I have posted a lot of about the Jena 6, and nearly all of it has been supportive. I still believe that attempted second-degree murder charges are excessive and that this should have been handled within the juvenile justice system. But I have to acknowledge that several commenters (From Jena, James Black, Lillie) who have insisted all along that Mychal Bell had priors were correct. While I don’t necessarily agree with the way those priors were characterized (“Bell terrorized his own community,” etc.) this article confirms the fact. While it’s undisputed that Mychal Bell was an honor roll student, it is now also proved that he had a criminal record, including violent crimes, starting two years before the Justin Barker beating.
- Battery – 12/25/2005
- Criminal damage to property – 7/25/2006
- Battery – 9/2006
- Criminal damage to property – 9/2006
This explains the fact that Bell’s bail was much higher than the others. As I said, I still disagree with the 2nd degree attempted murder charge and the fact that 5 of the 6 are being charged as adults in any event – and for those who use Bell’s priors to justify it, how does that factor into the fact that the other 5 in the Jena 6 are still facing that charge? However, this is important information and should be noted by all Jena 6 defenders.
Laura:
The judge has yet to go through the others’ criminal records yet. I suspect one or two of them have criminal juvenile records, but nothing like Mychal Bell’s. Robert Bailey was involved with almost every racially charged incident in town, so I’m skeptical that he has a squeaky clean record.
I guess we can only wait and see how everything turns out. I hope the judge looks past the race issue (which I suspect he will) and makes the right decision. I know you and me differ on what the “right decision” is.
Btw, did you read J.P. Mauffray’s comment about the evidence:
“The weight of the evidence against the defendant: Mauffray said it was “pretty weighty” considering the jury convicted Bell.”
Weighty? That’s pretty funny.
Mauffrey’s comment was kind of unresponsive, don’t you think? As the sentence reads, it’s “weighty” because Bell was convicted. But if Blane Williams had put on any kind of defense, and the evidence had not been ALL on the prosecutions side, would it still have been “weighty?” The total lack of defense plus Bell’s priors pretty much sealed it, but things could have been very different. I’m also still VERY upset about the reports of half the jury having connections to the prosecution – you have not commented on that as far as I know – anything to add from your perspective?
Laura:
I only know who a couple of the jurors were. They both have no relation or friendship to Reed Walters as far as I know.
I plan on looking into this further for you. It’s something I don’t know much about yet. “Jena Person 2″ would know more about this than I would. Can you put anything here, Jena Person 2?
I know a relative of one of the jurors, and according to the relative, the juror has received death threats.
This is just a simple observation being from Jena, but any person running for a public office (like district attorney) is gonna get out and “poke the bushes” to try and win support. With the entire parish only having around 13,000 people in it, it’s very easy for him to know people in the jury pool.
Again, I’m no scholar of law, but isn’t this the way it works:
There is a pool of jurors and the prosecution and the defense each “weed out” individuals during jury selection. I saw this on Devil’s Advocate, but am not sure if this is the way it actually works or not. If this IS the case, the defense team had as much control over the jury selection as the prosecution did. If this is the case, it would mean that an impartial jury would partly rest on the shoulders of the weak Mychal Bell defense team. But again, that’s only theory.
The defense team actually typically has more control of the jury selection process
It’s strange how you don’t see any of those people who are so angry about the Jena 6 situation saying anything on this article.
…very strange indeed….
I agree with ‘From Jena’ about lack of comments on this blog. As far as the jury goes, I heard one of Alan Bean’s comments on one of his radio interviews that the only man on the jury graduated high school with Justin Barker’s father. I am guessing they finished high school around 25 years ago. I graduated from high school 5 years ago and I still keep in contact with 3 or 4 people out of a graduating class of 120. I cannot imagine what its going to be like in 20 years. As far the jury knowing witnesses and the DA goes. It is almost impossible to pick out 6 people out of 100 or so and none of them never have any contact with 25 witnesses or the DA in a parish of around 13000 people. I also know that two of the jurors were from the Olla/Urania area which is about 16 miles from the Jena city limits, so I doubt they really knew a lot of details about this case or even any of the witnesses considering they were all JHS students.
This is truly outrageous! My thoughts and prayers go out to all of these young men and their families. You never know when it could be your turn.
This is just wrong. Who’s to say the Mycheal Bell’s past criminal history is not made up bogus charges like the ones that he is being charged with now. When you live in a society where white people have the final say its very hard for us african americans to get a far trail. And that DA needs to be fired and convicted himself. Hell put him an all black jail and watch how his life disappears with the struck of a pen.
Fedup-
As stated in another post, a juvenile’s past criminal history must be introduced by the defense first. Don’t blaim the DA if his defense attorney did a piss poor job.
Fedup
LOOK OUT, THE ALIENS ARE COMING TO TAKE US AWAY!!!!!!!
