name="clearup"/> |
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The following day, another incident occurred at the Gotta Go convenience store, outside Jena in unincorporated LaSalle Parish, between Matt Windham and three black youths including Bailey.<ref name="lasupct">{{cite court |litigants=''State of Louisiana v. Robert Bailey'' |opinion=Johnson, J., dissenting from denial of certiorari |court = Louisiana Supreme Court |date=December 7, 2007 |url=http://www.lasc.org/opinions/2007/07KK1922.bjj.pdf}}</ref> Law enforcement reported that the accounts contradicted each other. Windham alleged that Bailey and his friends chased him, that he ran to get his gun, and that the students wrestled it away from him. According to the black students, as they left the convenience store, they were confronted by Windham with a shotgun. They stated they wrestled the gun away from him and fled the scene. Bailey was charged with [[disturbing the peace]], second degree robbery, and theft of a firearm.<ref name="face charges">{{cite news |first=Elaine|last=McKewon|title=Jena Six timeline |url=http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Jena_Six_Timeline__4731.asp |work=The Bayou Buzz |date=September 21, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> |
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==Attack on Barker== |
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On December 4, 2006 17-year-old Justin Barker, a white Jena High School student, was assaulted at school by a group of black students. Superintendent Breithaupt described the fight as a "premeditated ambush and attack by six students against one. The victim attacked was beaten and kicked into a state of bloody unconsciousness."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cbs11tv.com/politics/jena.6.mychal.2.507349.html |publisher=CBS News |title=Jena Six teen to be freed on bail |date=September 27, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> |
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Barker was released after three hours of treatment and observation at a local emergency room for a concussion and an eye that had swollen shut.<ref name="wapo"/> The emergency physician's record shows that he also had injuries to his face, ears, and hand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70916045 |title=Documents give details about fight |date=June 11, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |publisher=''The Town Talk'' |last=Brown |first=Abbey}}</ref> Nevertheless, he attended his school's Ring ceremony that evening. He later testified, "I waited 11 years to go to it. I wasn't going to let that get in my way," though he ended up leaving the dance early due to pain.<ref name="testify">{{cite web |url=http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6719374 |title=Victim in Jena 6 case takes the stand |date=June 11, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-20 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> During the trial, Barker also testified that his face was badly swollen after the attack and that he suffered a loss of vision in one eye for three weeks. He also stated that he had suffered recurring headaches and forgetfulness since the attack.<ref name="forget">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19488285/ |title=Black teen convicted in beating of white student |date=July 2, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-23 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> |
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At a [[Law Day]] luncheon on April 30, 2008, US Attorney Washington decried what he termed "distortion of several key facts" by supporters of the Jena Six, most notably the linking of the Barker assault to the noose hangings.<ref name=distort/> In July 2007, Washington had noted that of the more than 40 statements taken regarding the assault, none mentioned the noose incident.<ref name="clearup"/> Walters likewise indicated there was no linkage between the noose incident and the beating. "When this case was brought to me and during our investigation and during the trial, there was no such linkage ever suggested. This compact story line has only been suggested after the fact."<ref name="notrelated"/> Although Washington believes that both the noose hangings and the Barker assault were symptoms of racial tension, he has also said that there was no apparent lingering anger after the noose hangings.<ref name=distort>{{cite news |title=U.S. Attorney: Critics in Jena Six case have distorted the facts |url=http://www.ktbs.com/news/U.S.-Attorney-Critics-in-Jena-Six-case-have-distorted-the-facts-11518/ |publisher=KTBS-3 |date=April 30, 2008 |accessdate=2008-05-24}}</ref> |
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==Criminal cases== |
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Law enforcement arrested six students, eventually dubbed the "Jena Six", who were accused in the attack.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/04/bell.jena.six/ |publisher=CNN |title=Residents: Nooses spark school violence, divide town |accessdate=2007-09-04 |date=September 5, 2007 |author=McLaughlin, Eliott C. & [[Susan Roesgen|Roesgen, Susan]]}}</ref> Five of them (Robert Bailey, Jr., then 17; Mychal Bell, then 16; Carwin Jones, then 18; Bryant Purvis, then 17; and Theo Shaw, then 17) were charged with attempted murder.<ref name="lasupct"/> The sixth student, Jesse Ray Beard (also known as Jesse Rae Beard), was charged as a juvenile. Despite his age, Mychal Bell was charged as an adult.<ref name="overturn"/> This was due to Bell's previous [[criminal record]] and because Walters believed Bell initiated the attack.<ref name="releaseabc"/> |
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====Mychal Bell proceedings==== |
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District Judge J. P. Mauffray, Jr. presided over Bell's trial. On the first day of trial, June 26, 2007, Walters reduced the charges to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6738454,00.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071025141828/http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6738454,00.html |archivedate=2007-10-25 |title=Charges Reduced for Student in La. Fight |last=Foster |first=Mary |publisher=Associated Press via ''The Guardian'' |date=June 27, 2007}}</ref> Because aggravated battery requires the use of a "dangerous weapon",<ref name="abdef">{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Quigley |authorlink=William P. Quigley |title=The Recent Lessons of Louisiana |url=http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue3/0307p56.htm |work=UN Chronicle |publisher=United Nations |date=November 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref> Walters argued that the tennis shoes that Bell had worn while allegedly kicking Barker were dangerous weapons.<ref name="tribune"/> A number of witnesses testified that they saw Bell strike Barker, while other witnesses were unsure Bell was involved.<ref name="tribune"/> Before the trial began, [[public defender]] Blane Williams had urged Bell to accept a [[plea bargain]]. At trial he rested the defense case without calling any witnesses or offering any evidence.<ref name="tribune">{{cite news |last=Witt |first=Howard |title=Louisiana teen guilty in school beating case; Witnesses provide conflicting testimony |publisher=''Chicago Tribune'' |date=June 29, 2007 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_witt.1jun29,1,1872156.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed |accessdate=2007-07-16}}</ref> All six members of Bell's jury were white. The 150-person [[Jury_selection#Jury_pool|jury pool]] included black citizens, who make up 10 percent of the parish's population, but none of the 50 potential jurors who showed up were black.<ref name="nowhitetree"/> Williams did not challenge the composition of the jury pool.<ref name="tribune"/> |
