Full Version: Jena
QUOTE(tonyman @ Nov 6 2007, 09:12 PM) 
QUOTE(Ted @ Nov 5 2007, 05:28 PM)
QUOTE
NTT
Cute, but this isn't a game of Monopoly. In fact, it's not a game at all. It's a clear case of a DA overreaching and taking a sledgehammer to kill a fly. When even a Rupert Murdoch-owned rag like The New YorK Post can't stomach an overly aggressive prosecutor going too far, you know it's obvious that unequal justice is being dispensed in Jena.
Cute, but this isn't a game of Monopoly. In fact, it's not a game at all. It's a clear case of a DA overreaching and taking a sledgehammer to kill a fly. When even a Rupert Murdoch-owned rag like The New YorK Post can't stomach an overly aggressive prosecutor going too far, you know it's obvious that unequal justice is being dispensed in Jena.
Ya sure. So lets get the kids for assault and battery – its not like these kids were angles who never crossed it with the law.
Sharpton and Jackson do no one any good by defending these punks.
Only one of these kids has a criminal record. So, yes, they were angles who never crossed it with the law. Plus, it's the "law" in that town is that is under question.
So it’s the “law” that made the six punks kick the kid unconscious. Give me a break please. And the “one kid” should go to jail for assault and battery. The others maybe probation. They were not sentenced in any case the kid who is definitely NOT an angel was.
Loos like a plea deal is in teh works for Mychal Bell. Source.
QUOTE
Mychal Bell, 17, could enter the plea as early as Monday, attorney Carol Powell Lexing said. He has been charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy.
"We were prepared to go forward with the trial, but you have to do what's best for the client," Lexing said Sunday.
LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters did not return a call Sunday evening requesting comment.
"We were prepared to go forward with the trial, but you have to do what's best for the client," Lexing said Sunday.
LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters did not return a call Sunday evening requesting comment.
This came out after most of the debate on this thread, and I found it illuminating. It kind of reminds me about the Katrina mythology - once a story makes it into the national consciousness, it becomes "true" and no one cares to know otherwise.Media myths about the Jena 6
You really should read the whole article, which is written by a local journalist who knows the kids, knows the school and knows the facts. Here are a few of the myths debunked.
This case was like the Katrina coverage, with journalists' bias coloring their portrayal, and thus our understanding of these events. Violent criminals become "model youth" bacause they are black. Local (democratic) politicians' incompetence and a heroic Coast Guard rescue operation becomes "George Bush hates black people." I just don't know what we can do. The perpetrators are invited to awards shows for assaulting a classmate. As a commenter at The Source noted, Is this what we hopped on buses and marched for? Well, no.
If the Christian Science Monitor article isn't enough detail for you (and maybe you don't trust wikipedia...), you can also click here and choose "chronological order of events."
You really should read the whole article, which is written by a local journalist who knows the kids, knows the school and knows the facts. Here are a few of the myths debunked.
QUOTE
Myth 1: The Whites-Only Tree. There has never been a "whites-only" tree at Jena High School. Students of all races sat underneath this tree. When a student asked during an assembly at the start of school last year if anyone could sit under the tree, it evoked laughter from everyone present – blacks and whites. As reported by students in the assembly, the question was asked to make a joke and to drag out the assembly and avoid class.
Myth 2: Nooses a Signal to Black Students. An investigation by school officials, police, and an FBI agent revealed the true motivation behind the placing of two nooses in the tree the day after the assembly. According to the expulsion committee, the crudely constructed nooses were not aimed at black students. Instead, they were understood to be a prank by three white students aimed at their fellow white friends, members of the school rodeo team. (The students apparently got the idea from watching episodes of "Lonesome Dove.") The committee further concluded that the three young teens had no knowledge that nooses symbolize the terrible legacy of the lynchings of countless blacks in American history. When informed of this history by school officials, they became visibly remorseful because they had many black friends. Another myth concerns their punishment, which was not a three-day suspension, but rather nine days at an alternative facility followed by two weeks of in-school suspension, Saturday detentions, attendance at Discipline Court, and evaluation by licensed mental-health professionals. The students who hung the nooses have not publicly come forward to give their version of events.