When you live in a society where white people have the final say its very hard for us african americans to get a far trail.—Fedup
This is a terribly racist statement. It implies that (1) only white people have authority in government; local, state, or federal (does that mean that you think that other races aren’t intelligent or competent enough to get jobs in government?) and (2) that white people are racist…i note that you did not say “some” or even “most”..you simply said white people, a direct implication that all white people are racist. This ITSELF is a RACIST statement.
I have been reading the posts for the last two days and I am quite concerned about some of the assumptions that have been made regarding race and Mr. Bells criminal history. First, African Americans cannot be racist because racism is associated with entitlement and in the history of these United States African American’s have never been entitled to anything. Secondly, without having been to the town of Jena it does appear that the this town is racist in the manner it keeps the African American population somewhat segragated from the white population. By this I mean the informal and formal power structure in the town. As for Mr. Bell, he has a juvenile record of two counts of battery and two counts of destruction of property. This does not seem like violent crimes to consistute his bail being set ridiculously high.
[afterthought, battery is by definition a violent crime. Having said that, I still think that a possible 22 years for a high school fight is just wrong. And yes, African Americans CAN be racist. Just because that's how YOU define racism doesn't make it so. - Laura]
Afterthought-
African Americans have never been entitled to anything in this country? They get jobs that they are less qualified for based on their race. They get into schools with less qualifications and receive more in the way of scholarships. These are just a few examples of Affirmative Action, something that you apparently have never hear of.
Laura-
Thank you for attaching that sidenote to this silly comment.
Because I have time on my hands I’ll respond to some of these ludicrous comments!!!!Sad thing is I believe some of these posts are made by people with racists tendencies and they don’t even realize it!But such is life.
I can only guess at why some of the supporters of the Jena 6 students have not left comments but I’ll take a crack at it.
1. For the simple fact that their comments get shut down but ignorant people who attempt to speak for and/ or justify the unjust acts towards people of color.
2. Some people would rather act upon their ideas…stand behind their beliefs than waste it on people who will never understand what it feels like to be oppressed.
3. You might wanna go back to school and get educated on racism since living in this world has failed to do that!Racism occurs where prejudice and power come into play…While Black people can be prejudice, the power they have is clearly not adequate to allow for racism to take a hold.
—-The last comment by Common Sense…please, lets get serious about life….you’re living in a dream world if you think that all Black people benefit from Affirmative Action!!!If you are educated on US history in its entirety you will know that there have been disparities between what Black and White people have access to…and therefore the playing field has not been level.If you think that its level now, it just goes to show just how delusional you are.
—-From Jena 2: while your memory might not allow you to remember people that far back, other people can. Honestly, if you live in a small town….or any town for that manner, and you have similar interests with people you graduate with, you will obviously keep in touch and undoubtedly feel somewhat obliged to them!
—-It’s interesting how common sense only responded to part of the comment from fed up!Why did you ignore the fact that prior convictions could have been racially urged on!We only see what we want to see.
Yes, I admit that because I am African-American most of my comments and attitudes will be shaped by that fact…but I realize and acknowledge that my thoughts might be bias.But, this is clearly a racially splurged issue and the fact that people can say that it has nothing to do with race is just ridiculous!Let’s not lose sight of the real issue and take to attacking each other!!!These boys lives will never be the same and they have exposed the racial divides that exist whether we choose to acknowledge it or not!No offense intended to anyone but please…lets be real!
Lets Be Real-
Your right, the playing field has not been leveled, in many cases African Americans actually have more access to things as a result of Affirmative Action. If a white student and black student with the same grades, extracurriculars, ect. are vying for the last spot on the college admissions list, the black student will be accepted first, and that is just a fact. As for me not responding to the other part of the idiotic post from fed up, where in there does he mention the previous charges being racially motivated. He just illustrates how idiotic he is by saying that his prior record does not display a history of violence. I didn’t comment on this because laura did a great job of discussion with him the meaning of “battery” as a legal term.
And by the way, you are correct, these boys lives never will be the same. They chose to commit a crime and that will forever follow them. Hopefully the horrible act of hanging the nooses will follow those boys as well. Unfortunately, hanging nooses isn’t a crime so they will not have a record following them that will serve to change their lives forever.
SURE THEY WILL THIS WILL NOT BE UNDEALT WITH. EVERYONE WILL KNOW OF THERE KKK BACKGROUND
CommonSense,
Do you actually believe it is easier for African Americans to get ahead than white people?
Do you believe Affirmative Action has helped more black people than Racism has hurt?
I thought everyone knew AA helps white women more than any other demographic, but I guess not.
