Jena 6
Mychal Bell, the first teen to be convicted in the "Jena 6" case in Jena, La., will have a hearing on Tuesday.
At that time, his lawyers will either prevail on motions to set aside the verdict, or Bell will be sentenced on charges of second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy in connection with a high school fight.
In that event, the 17-year-old faces up to 22 years in prison.
Bell is one of a group of defendants who have come to be known as the "Jena 6." All of the defendants are black high school students accused of beating up a white classmate after a series of racial incidents at a high school in the small Louisiana town.
The trouble started when black students exercised their right to sit under a shade tree traditionally used by white students. In response, white students hung three "nooses" from the tree. That act -- a throwback to the days when blacks were lynched for exercising their civil rights -- was portrayed by school officials as a "silly prank," and the white students got in-school suspensions.
But, while the misconduct by white students was handled as a prank, and an attack against a black student at a private party resulted in one of the attackers being charged with a misdemeanor, school officials and the LaSalle Parish District Attorney have brought out a hammer against the black students involved in the school fight.
----The good ol' boys of Louisiana.
Charles C. Foti, Jr.
Attorney General
1885 North 3rd Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
P.O. Box 94005 Baton Rouge, LA 70804
executive@ag.state.la.us
2 comments:
I was glad to see you had a piece on the Jena 6 story; I’ve seen headlines but didn’t read the articles. Made up my mind to look here today. My first reaction is that our judicial system is completely warped if a high school kid, one of several involved, can get 22 years for a fight. Conspiracy my ass. They throw that word at us a lot, but they sure don’t take it coming back at them.
I began substitute teaching the end of last year and what I have witnessed so far is astonishing: Children are compartmentalized in an educational system which is sorted into learning/needs/special groups of any conceivable level or purpose within each classroom and among the grades. These kids are never given the chance to get to know each other or learn to co-exist in large groups. By the time they reach high school, they are imprisoned by a philosophy of conflict resolution upheld by cops patrolling the hallways. Authority is established by inciting fear of greater authority. By middle school this is enhanced by threat of incarceration schools (worked in one once, scary). Respect either for oneself or others is a lost art. Courtesy has disappeared. Physical, mental and emotional imbalances and fluctuations are cultivated and used as excuses by kids and teachers alike.
Teachers have become technicians of the service economy.
Our children is not learning a damn thing - except how to get by, get over, and get out. Giving them a head start and making sure they are not left behind is pure Rockefeller genius - and so complimentary to the two-parent taxpaying treadmill.
The Jena 6 incident would be useful as an opportunity for the judicial branch to investigate the educational system, but our society has become so entrenched in meaningless words, arguments and rituals that we’ll all be dead and long gone before any attorney could develop a meritorious action. Besides, the public is too busy or distracted to realize what the hell is going on. The best we can hope for is that these kids stay out of jail on a technicality.
Kathy F.
Bravo, bravo Kathy. You stated that perfectly and eloquently.
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