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The jury found Bell guilty, and he faced the possibility of up to 22 years in prison. The judge scheduled sentencing for September 20, 2007. Bell's new defense attorneys, Louis Scott and Carol Powell-Lexing, requested a new trial on the grounds that Bell should not have been tried as an adult.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990017 |title=Defense attorney says Bell case should be in juvenile system |date=August 16, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Brown |first=Abbey |publisher=''The Town Talk''}}</ref> A request to lower Bell's $90,000 bond was denied on August 24, 2007, due to his juvenile record. Bell had been put on probation for a battery that occurred December 25, 2005. While on probation he was convicted of another battery charge and two charges of criminal damage to property.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS03/708250353|title='Jena Six' defendant's criminal history comes to light; bond denied|date=August 25, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Brown |first=Abbey |publisher=''The Town Talk'' via ''The Shreveport Times''}}</ref> One of the battery charges was for punching a 17-year-old girl in the face.<ref>{{cite web |title='Jena Six' controversy swirls around football star |publisher=ESPN |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3030458 |date=September 21, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |author=Barr, John & Noren, Nicole}}</ref> The media had initially reported that Bell had no prior criminal record.<ref name="wapo"/> On September 4, 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/05/1422246 |title=Judge reduces charges in Jena 6 case but refuses to overturn Mychal Bell conviction|date=September 5, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |publisher=Democracy Now!}}</ref> Judge Mauffray [[Vacated judgment|vacated]] the conspiracy conviction on the grounds that Bell should have been tried as a juvenile, but let the battery conviction stand.<ref name="premature">{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six/ |title=Court: It's 'premature' to consider motion to release Jena 6 defendant|date=September 19, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23| publisher=CNN}}</ref> Bell [[appeal]]ed his conviction, principally on the ground that he had been improperly tried as an adult, and on September 14, 2007, Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Bell's battery conviction, agreeing that the remaining charge was not among those for which a juvenile may be tried as an adult.<ref name="overturn">{{cite news |title=Court overturns conviction in Jena beating |publisher=MSNBC |date=September 14, 2007 |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20779755/ |accessdate=2007-09-14}}</ref> |
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Following the appellate ruling,<ref name="CNN1">{{cite news |title=Thousands 'march for justice' in Jena, court orders hearing on teen |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/jena.six/index.html|date=September 20, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-21}}</ref> on September 21, 2007, Judge Mauffray denied the request for Bell to be eligible for bail pending possible further appeal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bond hearing for Jena Six defendant | publisher=Associated Press |url=http://www.ktbs.com/news/Bond-hearing-for-Jena-Six-defendant-5146/ |date=September 21, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bail denied for Jena suspect |publisher=Associated Press |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20909145/|date=September 20, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-21}}</ref> On September 26, Walters announced that the prosecution would not appeal the appellate ruling, but would try Bell as a juvenile.<ref name="noappeal">{{cite news |title=Mychal Bell of 'Jena 6' released on bail |publisher=CNN |date=September 27, 2007 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/27/jena.six/?iref=mpstoryview/s/ap/20070927/ap_on_re_us/jena_six_7 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> Bell was then released on $45,000 bond.<ref name="releaseabc">{{cite news |title=Jena 6 Teen Released on $45,000 Bail |publisher=Associated Press |date=September 27, 2007 |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3662083 | accessdate=2007-09-27}}</ref> Bell was subject to electronic monitoring and was under the supervision of a probation officer. |
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On October 11, 2007, Mauffray found that Bell had violated the terms of his [[probation]] for previous convictions. The judge then sentenced Bell to 18 months in a juvenile facility on two counts of simple battery and two counts of criminal destruction of property, and Bell was taken into custody. According to Walters, the matter was unrelated to the assault on Barker, and it was not mentioned during the proceedings.<ref>{{cite news |title='Jena Six' teen Mychal Bell back in jail |publisher=Associated Press |date=October 12, 2007 |url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3720533| accessdate=2007-10-12}}</ref> The defense filed a motion to dismiss the Barker charges on the ground that retrying Bell would amount to [[double jeopardy]]. On November 8, 2007, Mauffray denied the motion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court rejects motion to dismiss juvenile charges in racial school attacks |publisher=Associated Press |date=November 8, 2007 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/08/america/NA-GEN-US-Racial-School-Attack.php |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> |