LETS BE REAl
You said a mouth full when you said “we only see what we want to see” that describes you to a tee. I am sure anything you see on here that is against these thugs has to be made up. After all there is no way that a black person could have done all these things. I guess you think M. Vick is innocent, That guy who beat the 91 year old man on video I guess that was made up to. Heck I bet you even believe OJ is innocent. Come on now do you believe a white person killed Tupac and Biggy. Surely no black man could commit these terrible crimes. What about Mike Tyson , Kobe Bryant, Jason Williams, just to name a few. Look at these role models. How do you expect the young people to act when this is all they see. But I know all of these things were made up to keep the black man down.
There is not one black person in this country who was a slave, nor were their parents, or their grandparents. If you trace any persons heritage far enough back you will find oppression of some kind, whether it be religious, social, or racial. Sure slavery was more recent but no one living today had anything to do with it. There are lots of blacks in Africa now who are slaves to their own people. These are the people you should be trying to help. Instead you complain about everything because you can, not because it is justified. Mychal Bells time will hopefully do him some good. He was on a path to either kill someone or be killed himself. How would you like him terrorizing the black community where you live.
Wow. As a first time reader of this site, I have to say that I am very disappointed in what I am reading. However, I do feel a need to add my two cents.
Racism exists…..point blank. SOME African Americans are racist… SOME caucasians are racist…. SOME asians are racist… and on an on it continues. Affirmative action is a reaction to racism which has not only benefitted African Americans but also Asians, Hispanics and YES Caucasians as well. And before we argue that fact, I know a few Caucasians who have benefitted, myself being one of them…. so this is a dead issue. That being said, let’s get to the real issue. Does any individual who participates in a school fight — AND YES THAT IS WHAT THIS IS REGARDLESS OF WHAT CAUSED IT — deserve 22 years in prison??? Second degree murder?? come on. I am sure that some of the individuals participating in this debate have been in at least one fight in their lifetime… the only difference is that most of us were not arrested for it. But let’s say that you were… do you really believe that 22 years is what you should get? Let’s truly put this in perspective. I am in no way making excuses for ANY of the individuals involved (on both sides)… this whole situation is hideous but if we are going to punish someone at least let the punishment fit the crime. Was the trial held in a racist area? from reading articles such as the excerpt I am posting at the end of this comment (from pww.org) and all other overseas newspapers that reported on this … I would say YES, BUT how is arguing this OPINION going to help Mychall now? Does his history play a part? maybe.. but before we argue on that fact, do we know EXACTLY what happened? Battery could have been just another fight. Property Damage could mean that he keyed someones car. Is everyone on this site trying to tell me that we do not know of a situation where this is possible??? (for example, someone gets caught up in a love triangle that resulted in a fight and/or property damage in which the police gets involved.) If yes is your answer then you are lucky. Please get ALL of the facts before we rant and rave on and on about nothing.
And to Mr. Black –> M Vick??? Tupac?? Biggie??? Why are we even mentioning them?? Individuals from ALL races have committed some horrible crime at some point in time. So your point on bringing them into this is DUMB. And YES many people in todays society have not been enslaved themselves BUT there are those who have felt (and still feeling) the wrath of the KKK, skinheads and other incidents of TRUE racism.
Africa is not the only place where injustice occurs. As an example of this, I met a man a few years ago, who is now about 35 years old, who showed me a thin scar around his neck (and the newspaper articles reporting this incident) from being hung from a tree with a fishline because HE WAS the “INITIATION” for a caucasian person joining the KKK… He was lucky because they did not completely hang him… they allowed the tip of his toes to touch the ground. He was rescued by a passer-by before his life was extinguished. IT happened in the US… right under OUR noses. So Before you start arguing about what is being done in other Countries, you need to at least admit to what is happening in your own. How can we help others when we can’t even help ourselves?
Terrorizing??? He was on a path to “KILL”?? How do you know this? Can you see his future? Hell can you see mine?? cuz I would love to know what PATH my life is heading towards. Saying mean things will not help the issue and right now your comments are just UGLY. There are individuals who were once troubled teens that have gone on to become JUDGES, LAWYERS, POLICE OFFICERS, and other outstanding professionals as well as a dominating force in their communities. Judge Mathis is a perfect example of this….
To all -> I am hoping that from henceforth statments of substance will be written.
Here is the excerpt that I copied from http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/11397/1/141/
“The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to Black students sitting under the “white tree” at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree. The white jury and white prosecutor and all white supporters of the white victim were all on one side of the courtroom. The Black defendant, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, and his supporters were on the other. “
I have a bit of a retraction to make. I believe Judge Mathis did go to prison… so he was not the best example to give. Even with this retraction, I am very sure that you understand the point I was trying to make.
Enough is Enough:
Thank you for the link.
Looks like I have more emailing to do. This article, like nearly every other article I’ve seen so far, contains one-sided bias and reports that are completely false.
Are you serious-
I don’t think I ever said it had Affirmative Action helped more people than racism had hurt. I wrote that in response to an earlier post regarding the fact that racism from blacks towards whites couldn’t exist because blacks had never had a sense of entitlement. And I think it is certainly fair to say that Affirmative Action is an example of african american entitlement.
