From Washington Post:
JENA, La. -- A judge threw out a teenager's conspiracy conviction in the alleged beating of a white student by a group of black schoolmates, but the teen's battery conviction still stands.
The ruling Tuesday means Mychal Bell, 17, will face at most 15 years in prison rather than 22 1/2 when he is sentenced later this month.
The case drew protests after five of the six teens, dubbed the "Jena Six," were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, carrying sentences of up to 80 years in prison. The sixth was charged in juvenile court.
The beating victim, Justin Barker, 18, was treated for injuries at a hospital and released the same day, and a motive for the alleged Dec. 4 attack at Jena High School was never established.
Bell was the first of six teens to go to trial. The attempted murder charges were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, and Bell was convicted. However, Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. threw out the conspiracy conviction Tuesday, saying juveniles could not be charged with conspiracy in adult court.
Both sides said they would appeal. Bell's attorneys want the battery charge throw out, as well, and the case returned to juvenile court.
The charges against two of the other teens, Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw, were also reduced Tuesday from attempted second-degree murder to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. Robert Bailey Jr. and Bryant Purvis, still face attempted murder charges, and the unidentified juvenile has yet to go to trial.
The beating came amid tense race relations in Jena, a mostly white town of 3,000 in north-central Louisiana.
After a black student sat under a tree on the school campus where white students traditionally congregated, three nooses were hung in the tree. Students accused of placing the nooses were suspended from school for a short period.
On a side note: Democracy Now! traveled to Jena over the weekend to cover the story. I spoke to Theo Shaw and Robert Bailey at their home in Jena. They were ironing their clothes, preparing to go out that evening. Robert and Theo were held for about eight months in prison until their families raised the money to bail them out. Theo was released just over a month ago on a more than $100,000 bail.
Click here for the interview of Theo Shaw and Robert Bailey on Democracy now.
5 comments:
This sounds so much like the past it's scary. Hate breeds hate and it will continue until people stop teaching hate. I really don't know what to say because this lesson hasn't been learned yet.
Jena is a very small town in Louisiana. I believe that the news ocverage of Jena Six will make other people aware that there are other small cities in states that are still in the past with racism and prejudice. What is amazing is no one lawmaker is speaking out about this case and what happening in Jena, Louisiana.
You all will eventually find out about the elderly Asian man pushed into Lake Michigan 'allegedly' by an 'alleged' skinhead.
It was not the first time an elderly man fishing was pushed in, just the first time the person could not swim and drowned.
And Bush claims racism is over-judging by his fight against affirmative action. Nope, ALL the 'isms' got new life breathed into them under Bushco...
Justice and liberty for all!
And that is why the Gerbil's claim to the international countries that we are democracy is a joke. Jena and others are a prime example of how backwards this country is and the lawmakers and an Administration that turned a blind eye.
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