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Bell's retrial in the Barker assault was scheduled for December 6. Three days before the trial began, he pled guilty to a reduced charge of battery, and was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile facility, with credit for time served. He agreed to testify against any of the others who go to trial. All appeals were dropped as part of the [[Plea bargain|plea agreement]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bell admits role in attack |publisher=''The Town Talk'' |last=Brown |first=Abbey |date=December 4, 2007 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990133 |accessdate=2007-08-22}}</ref> |
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====Remaining defendants==== |
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On September 4, 2007, charges against Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy,<ref>{{cite news |title=Charges Reduced in 'Jena 6' Attack |publisher=Associated Press via ''The Washington Post''|date=September 4, 2007 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090401047.html |accessdate=2007-09-04}}</ref> as were those of Robert Bailey, Jr. on September 10.<ref>{{cite news |title=Another Charge Reduced in 'Jena 6' Case |publisher=KYW-TV |date=September 15, 2007 |url=http://cbs3.com/national/Jena.6.Jena.2.289136.html |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> Bryant Purvis was arraigned on reduced charges of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery on November 7, 2007, pleading not guilty.<ref name="nov7towntalk">{{cite news |title= Final 'Jena Six' defendant, Purvis, pleads not guilty to reduced charges |publisher=''The Town Talk'' |date=November 8, 2007 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990122 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> Because Louisiana law considers seventeen-year-olds to be adults for purposes of criminal culpability, the charges for these four were unaffected by the appellate ruling overturning Bell's conviction.<ref name="overturn"/> |
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Proceedings were on hold for some time pending resolution of various motions that Mauffray be required to [[Judicial_disqualification#Recusal_in_the_United_States|recuse himself]]. On July 31, 2008, Mauffray was removed from the cases by Judge Thomas Yeager for making questionable comments about the defendants.<ref>{{cite news |title= Judge in Jena 6 case is removed |work=Detroit Free Press |date=August 2, 2008 |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080802/NEWS07/808020343/1009 |accessdate=2008-08-02}}</ref> The [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] assigned Judge Yeager to hear the five remaining cases by order signed August 4, 2008<ref name = "Yeager">.{{cite news |title=Judge Yeager to hear 'Jena Six' cases |work=The Town Talk |date=August 5, 2008 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080805/NEWS01/808050313/-1/NEWSFRONT2 |accessdate=2008-08-05}}</ref> However, Walters has appealed Yeager's recusal order of Mauffray.<ref>.{{cite news |title=Appeal of 'Jena 6' recusal ruling set |work=The Town Talk |date=August 14, 2008 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/NEWS01/808140331/1002/NEWS01 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> |
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Jesse Ray Beard, the youngest of the six, later returned to school. Bryant Purvis moved to attend a private school in the [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]] area.<ref name="nov7towntalk"/> |
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==Media coverage== |
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===News coverage=== |
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Initially, the Jena Six were largely ignored by the United States national media, though covered locally and within Louisiana. Both ''The Jena Times''<ref name="MediaMyths"/> and ''The Town Talk''<ref>{{cite news |title=Jena Six |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030 |work=The Town Talk |date=September 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-09-02}}</ref> (a regional newspaper published in [[Alexandria, Louisiana]]) covered the story from its inception. A number of African-American bloggers also covered the story before there was mainstream national press coverage.<ref name="blogs help drive"/> The first piece from outside the area on the case ran on May 9, 2007, in ''[[Left Turn (magazine)|Left Turn]]'', a small [[alternative news]] magazine.<ref name="Leftturn">{{cite web |url=http://leftturn.mayfirst.org/?q=node/649 |title=Justice in Jena |accessdate=2007-10-20 |date=May 9, 2007 |last=Flaherty |first=Jordan |publisher=''Left Turn Magazine''}}</ref> The first mainstream US media outlet to cover the matter was the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', whose Southwest Bureau Chief, Howard Witt, wrote a piece covering the story on May 20.<ref name="tribune2"/> Witt had received a summary of the situation<ref name = "foj">{{cite web |url=http://friendsofjustice.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/responding_to_the_crisis_in_jena1.doc |title=Responding to the crisis in Jena, Louisiana |accessdate=2007-10-22|publisher=Friends of Justice |format=DOC}}</ref> from [[Alan Bean (activist)|Alan Bean]], a Texas minister who had founded the advocacy group Friends of Justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/howard-witt-responds-indirectly-to-jason-whitlock/ |title=Howard Witt Responds (indirectly) to Jason Whitlock |accessdate=2008-08-22 |date=October 2, 2007 |publisher=Friends of Justice}}</ref> That document was also provided to other reporters and bloggers. In it Bean demanded that outside authorities, not those in LaSalle Parish, deal with the case, and that no incarceration occur.<ref name = "foj"/> [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] ''[[The Observer]]'' also featured an article on the case on May 20.<ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Mangold |title=Racism goes on trial again in America's Deep South |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2083762,00.html |work=The Observer |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |location=Jena, Louisiana |date=May 20, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> |