And honestly, if you were to do a study on an african american and a white person from the time they were born until the time they door, both from identical socio-economic backgrounds, I really don’t think that the white person would have an easier time getting ahead. He certainly wouldn’t have an easier time getting into college or getting a job with the government.
Here is a report with more direct quotes from the courtroom from the day of the hearing.
“This is just wrong. Who’s to say the Mycheal Bell’s past criminal history is not made up bogus charges like the ones that he is being charged with now. When you live in a society where white people have the final say its very hard for us african americans to get a far trail. And that DA needs to be fired and convicted himself. Hell put him an all black jail and watch how his life disappears with the struck of a pen.”
Bogus charges that all have witnesses black and white.
http://www.thejenatimes.net/home_page_graphics/home.html
*correction of above post*
Enough is Enough>Well here again is a person seeing something for the first time and getting all bentout of whack. The comments I made that you thought were just DUMB was in response to previous posts that you know nothing about. In fact it was on another thread but the same person was on this one. As for being one sided you will see this is the only one you will find where people are starting to understand what really is going on. I only post on here to defend my community black and white for the total BS that was first reported on this case. I an attempt to sell more papers and get higher ratings they are trying to make things a race issue when they are not. Sure I agree the noose incident was inappropiate and in bad taste. I also am sure it hurt some feelings. If it had not been for all the pot stirring from outsiders with their own agenda it would have been taken care of, and justice would prevail. So before you get on your high horse backup and see what is happening here. Also I am not denying racism exist all over the world. You will read about the 300 protesters coming to Jena from all over. Dont you think there would have been more than 10 people from Jena there if any of this was true. Yes there was a all white jury, but the blacks called didnt show up. It is a computerized selection system so there was no conspiracy there. Maybe if more were registered to vote there might have been more on the list. I believe that outsiders told the ones on the list not to show up so they could use that in case he was convicted. I know what happened here I know all involved on both sides. 40 witnesses dont lie. Everything done here was legal and investigated by the FBI as so. All I can say is sit back and watch because all of this means absolutely nothing in the scheme of things. It isnt going to help Bell not one bit. If 10000 people show up from all over the country on his arraignment day it wont help him one bit. I keep telling you people all he will do is 1 year and the others will get probation. Just sit back and watch.
[James, inappropriate and in poor taste doesn't BEGIN to cover the nooses. You should know, being from the south, what a noose means. It's a threat, just the same as drawing your finger across your throat or forming a "gun" with your fingers and pointing it at someone. I'm not saying it's a threat they intended to carry out, but it is a threatening gesture. Furthermore it was NOT "being taken care of." Had the parents been allowed to speak at the school board meeting that would have helped. A more appropriate punishment for the noose hangers would have helped. But things didn't get totally fired up until after those opportunities had come and gone. And 40 witnesses were NOT in perfect agreement on what happened. The FBI DID NOT investigate whether selective prosecution is happening. According to Washington's own words, he conducted a very superficial investigation into a few discrete areas, and didn't touch that one AT ALL - it certainly was not the substantive investigation people have been asking for or that you're implying took place. You're being disingenuous. Stop it. - Laura]
Jena – > Can you provide links/excerpts to articles that you believe are more accurate? I’ve only heard of this case for the VERY FIRST TIME last night via email… Where the link I provided above was one of the many listed.
Thanks
James Black – > Thank you very much for that explanation of events. I did not know that you were responding to another discussion from another thread… and I am sure that not everyone who read it ON THIS THREAD knew that either. Just to let you know, I was not bent out of whack… I read what I read and responded. You are correct in that I am a first timer.. but I am a first timer looking for the facts. That being said, if ANYONE has knowledge of articles, etc. pertaining to this case that you feel represents the TRUTH, could you please share the info. Thanks
No one has brought this to light.
THINK about it.
If the town of Jena…..DA Reed Walters….and Judge J.P. Mauffray are see eager to convict black people in our community,
WHY
did Mychal Bell get ONLY parole for 4 violent criminal acts?
This is his FIFTH violent criminal act, this is his FIFTH chance to turn his life around. I’m of the VERY strong opinion that if my town is as most of you defending the Jena 6 characterize it, that the DA and Judge would have slapped the book at him the FIRST time he committed a crime.
Have you ever thought about that?
Trumped up charges? Show me PROOF that Mychal Bells previous charges are trumped up. It’s plain and simple, some people (white & black) absolutely refuse to take responsibility for their own actions…and when you have people like ENOUGH IS ENOUGH trying to convince people that every bad thing you do is justified because the white person is oppressing you, it makes it very easy to just…do whatever you want.
….and apparently that is just what Mychal Bell has done.
I’m also of the opinion that people like YOU ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and others in your community are responsible for some of these young black kids who have a blatant disregard for the law & justice system, simply because they have been taught by people like you that it’s the “white man”’s system and you might as well just give up.