...
Myth 7: The Schoolyard Fight. The event on Dec. 4, 2006 was consistently labeled a "schoolyard fight." But witnesses described something much more horrific. Several black students, including those now known as the Jena 6, barricaded an exit to the school's gym as they lay in wait for Justin Barker to exit. (It remains unclear why Mr. Barker was specifically targeted.)
When Barker tried to leave through another exit, court testimony indicates, he was hit from behind by Mychal Bell. Multiple witnesses confirmed that Barker was immediately knocked unconscious and lay on the floor defenseless as several other black students joined together to kick and stomp him, with most of the blows striking his head. Police speculate that the motivation for the attack was related to the racially charged fights that had occurred during the previous weekend.
...
Myth 11: Jena Is One of the Most Racist Towns in America. Actually, Jena is a wonderful place to live for both whites and blacks. The media's distortion and outright lies concerning the case have given this rural Louisiana town a label it doesn't deserve.
Myth 2: Nooses a Signal to Black Students. An investigation by school officials, police, and an FBI agent revealed the true motivation behind the placing of two nooses in the tree the day after the assembly. According to the expulsion committee, the crudely constructed nooses were not aimed at black students. Instead, they were understood to be a prank by three white students aimed at their fellow white friends, members of the school rodeo team. (The students apparently got the idea from watching episodes of "Lonesome Dove.") The committee further concluded that the three young teens had no knowledge that nooses symbolize the terrible legacy of the lynchings of countless blacks in American history. When informed of this history by school officials, they became visibly remorseful because they had many black friends. Another myth concerns their punishment, which was not a three-day suspension, but rather nine days at an alternative facility followed by two weeks of in-school suspension, Saturday detentions, attendance at Discipline Court, and evaluation by licensed mental-health professionals. The students who hung the nooses have not publicly come forward to give their version of events.
...
Myth 7: The Schoolyard Fight. The event on Dec. 4, 2006 was consistently labeled a "schoolyard fight." But witnesses described something much more horrific. Several black students, including those now known as the Jena 6, barricaded an exit to the school's gym as they lay in wait for Justin Barker to exit. (It remains unclear why Mr. Barker was specifically targeted.)
When Barker tried to leave through another exit, court testimony indicates, he was hit from behind by Mychal Bell. Multiple witnesses confirmed that Barker was immediately knocked unconscious and lay on the floor defenseless as several other black students joined together to kick and stomp him, with most of the blows striking his head. Police speculate that the motivation for the attack was related to the racially charged fights that had occurred during the previous weekend.
...
Myth 11: Jena Is One of the Most Racist Towns in America. Actually, Jena is a wonderful place to live for both whites and blacks. The media's distortion and outright lies concerning the case have given this rural Louisiana town a label it doesn't deserve.
This case was like the Katrina coverage, with journalists' bias coloring their portrayal, and thus our understanding of these events. Violent criminals become "model youth" bacause they are black. Local (democratic) politicians' incompetence and a heroic Coast Guard rescue operation becomes "George Bush hates black people." I just don't know what we can do. The perpetrators are invited to awards shows for assaulting a classmate. As a commenter at The Source noted, Is this what we hopped on buses and marched for? Well, no.
If the Christian Science Monitor article isn't enough detail for you (and maybe you don't trust wikipedia...), you can also click here and choose "chronological order of events."
Actually, Carlos, I believe that this was posted already. I remember reading it. I believe that the rebuttal issued for this, was that the christian science monitor cannot be completely trusted as an objective reporter, and that the author, himself a resident of Jena, might have felt the need to gloss over some of the more unpalatable aspects of the event.