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A segment on a [[BBC]] program ''[[This World (television programme)|This World]]'' followed on May 24. On July 3, Bill Quigley wrote a column for the website [[Truthout.org]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Quigley |title=Injustice in Jena as Nooses Hang From the "White Tree" |url=http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307B.shtml |publisher=Truthout.org |date=July 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> The case began to receive extensive media coverage in September 2007. News reports from Jena have evoked the [[Civil Rights Movement]],<ref name="pbs"/> made references to [[lynching]],<ref name="pbs"/> or evoked [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]].<ref name="pbs"/> Some sources have pointed out inaccurate reporting by the media. The Associated Press published an article noting the various reporting errors that have been made, including whether the tree was a "white tree", the number of nooses, and the discipline meted out on the nooses-hanging students.<ref name="nowhitetree"/> Based on this, MTV posted a retraction for incorrect information that it had reported on the case from other news sources.<ref name="MTVerror">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1570444/20070924/id_0.jhtml |title=Jena Report Attempts To Sift Fact From Fiction; FBI Probes White-Supremacist Response |accessdate=2007-09-27| date=September 24, 2007 |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |publisher=MTV}}</ref> |
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===Columnists and editorials=== |
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Many major editorial pages and columnists have been sympathetic to the supporters of the Jena Six and have used the case to discuss broader trends of racism in the US criminal justice system and to call for a renewed civil rights movement. Most editorials were published around the time of the Jena rally. ''[[The New York Post]]'', in a September 23, 2007 editorial, stated "it's impossible to examine the case of the so-called Jena Six without concluding that these black teens have been the victims of a miscarriage of justice, with a clearly racial double standard at work."<ref name="nyposted">{{cite web |url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/09232007/postopinion/editorials/the_jena_six.htm |title=The Jena Six |accessdate=2007-10-23 |date=September 23, 2007 |publisher=''New York Post''}}</ref> Byron Williams, writing on the ''[[Huffington Post]]'', was one of several to cite the [[Urban League]]'s 2005 finding that the average black male convicted of aggravated assault serves 48 months in prison, one-third longer than a comparable white man.<ref name="ByronWilliams">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/oldfashioned-southern-ju_b_65178.html |title=Old Fashioned Southern Justice in the Modern South |work=The Huffington Post |date=September 20, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Williams |first=Byron}}</ref> Their report also stated that a black male who is arrested is three times more likely to go to prison than a white male convicted of the same crime.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec07/jena_9-24.html |title=Jena Six Rally Highlights Racial Tensions |date=September 24, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Miller |first=Talea |publisher=PBS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/21/2040080.htm |title=Jena 6 case sparks anti-racism protest |accessdate=2007-09-27 |date=September 21, 2007 |last=Landers |first=Kim |publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref name="younge">{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2170644,00.html |title=Apart from the noose, this is an everyday story of modern America |date=September 17, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Younge |first=Gary |publisher=''The Guardian''}}</ref><ref name="page">{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/09/injustice_is_bigger_than_jena.html |title=Injustice is bigger than the 'Jena 6' |date=September 25, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-27 |last=Page |first=Clarence |authorlink=Clarence Page |publisher=''The Baltimore Sun'' via RealClearPolitics}}</ref> Citing the same statistics, syndicated columnist [[Clarence Page]] wrote that "The best legacy for the Jena March 6 would be a new movement, dedicated this time to the reduction and elimination of unequal justice wherever it appears. I don't care who leads it, but it shouldn't be for blacks only."<ref name="page"/> Writing in the ''[[New York Times]]'', Professor [[Orlando Patterson]] of [[Harvard University]] used the case to highlight the use of the prison system as a means of "controlling young black men", which is one factor in a broader "crisis in relations between men and women of all classes and, as a result, the catastrophic state of black family life".<ref name="harvard">{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=/2007/09/30/opinion/30patterson.html |title=Jena, O.J., and the jailing of Black America |date=September 30, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |last=Patterson |first=Orlando |authorlink=Orlando Patterson |publisher=''New York Times''}}</ref> |
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Other columnists have argued that inaccuracies in the media coverage unfairly tarnish the town and have led to a national overreaction. ''[[Dallas Morning News]]'' columnist Heather MacDonald, while condemning the noose hangings as a "despicable provocation", expressed her view that "the media, the (race) advocates and pandering politicians have erupted in an outpouring of seeming joy at the alleged proof that America remains a racist country."<ref name="macdonald">{{cite web |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-macdonald_30edi.ART.State.Edition1.4257c86.html |title=Don't make Jena out to be more than it is |last=Mac Donald |first=Heather |authorlink=Heather Mac Donald |accessdate=2007-10-24| work=The Dallas Morning News |date=September 30, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref> In a column in the ''[[Kansas City Star]]'', [[Jason Whitlock]] drew attention to what he called factual inaccuracies in reporting of the story. He focused on the piece circulated by Bean to news outlets, "Bean's story is framed—by his own admission—as an indictment of the criminal justice system and the people in power in Jena and, therefore, the story is unfairly biased."<ref name="whitlock"/> Craig Franklin, assistant editor of ''The Jena Times'', who states that he is the only writer to have covered this story from its inception, wrote in ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' "I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts ... the truth about Jena will eventually be known."<ref name="MediaMyths">{{cite news |first=Craig |last=Franklin |title=Media myths about the Jena 6 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html |work=The Christian Science Monitor |location=Jena, Louisiana |pages=1–3 |date=October 24, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> |
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==Public response== |
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The case has elicited allegations that the charges against the Jena Six were disproportionate and racially motivated. Supporters of the Jena Six circulated online petitions, raised money for legal defense, and held a demonstration in Jena on September 20, 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbc13.com/gulfcoastwest/vtm/news.apx.-content-articles-VTM-2007-09-20-0007.html |title=Thousands March to Decry Treatment of Jena Six |date=September 20, 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-22 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> |