Many in the white community have racist issues, but many in the black community do not want people in their community to take responsibility for their own actions. Both sides continue a cyclical system of racism. If both issues could be worked out, racism would be much less existent.
It seems to me that this entire situation has really been blown up. I first heard of this all today (hence, the lack of coverage in the Northern U.S.) However, I’m not even going to comment on the Jena 6…It disturbs me deeply there are families (parents, siblings, grand-parents, aunts, uncles, etc) teaching children hatred against one another. I don’t care about slavery (I DO but it has no bearing on this), it’s over and illegal…What I care about now is changing the way people think about one another. I live in a state where there are mostly white people and very few blacks…the rest are Native American. If I wanted to I could be racist. I’m not…every single race has it’s “white trash”, “thugs” or whatever anyone really wants to call it. There are wonderful people in all races…we are all children of God and deserve respect from everyone. The only time that is compromised is when you break the law or use bad judgement (such as hanging the nooses). At that point in time you should be punished for what you do. People need to be held accountable for their actions, but our justice system sometimes drops the ball big time. It saddens me to come to the realization that so much hatred and racism still exists. This situation wouldn’t be here if there weren’t extremists on both sides.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
LOVE ONE ANOTHER…LOVE HAS NO COLOR…
I can’t believe all of this…. when I first heard about what was going on in Jena I was outraged and distraught. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and now I come on here and read this. People please haven’t you paid attention to anything in your history classes? If you ask me this just looks like history is repeating itself.
Enough Is Enough I feel you all the way but for James black to sit on here and say that they deserve to do time in jail does not make any since. From an outsider looking in… Dang…. are you involved in it? You sound real bitter and have no sympathy for these young men. How would you feel if it was your child going through this and they told him he was looking at 22 years in prison for a school yard fight? I don’t care what anybody says that’s outrageous and unjust. Convicted felons don’t even get that much time in prison, and they have done way more and worst crimes then this. For goodness sake it was a school fight!! No one deserves to go to jail for something as simple and petty as that.
Did they lock up that Caucasian boy who beat up Robert Bailey at the all white party??? NO they did nothing. Did they lock up the person who pulled the shotgun out on them at the store? No they did nothing. From the articles I read there was a school coach there talking to Justin Barker and he said that it was not Bell and in fact it was someone else. Why wasn’t he called as a witness?
http://www.michaeldavidmurphy.com is where I got most of my info from.
What does his prior record have to do with this case???? Not a darn thing, this is a school fight not a homicide. Now I can see if someone actually died and they had to pull background records of all the parties involved. But for that to be done for a school fight was a waste of taxpayer’s money.
Why was it reported that Justin and his family was eating lunch with the so called witnesses? If you ask me I think it’s all a lie and just another way of putting African Americans back in check.
And as for the attention this has created…. Your right people are going to go and protest. Forget the 10 people that were there the black population that is there are probably afraid to take a stand because of the fact that they do live in that town and have to deal with those types of people and we don’t. How are you so sure that he will only serve 1year in jail and the rest on probation? Even 1 year in prison is still harsh like I said it was a school yard fight.
EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT …..WHATS RIGHT IS RIGHT AND WHATS WRONG IS WRONG!!!!
MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE JENA 6 BOYS AND THERE FAMILIES AND NO ONE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO SUCH HARSH PUNISHMENT FOR SOMETHING PETY AS THAT. AND YES I SAID PETY!!!
Enough is Enough:
I apologize for aiming that comment at you, I’ve read back on your posts and you don’t seem to feel that way. That comment was direct more towards people like Fedup and in response to Post #8. So please don’t take those comments as directed towards you, it was an accident.
I’ll give you some links later on if I get home early enough tonight. I think Laura plans to get some more information pretty soon, so keep up with this story on this site.
Plus, I said on another article on this site, that I get the strange feeling that the six on one beating is not gonna be the end of it. So keep up with the story as it evolves.
AND YES, YOU SPELLED PETTY WRONG TWICE
COMMON SENSE…..MAKE SOME SENSE MY SPELLING IS NOT IN QUESTION HERE.
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!-
You are right, your spelling is not in question. They often say, however, that grammar and spelling along with basic mathematical ability are a good judge of general intelligence….I am not implying that you are not intelligence, just that simply clerical errors like that may detract from the argument you are trying to make.
“People please haven’t you paid attention to anything in your history classes? If you ask me this just looks like history is repeating itself.”
How couldn’t we? Every history book I had in high school devoted 3/4 of their pages to black history while summing up the Cold War in less than a chapter.
“You sound real bitter and have no sympathy for these young men. How would you feel if it was your child going through this and they told him he was looking at 22 years in prison for a school yard fight?”