Personally, I think it's all bollocks. I made it a point to avoid debating this ridiculous media circus from day one.
Personally, I think it's all bollocks. I made it a point to avoid debating this ridiculous media circus from day one.
Ah, my bad. I thought the article was NOVEMBER 24, so didn't go back a page and see the commentary. At the time, I tuned out once someone posted a link to vdare and we were all caught up in Jeffersonian white patriarchy.
So, nighttimer, did you ever get a call back from the Christian Science Monitor? I re-read this pretty quickly and didn't see it, so apologies if I missed yet another detail from this topic.
So, nighttimer, did you ever get a call back from the Christian Science Monitor? I re-read this pretty quickly and didn't see it, so apologies if I missed yet another detail from this topic.
The only reply I received from the editor at the CSR was a message on my voice mail that said, "We stand by the facts presented in our story." I called back to ask the editor some questions directly but he never returned my call.
Oh well, guess if I worked for The New York Times he wouldn't blow me off. But I don't, so he did.
As far as Mychal Bell is concerned, I think the punishment has finally fit the crime:
JENA -- Mychal Bell was sentenced Monday to 18 months in juvenile custody after agreeing to a plea bargain and admitting his role in the attack on a fellow student at Jena High School one year ago today.
Bell, the most well-known of the teens known as the "Jena Six," admitted in court that he hit Justin Barker, knocking him unconscious. As part of his plea agreement, Bell will have to "truthfully testify" in any of the cases involving the other members of the Jena Six.
Bell pleaded guilty to second-degree battery as a juvenile and was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Office of Youth Development. That sentence will be served concurrently with the previous sentence of 18 months that Bell had received for three previous crimes, according to discussion in court Monday. As part of the plea agreement, LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters dropped the conspiracy to commit battery charge against Bell.
Bell has been ordered to pay more than $930 in restitution and court costs, according to the agreement. Medical bills from Barker's emergency room visit alone were more than $5,000. He was released after being treated for about three hours.
Although Scott said it is a disappointment to not have Bell walk out of the courthouse a free man Monday, he said it is comforting to know that the possible sentence went from as many as 75 years in an adult prison to a sentence of only 18 months in a juvenile facility.
link
I'm sure this plea deal will disappoint some who wanted Bell locked up and the key thrown away, but it appears that some semblance of justice, not vengeance, has been served.
Oh well, guess if I worked for The New York Times he wouldn't blow me off. But I don't, so he did.
As far as Mychal Bell is concerned, I think the punishment has finally fit the crime:
JENA -- Mychal Bell was sentenced Monday to 18 months in juvenile custody after agreeing to a plea bargain and admitting his role in the attack on a fellow student at Jena High School one year ago today.
Bell, the most well-known of the teens known as the "Jena Six," admitted in court that he hit Justin Barker, knocking him unconscious. As part of his plea agreement, Bell will have to "truthfully testify" in any of the cases involving the other members of the Jena Six.
Bell pleaded guilty to second-degree battery as a juvenile and was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Office of Youth Development. That sentence will be served concurrently with the previous sentence of 18 months that Bell had received for three previous crimes, according to discussion in court Monday. As part of the plea agreement, LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters dropped the conspiracy to commit battery charge against Bell.
Bell has been ordered to pay more than $930 in restitution and court costs, according to the agreement. Medical bills from Barker's emergency room visit alone were more than $5,000. He was released after being treated for about three hours.
Although Scott said it is a disappointment to not have Bell walk out of the courthouse a free man Monday, he said it is comforting to know that the possible sentence went from as many as 75 years in an adult prison to a sentence of only 18 months in a juvenile facility.
link
I'm sure this plea deal will disappoint some who wanted Bell locked up and the key thrown away, but it appears that some semblance of justice, not vengeance, has been served.
works for me. Let's hope we don't hear about any more thuggish behavior so we can all be proven wrong about this guy as well. 
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