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===Rallies=== |
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[[Image:Jena Six march in Cleveland, Ohio.jpg|thumb|Marchers support the Jena Six in Cleveland, Ohio.]] |
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Rallies in support of the Jena Six and all blacks in the United States who have been unfairly treated by the justice system were held in Jena and elsewhere in the United States on September 20, 2007, the date upon which Bell was scheduled for sentencing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=103402 |title=Jena Six rallies held in Atlanta |accessdate=2008-08-22 |date=September 20, 2007 |publisher=11Alive.com}}</ref> An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 demonstrators attended the rally that day, severely overtaxing the facilities of the small town. Protesters were bused in from as far away as Los Angeles and Washington DC.<ref name="CNN1"/> Because of the congestion on the roads leading to Jena, many protesters left their vehicles and continued into town on foot.<ref name="CNN1"/> Among those in attendance were civil rights activists [[Jesse Jackson]], [[Al Sharpton]], and [[Martin Luther King III]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14556993 | title=Protesters March in Support of Jena Six |accessdate=2007-09-25 |date=September 20, 2007 |publisher=NPR}}</ref> [[rapper]]s [[Mos Def]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/mos%20def%20leads%20jena%20six%20protest_1044295 | title=Mos Def Leads 'Jena Six' Protest |accessdate=2007-09-25 |date=September 20, 2007 |publisher=Contact Music}}</ref> and [[Salt-n-Pepa]]. Rapper-actor [[Ice Cube]] attended and financially supported the rally.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/04/arts/NA-A-E-MUS-US-Racial-School-Fight-Hip-Hop.php |title=Jena Six case brings out activism among hip-hop stars |accessdate=2008-08-22 |date=October 4, 2007 |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> [[Darryl Hunt]], an African-American who was [[Miscarriage of justice|wrongfully convicted]] of the rape and murder of a young white newspaper reporter in 1984, was scheduled to be a keynote speaker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4395432&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 |title=Darryl Hunt Asked to Speak at 'Jena Six' Rally |accessdate=2007-09-19 |date=September 18, 2007 |last=Tucker |first=Chad |publisher=FOX8 News}}</ref> The demonstrators were addressed by Darryl Matthews, General President of [[Alpha Phi Alpha]] fraternity, who stated "It is sobering to know that in 2007 [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Martin Luther King's]] dream of equal treatment, respect, fairness and opportunity is still not realized."<ref name=jena6>{{cite press release |first=Darryl R. |last=Matthews, Sr. |url=http://www.alphaphialpha.net/PressNewsDetails.php?newsID=57&newsCat=Press%20Release |title=We Demand Justice for the Jena 6! |publisher=Monica Woods Public Relations |date=September 20, 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-22 |quote=The members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated have historically engaged in the struggle to uplift the downtrodden in their efforts to achieve the promise of social and economic parity described and prescribed in the pledge of allegiance to this great republic that declares liberty and justice for all.}}</ref> |
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===Artistic tributes=== |
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Multiple songs have been produced in response to the Jena Six case. [[John Mellencamp]] released a song and video called "Jena", with lyrics such as "Jena, take your nooses down" which gained considerable media attention, and which Mellencamp described as a "condemnation of racism."<ref name = "mellencamp">{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299824,00.html |title=Louisiana mayor balks at Mellencamp 'Jena 6' protest song and video |accessdate=2008-09-02 |date=October 6, 2007 |publisher=Associated Press via Foxnews}}</ref> The video juxtaposes images of Jena, the high school, and the tree with video from the 1960s, including civil rights marchers and police beatings. Video of [[John F. Kennedy]] and Martin Luther King speaking and an image of a black man in shackles are also included in the video.<ref name = "mellencamp"/> The song and video led to Jena's mayor, Murphy R. McMillan, issuing a statement rebutting the accusations he believed were expressed and implied in the video.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/06/jena.six.mellencamp.ap/index.html |title=Mellencamp song about 'Jena Six' upsets mayor |accessdate=2007-10-12 |date=October 6, 2007 |publisher=Associated Press via CNN}}</ref> An episode of the ''[[Salt-N-Pepa]] Show'' on [[VH1]] was filmed at the Jena rally.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lang |first=Derrik J. |title=VH1's 'Salt-N-Pepa Show' tackles Jena 6 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-11-26-salt-n-pepa_N.htm |publisher=Associated Press via ''USA Today'' |date=November 27, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-16}}</ref> [[Bomani Armah]] released a song called "Jena 6".<ref>{{cite news |title=Hip-Hop Fridays: Bomani Armah Releases 'Jena 6' Song To Continue Movement |url=http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=1997 |work=BlackElectorate.com |date=September 28, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> |
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===Other reactions=== |
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[[Image:Jena Six petition.JPG|thumb|right|A worker gathers petition signatures at a [[Los Angeles]] rally, October 2007.]] |
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Multiple online petitions have circulated calling for various actions in response to the Jena Six case. A petition created by online advocacy group [[Color of Change]], which had previously advocated for victims of [[Hurricane Katrina]], called for District Attorney Walters to drop all charges and for Governor [[Kathleen Blanco]] to investigate his conduct.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html|title=Justice for the Jena 6 |accessdate=2007-10-18 |author=Color of Change}}</ref> The Color of Change petition had received 312,880 signatures as of October 18, 2007. Another petition, sponsored by the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) and asking Louisiana state officials to investigate the case, obtained more than 175,000 signatures as of the same date.<ref name = "naacp">{{cite web |url=http://www.naacp.org/get-involved/activism/alerts/110aa-2007-7-20/index.htm |title=Justice for Jena Petition |accessdate=2007-10-18 |date=July 20, 2007 |author=NAACP}}</ref> |