No, I don’t have much sympathy. If my son and his friends jumped a kid, I would tell him to come outside and square up one on one with me because real men don’t gangbeat people. When I was in school, there were no gang beatings, if kids had disagreements, they solved it one on one. The danged level is raised when that many kids are going after one kid, fortunately he wasn’t injured worse. As far as the 22 years in prison, why don’t you relax until he is actually sentenced?
“Did they lock up that Caucasian boy who beat up Robert Bailey at the all white party???”
Actually, that caucasian boy plead guily to simply assualt. Stop reading biased, one-sided, blog sites. They are clearly not providing you with the whole picture.
“What does his prior record have to do with this case???? Not a darn thing, this is a school fight not a homicide. Now I can see if someone actually died and they had to pull background records of all the parties involved. But for that to be done for a school fight was a waste of taxpayer’s money.”
His priors were introduced by his own defense team, because that is law when dealing with juveniles. Also, four previous offense that indicate a history of violence coupled with a fifth (also violent) offense paint a pretty disturbing picture of this kind that has apparently now become a martyr.
“Why was it reported that Justin and his family was eating lunch with the so called witnesses? If you ask me I think it’s all a lie and just another way of putting African Americans back in check. ”
What valid media source reported this? Please let everyone in here know.
“Even 1 year in prison is still harsh like I said it was a school yard fight”
I don’t know where you went to school, but where I am from, 6 boys beating one kid is hardly a normal schoolyard fight.
You, like many others, may want to consider looking at outside sources for information as opposed to spewing out the unvalidated information you are getting from michaeldavidmurphy.com
WOW!!!!!!! COMMON SENSE ARE YOU AN ENGLISH TEACHER OR SOMETHING???? I THOUGHT THIS SITE WAS SUPPOSE TO BE FOR COMMENTS ON THE JENA 6 NOT FOR YOU TO CORRECT INDIVIDUALS ON THEIR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR…..IT IS ALL A BLACK/WHITE RACE ISSUE BECAUSE IF THIS HAD HAPPEN TO A BLACK KID NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING….. WE CAN ALL SEE THAT FROM THE BALCK KID GETTING JUMPED ON AT THE “ALL WHITE” PARTY AND NOTHING WAS DONE…..MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE JENA 6 IN THEIR FAMILY….I WILL CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR YOU THAT FAIR JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED…….
AND YES I KNOW I SPELLED BLACK WRONG……ON PURPOSE
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE:
I dismiss most people who put egregious comments about Jena as misinformed. Some I believe are so ready to “pounce” on the racism issue that they don’t CARE what the truth is. I think you’re a little of both.
You don’t realize this, but MOST media reports I have read contain information that has been FACTUALLY proven wrong. And EVERY media report or article I’ve read online contain bias, most to a severe degree. No one bothered to read the statements people made about the incidents. Most black activists who have written these articles you read online are just as described above, so ready to pounce on the racism issue that they don’t care what the truth is. They only interviewed families of the attackers (the Jena 6) and their story is severely skewed to one side. Some of the incidents in Jena are debatable, I agree (like the charges brought on the Jena 6). But many are skewed to the side that has very little evidence, while the other side that has very valid information that argues the side they are reporting is not being mentioned at all.
We live in this town and we know. We live it every day. Yes, people may think our perception is wrong because we are gonna bitterly defend our town and way of life no matter what. But consider this: The Jena 6’s families will bitterly defend their relatives because they have alot more to lose than we do. So that argument can go both ways.
COMMON SENSE!!!
YES I KNOW I SPELLED BLACK WRONG ON PURPOSE……THANKS
FIRST OF ALL FOR YOU TO SIT HERE AND CLEARY PICK THROUGH EVERYTHING I SAID INSTEAD OF UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS PETTY BY ITSELF. DID YOU GET THAT “P-E-T-T-Y”
FOR YOU TO SAY: “You are right; your spelling is not in question. They often say, however, that grammar and spelling along with basic mathematical ability are a good judge of general intelligence….I am not implying that you are not intelligence, just that simply clerical errors like that may detract from the argument you are trying to make.”
DON’T YOU MEAN INTELLIGENT??? NOW WE ARE IN THE SAME BOAT. FYI I USED SPELL CHECK BEFORE I SENT IT OUT THE FIRST TIME. ANYWAY IF YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT I WROTE PRIOR TO THIS, I WROTE WHERE I GOT OF MY INFO FROM. MAYBE YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND RE-READ WHAT I WROTE THE FIRST TIME. I ALSO GOOGLED JENA 6 AND IT WILL GIVE YOU A LIST OF ARTICLE PERTAINING TO THE ALLEGATIONS.
NOW LET ME GO DOWN TO YOUR LEVEL:
“Every history book I had in high school devoted 3/4 of their pages to black history while summing up the Cold War in less than a chapter”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HISTORY BOOK THAT WAS! WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL THE ONLY TIME WE LEARNED ABOUT BLACK HISTORY WAS IN FEBRUARY DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH OTHER THEN THAT IT WAS NEVER TAUGHT.
AND YES I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT FIGHTING SHOULD BE ONE-ON-ONE INSTEAD OF A GANG OF PEOPLE. I WAS TAUGHT THAT GANG BEATING PEOPLE AS YOU PUT IT MADE YOU NOTHING MORE THEN A PUNK. AND FOR THE RECORD WHERE I COME FROM YOU SEE PEOPLE GET BEAT UP BY A GANG A LOT BUT YOU DON’T SEE THEM GETTING MAJOR TIME IN PRISON FOR IT.
IN THE SAME SINCE I AM NOT SAYING WHAT THEY DID WAS RIGHT I AM JUST CLEARLY SAYING THE PUNISHMENT IS HARSH FOR THESE YOUNG BOYS…BLACK OR WHITE. AND FOR THOSE WHO SAY I WAS MAKING THIS OUT TO BE A RACIST ISSUE…. IS MERELY MISCONSTRUING MY PERSONAL OPINION INTO SOMETHING THAT IT IS NOT. FROM WHAT I AM READING MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THAT RACISM HAS A HAND IN IT.
GRANTED BELL HAD A PRIOR BACKGROUND BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BOYS THAT IS IN QUESTION. DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT THE PUNISHMENT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT ISSUING IS REALLY SUITABLE?
HONESTLY?
AS FAR AS THE INFORMATION I AM GETTING IS ONLY WHAT I AM READING ONLINE. YOU’RE RIGHT I DON’T LIVE THERE AND I WAS NOT THERE AT THE TIME WHEN THE FIGHT BROKE OUT AND I AM GUESSING YOU WEREN’T THERE EITHER. WE BOTH CAN ONLY GO FROM WHAT THE MEDIA IS DISPLAYING TO THE PUBLIC AND WHERE I AM AT RIGHT NOW… IT’S NOT MUCH!
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE SAYS: “ANYWAY IF YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT I WROTE PRIOR TO THIS, I WROTE WHERE I GOT OF MY INFO FROM. MAYBE YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND RE-READ WHAT I WROTE THE FIRST TIME”
COMMON SENSE ORIGINALLY WROTE: “You, like many others, may want to consider looking at outside sources for information as opposed to spewing out the unvalidated information you are getting from michaeldavidmurphy.com”
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE SAYS: “GRANTED BELL HAD A PRIOR BACKGROUND BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER BOYS THAT IS IN QUESTION. DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT THE PUNISHMENT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT ISSUING IS REALLY SUITABLE?”
Bell is the only one who has been convicted or stood trial at this point. The others are juveniles, and it has been stated here already that a juvenile’s priors cannot be brought up unless their defense team does so. So no one knows whether or not they have priors. And if they don’t, they probably will not face the same prospective punishment as Bell.
***PLEASE KNOW THE RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION OR ELSE YOUR POSTINGS WILL REMAIN TO BE COMPLETELY SPECULATIVE AND IRRELEVANT TO THE DISCUSSION****
AND WE ARE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT SPELLING-WISE BECAUSE YOU USED AND EMPHASIZED PETTY TWICE IN THE TWO ADJOINING SENTENCES IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE WHATEVER POINT IT WAS YOU WERE TRYING TO MAKE.
Ok look…. I am not going to sit here and go back and fourth with you about my grammar or my spelling mistakes. I said what I said and I meant just that! What I wrote about is clearly MY OPINION about the whole situation and what you say towards my opinion is not important to me. I am not hear to debate with you or anyone else as in who is right and who is wrong in this allegation but to simply express my feelings and give MY OPINION about it, which I am entitled to do. If you agree or disagree with my opinion still won’t change the fact of what is going on right now.
Once again “I DO NOT FEEL THAT THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME.” And you can take that for what it is worth. My opinion does not reflect on race, I don’t care if you were black, white, purple, or green it still don’t matter. I will stand by saying “it is a harsh punishment for something like that.”
And if you’re wondering I am bi-racial so I really don’t have a side as far as race is concern.
What were the circumstances surrounding Bell’s sudden outburst of violent behavior. Did he just start attacking people? Who were these people?
What happened to him around Christmas 2005?
Battery – 12/25/2005
Criminal damage to property – 7/25/2006
Battery – 9/2006
Criminal damage to property – 9/2006
I remember when I was in school. I went to an all white school and I got into a least three fights a year because a white students would picking on me. Every year it was around the same time. When the teachers would show the movie Roots. The white students want to call me many colorful names.
I fought back because I was the only Black in my class and I didn’t know then that some people are just ignorant. I grow out of hitting others when I’m scared or cornered.
If I lived in Jena then I would probably be on death row for my fights.
What ever the reason this started you should remember that these are still a bunch of children.