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A legal defense fund was established to pay attorney and other fees for the Jena Six. Color of Change raised more than $212,000, largely through online donations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Joe |last=Garofoli |title=Louisiana's Jena Six beating case galvanizes S.F.'s 'black MoveOn' |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/22/MNEISAVOE.DTL |publisher=''San Francisco Chronicle''|date=September 22, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://secure.colorofchange.org/jena_fund/info.html |title=How funds are managed |author=Color of Change |accessdate=2008-02-08 |publisher=Color of Change}}</ref> While the NAACP provided a link to the fund through its website,<ref name = "naacp"/> initially, the donation link on the NAACP Jena Six support page steered potential donors to the generic NAACP donation page, with no way to designate funds for the Jena Six. Black bloggers objected, and several days later, the link was altered to reach the defense fund.<ref name="blogs help drive">{{cite news |first=Howard |last=Witt |title=Blogs help drive Jena protest |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-jena_blog_web19,0,1970628.story |publisher=''Chicago Tribune'' |location=Jena, Louisiana |date=September 18, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> |
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In the months following the Jena Six rally, controversy arose about accounting and dispersal of the legal defense funds. Questions about the money were first sparked by photos posted on Robert Bailey's former [[MySpace]] account, which show him with quantities of hundred dollar bills stuffed in his mouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990074 |title='Jena Six' notebook |accessdate=2007-11-10 |date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=''The Town Talk''}}</ref> The controversy grew significantly when radio host [[Michael Baisden]] accused Color of Change of being "shady" with their use of the funds. Color of Change responded to the accusations by posting links to canceled checks on their web site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/baisden/ |title=False allegations on the Michael Baisden Show |accessdate=2008-02-08 |publisher=Color of Change}}</ref> In his November 10 report, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' correspondent Howard Witt noted that Color of Change was the only national civil rights group to be fully transparent with their use of the funds.<ref name="funds controversy">{{cite news |first=Howard |last=Witt |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_bdnov11,1,5899685.story |title=Controversy over the Jena 6 funds |date=November 11, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02 |publisher=''Chicago Tribune''}}</ref> Witt also raised broader questions about the funds, which totaled more than half a million dollars, reporting that attorneys for Bell claimed that they have yet to receive any money from him, and that the families had refused to publicly account for the donations.<ref name="funds controversy"/> |
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On September 22, 2007, the [[FBI]] opened an investigation of a white supremacist website that listed the addresses of five of the Jena Six and the telephone numbers of some of their families "in case anyone wants to deliver justice". According to an FBI spokeswoman, the website "essentially called for their [[lynching]]".<ref name="FBIprobe"/> Civil rights advocate [[Al Sharpton]] has stated that some of the families have continuously received threatening and harassing phone calls.<ref name="FBIprobe">{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201404.html?nav=rss_technology |title=FBI probes anti-Jena 6 Web page |accessdate=2007-09-25 |date=September 22, 2007 |last=Bohrer |first=Becky |publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> |
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==Developments since September 20 rally== |
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===Action by Members of Congress=== |
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On September 25, 2007, Representative [[John Conyers]], Chairman of the [[House Judiciary Committee]], announced that he would hold congressional hearings on what he described as "the miscarriages of justice that have occurred in Jena, Louisiana", with the goal of pressuring the [[United States Department of Justice]] into taking action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR2007092501666.html |title=Lawmakers Seek Jena 6 Teen's Release |date=September 25, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |publisher=Associated Press via ''The Washington Post'' |last=Barrett |first=Devlin}}</ref> The hearing took place on October 16, 2007; Washington and Sharpton, among others, testified. Walters was invited to testify but declined. Most Republican members of the committee declined to attend. Representative [[Sheila Jackson Lee]] (D-Texas) exclaimed to Washington and other Justice Department officials, "Shame on you . . . As a parent, I'm on the verge of tears,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-16-650507891_x.htm |title=Lawmakers Seek US Action in Jena 6 Case |publisher=''USA Today'' |accessdate=2008-08-23 |date=October 16, 2007 |last=Barrett |first=Devlin}}</ref> and demanded, "I want to know what you're going to do to get Mychal Bell out of jail!"<!--emphasis was in original--><ref name="darryl">{{cite news |first=Darryl |last=Fears |title=U.S. Attorney Calls Noose Display 'Hate Crime,' Explains Lack of Charges |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101600200.html |publisher=''The Washington Post'' |date=October 17, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> US Attorney Washington responded that the federal government had a limited role to play in the matter.<ref name="darryl"/> |
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Representative Lee and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus called upon outgoing Louisiana Governor Blanco to pardon the Jena Six on December 19, 2007, stating that "we believe Mychal Bell and the Jena 6 have paid a sufficient debt to society for any transgressions they may have committed".<ref name = "pardonme"/> Blanco's office responded that she cannot grant pardons without a recommendation from the state Pardon Board, and no meeting of that body was scheduled during her remaining term of office. Walters commented that Lee's "passion for racial equality is admirable, but her grasp of the facts is not".<ref name = "pardonme"/> He indicated that the attack on Barker was not just a schoolyard fight "but rather an unprovoked, unforeseen assault on a young man who had nothing to do with the hanging of the nooses".<ref name = "pardonme">{{cite news |title=Black congressional members seek pardon for 'Jena Six' |url=http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7529253 |publisher=Associated Press |date=December 24, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> Governor Blanco's term of office ended without any pardons being granted. |
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===Other developments=== |
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On July 31, 2007, the school had the tree cut down.<ref name="wapo"/> School Board member Fowler said, "There's nothing positive about that old tree. It's all negative. And I'm serving on the new School Board, and we're wanting to start fresh on some things."<ref name="cutdown">{{cite web |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990005 |title=Jena High 'noose' tree cut down |date=July 31, 2008 |publisher=''The Town Talk'' |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> According to Fowler, the tree would have had to have been cut down to make way for the rebuilding of the school after the fire. Others felt that cutting down the tree was not an effective way to address any problems of racism in Jena. "Cutting down that beautiful tree won't solve the problem at hand," said Caseptla Bailey, Robert Bailey's mother. "It still happened."<ref name="cutdown"/> |
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Jones and Purvis attended the [[BET Hip Hop Awards]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] on October 13, 2007 and presented the award for [[BET Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-15-2007/0004682354 |title=Kanye West, Nelly, Common, Dr. Cornel West, MC Lyte, David Banner, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Lil' Wayne, Soulja Boy and Hurricane Chris, Among Others, Brought Style, Substance and Swagger to the BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2007 |accessdate=2007-10-18 |publisher=PR Newswire/BET Networks}}</ref> When the two defendants came out on stage, they were greeted by a standing ovation. Emcee [[Katt Williams]] joked, "They don't look so tough, do they?"<ref name = "bet"/> The two members delivered speeches thanking family, friends, the "Hip-Hop Nation",<ref name = "bet"/> and those who came to Jena.<ref name = "bet">{{cite news |author=''Chicago Tribune'' |title=Jena 6 face donation questions |url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7429395? |publisher=''Chicago Tribune'' via ''The Denver Post'' |location=Houston, Texas |date=November 11, 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref> |
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Justin Barker and his parents filed suit on November 29, 2007<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/04/national/main3575112.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._3575112 |title=Victim in Jena Six case files suit |publisher=Associated Press via CBS News |date=December 4, 2007 |accessdate=2007-04-07}}</ref> against the parents of those accused of beating him, the adult members of the Jena Six (as of the time of the attack), an additional student named Malcolm Shaw and the LaSalle Parish School Board.<ref name="USA Today">{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-04-jena-six_N.htm?csp=34 |title=Beating victim's family sues in 'Jena Six' case |date=December 4, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-23 |work=USA Today}}</ref> Barker's medical bills from his emergency room visit totaled more than $5,000.<ref name="USA Today"/> The lawsuit alleges that the LaSalle Parish School Board inadequately supervised students and failed to maintain discipline.<ref name="USA Today"/> The Barkers also allege that the school board did not implement a plan to "discourage the dangerous activity of threatening and attacking other students while in possession of actual knowledge of said threats and prior attacks while the students are on school grounds".<ref name="USA Today"/> The case was on hold pending resolution of the criminal cases, but when the Barkers' attorney learned that Jesse Ray Beard was using defense funds (which might be garnished) to pay for private school, he decided to push ahead with the case. However, following a motion by Bell's civil attorney to recuse Mauffray in the civil case, proceedings are again on hold pending appointment of a judge to hear that recusal motion.<ref name = "on hold">{{cite news |author=Abbey Brown |title=Jena Six cases linger more than a year later |url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080920/NEWS03/809200328/1062 |publisher=''The Shreveport Times'' |location=Shreveport, Louisiana|date=September 20, 2008 |accessdate=2008-09-20}}</ref> |
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===Members' subsequent activities=== |
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Bryant Purvis, aged 19, was arrested on February 7, 2008 for an assault causing bodily injury on a fellow high school student in Texas, where he now resides.<ref name = "subsequent"/> |
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Corwin Jones, now also 19, was arrested on May 10, 2008 in LaSalle Parish on a charge of misdemeanor simple battery, stemming from an incident three days earlier in which the Sheriff's Department alleges that Jones struck a man from behind as several people, including Jones, came towards the man and his friends, with Jones' companions carrying baseball bats. Jones denied fault, stating that the incident was caused by a fight the previous day in which Jones states he was not involved, that he had been harassed and intimidated, and "that the incident that day 'struck a nerve and I reacted'."<ref name="subsequent">{{cite news |title= May 30, 2008: Some 'Jena Six' defendants have recent legal problems |work=The Town Talk|date=May 30, 2008 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990252 |accessdate = 2008-07-22}}</ref> Jones had previously been arrested on January 24, 2008 on a [[trespass]]-related charge.<ref name = "subsequent"/> |
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Also on May 10, Mychal Bell was stopped in [[Olla, Louisiana]] for speeding and not having proper vehicle insurance while on a weekend pass from his sentence. Bell was not supposed to leave [[Monroe, Louisiana]] during the pass. The vehicle was towed due to the lack of insurance.<ref name="subsequent"/> In an interview televised on CNN on August 24, 2008, Bell admitted to striking Barker and called Jena "a real racist town".<ref>{{cite news |title=Bell calls Jena 'a real racist town' in interview |work=The Shreveport Times |date=August 25, 2008 |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/breaking_news/story/417747.html |accessdate=2008-08-27}}</ref> On August 27, 2008, the [[Louisiana High School Athletic Association]] turned down Bell's request for an extra year of athletic eligibility.<ref>{{cite news |title='Jena 6' defendant denied to play football |work=Shreveport Times |date=August 28, 2008 |url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080828/SPORTS0101/808280334 |accessdate=2008-08-28}}</ref> Marcus Jones, Bell's father, blamed Bell's attorney at the time of the plea agreement for the denial. "If it weren't for his attorney, Mychal would be able to play football," Jones said. "They coerced him into taking that plea agreement. If he wouldn't have taken that plea, he wouldn't be in the position he's in now."<ref>{{cite news |title=Mychal Bell of 'Jena Six' denied fifth year of high school football eligibility |work=The Town Talk |date=August 28, 2008 |url=http://thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/NEWS01/80827008 |accessdate=2008-08-28}}</ref> After the hearing, Jones allegedly spat in the face of his son's attorney, Carol Powell-Lexing, and supposedly also pushed her to the floor. Jones denied assaulting Powell-Lexing, stating he would never get into a physical fight with a woman."<ref>{{cite news |title=News Trackers |work=The Town Talk |date=August 31, 2008 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080831/NEWS01/80831040 |accessdate=2008-09-04}}</ref> Jones has been charged with assault.<ref>{{cite news |title=Attorney: Jena Six dad spat on me |work=Monroe News Star |date=September 10, 2008 |url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/NEWS01/809100309 |accessdate=2008-09-12}}</ref> Despite the alleged assault, Powell-Lexing will continue as part of Bell's defense team.<ref>{{cite news |title=Attorney says Bell's father attacked her |work=Monroe News Star|date=August 29, 2008 |url=http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/NEWS01/808290315 |accessdate=2008-09-02}}</ref> |
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In addition, there is a dispute between Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) and the sentencing court about when Bell's supervision ends, with OJJ taking the position that the period ended in July 2008. The sentencing court contends that the period will end in 2009.<ref name="on hold"/> |
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Robert Bailey now attends high school at Shaw High School in [[Columbus, Georgia]], where he has been granted an extra year's eligibility to play football.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jena 6 student will play football for Shaw |work=Shreveport Times |date=August 25, 2008 |url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/NEWS01/80825003 |accessdate=2008-08-27}}</ref> |
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In February 2007, Jesse Ray Beard was accused, and subsequently convicted and sentenced for simple battery, simple criminal damage to property less than $500 and simple assault. He received a suspended sentence of incarceration, and was placed on house arrest.<ref name="charges">{{cite news |title= Louisiana youth getting a break |work=New Milford Times|date=August 22, 2008 |url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20087010&BRD=1655&PAG=461&dept_id=13091&rfi=6 |accessdate=2008-08-22}}</ref> |
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On July 9, 2008, Beard, who is now 17, was released from house arrest so that he could attend a summer program and football camp in [[New York|New York State]]. It was revealed at a hearing on that date that Beard had been recommended for expulsion for thirteen disciplinary actions, but that the recommendation had been overturned. In New York, he stayed with a local attorney and worked as an intern in the attorney's office, while taking summer courses to prepare him for junior year. He was required to return to Jena by August 11.<ref>{{cite news |title= 'Jena Six' defendant removed from house arrest |work=The Town Talk |date=July 10, 2008 |url= http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080710/NEWS01/807100329/1002 |accessdate=2008-07-19}}</ref> However, on August 6, Yeager terminated Beard's probation (he remains under the conditions of his bail release in the Barker incident) so he could attend the [[Canterbury School (Connecticut)|Canterbury School]] in [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite news |title='Jena Six' member Beard to attend school in Connecticut |work=The Town Talk |date=August 13, 2008 |url=http://thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080813/NEWS01/808130321 |accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref> At least part of the $39,900 annual tuition is being paid for with Jena Six defense fund money.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beard using 'Jena Six' defense funds for schooling |work=The Town Talk |date=August 15, 2008 |url=http://thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080815/NEWS01/808150328 |accessdate=2008-08-16}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commonscat|Jena Six}} |
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{{Wikinews|Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics}} |
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*[http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/003979.html Witness statements and other documents on the case] |
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*[http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030 FAQ of the case and local coverage from ''The Town Talk'' (Alexandria, Louisiana)] |
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*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2007/10/02/LI2007100200702.html ''The Washington Post'' page on the Jena Six controversy] |
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*[http://www.la3circuit.org/opinions/2007/09/092107/STvsMYCHALBELL.htm Court of Appeals rulings in ''State v. Bell''] |
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*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14533821 NPR coverage of the Jena Six] |
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{{featured article}} |
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[[Category:2007 in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Community organizing]] |
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[[Category:Crime in Louisiana]] |
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[[Category:Enumerated defendants]] |
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[[Category:History of Louisiana]] |
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[[Category:Juvenile law]] |
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[[Category:Local civil rights history in the United States]] |
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[[Category:La Salle Parish, Louisiana]] |
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[[es:Los seis de Jena]] |
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Revision as of 23:09, 20 September 2008
Nigger bullshit