Unfortunately the whole town of Jena will end up looking like a breeding ground for ignorant racist, over Childs play.
I’ve still yet to hear an answer to my burning question:
If the town of Jena is a town full of racial hatred, as many of you describe, why did Mychal Bell get FOUR chances before this one? Why was he allowed to commit four violent criminal acts before the DA finally slapped it to him?
Have any of you thought of this?
A town full or racism would have slapped the book at him the FIRST time, maybe the second…but this is the FIFTH!!!
Seriously think about it…
JENA
MAYBE HE DIDN’T GET “SLAPPED WITH THE BOOK” (YOUR WORDS NOT MINE) THE FIRST FOUR TIMES BECAUSE HE WAS STILL A MINOR AND MAYBE THE FIRST FOUR ACTS WERE AGAINST PEOPLE OF HIS OWN RACE……….THE REASON HE’S GETTING HARSH PUNISHMENT NOW IS BECAUSE HE BEAT UP A CAUCASIAN KID…….I MEAN COME ON WHO GETS 22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A SCHOOL FIGHT????
I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO STAND UP FOR YOUR TOWN AND YOU SHOULD BUT LET’S BE REAL. RACE IS PLAYING A MAJOR FACTOR IN THIS CASE IN MY OPINION.
Where is the Justice:
“I MEAN COME ON WHO GETS 22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A SCHOOL FIGHT????”
I don’t know, you tell me. I’ve never heard of it before. Even Mychal Bell, who’s YET to be sentenced.
And again, it wasn’t a school fight. It was a six on one beating. If this is what YOU call a fight, I’m very sorry your perception is skewed. A fight is when people are facing each other. This was underhanded and done when the guy was turned away from the attacker, then the rest was done when he was unconscious. You call that a fight?
What if you were in the hospital under sedation and I walked in and started punching you? Would this be a fight?
I don’t see your logic. Please explain.
JENA
FIRST OF ALL ……WERE YOU THERE TO SEE THAT HE WAS PUNCHED FROM BEHIND AND THAT HE WAS STILL BEING ATTACKED AS HE LAY ON THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS??? OR ARE YOU GETTING THIS FROM ARTICLES THAT YOU READ JUST AS WELL AS EVERYBODY ELSE?
I HONESTLY DON’T BELIEVE THAT SIX KIDS JUMPED ON THIS ONE STUDENT BECAUSE “IN MY OPINION” HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD OR SERIOUSLY INJURED IF HE WAS BEATEN AS BADLY AS YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY HE WAS…….ANOTHER QUESTION IF HE WAS HURT SO BADLY FROM BEING JUMPED BY 6 PEOPLE WHY WAS HE TREATED AND RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL THAT SAME DAY THEN SEEN OUT HAVING FUN ACTING LIKE HIS NORMAL SELF LATER ON THAT DAY????
EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN SAID ON HERE IS PEOPLE’S OPINION’S SO YOU NOR I NOR ANYONE ELSE CAN PASS JUDGEMENT ON THAT….OH AND ME BEING IN THE HOSPITAL UNDER SEDATION AND YOU WALK IN PUNCHING ME WAS WAY OVER EXADURATED THAT WAS NOT THE CASE HERE
BESIDES IF I WAS UNDER SEDATION MY “GOONS” WOULD BE ON STAND BY NO ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET NEAR ME…..WHERE I’M FROM KIDS GET JUMPED ON BY GANGS OF PEOPLE AND SOMEIMES KILLED EVERYDAY BUT THEY DON’T LOOK AT FACING 22 YEARS IN PRISON…..DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU SEE IT TO ME IT WAS STILL A FIGHT RATHER IT WAS ONE ON ONE OR NOT….IF YOUR TOWN BELIEVES IN SUCH HARSH PUNISHMENT FOR PEOPLE GETTING JUMPED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON REGARDLESS OF RACE WHY WAS THE WHITE KIDS WHO BEAT UP THE ONE BLACK BOY AT THE PARTY NOT CONVICTED THIS WAY EVEN THOUGH IT DIN’T HAPPEN ON SHCOOL GROUNDS?????? LIKE SOMEONE SAID IN A PREVIOUS ARTICLE ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED HAD THE WHITE KIDS WHO HUNG THE NOOSES RECEIVED HARSHER PUNISHMENT…..
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE:
“WERE YOU THERE TO SEE THAT HE WAS PUNCHED FROM BEHIND AND THAT HE WAS STILL BEING ATTACKED AS HE LAY ON THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS??? OR ARE YOU GETTING THIS FROM ARTICLES THAT YOU READ JUST AS WELL AS EVERYBODY ELSE?”
Not from articles, from multiple testimonies given during Mychal Bell’s trial.
“I HONESTLY DON’T BELIEVE THAT SIX KIDS JUMPED ON THIS ONE STUDENT BECAUSE “IN MY OPINION” HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD OR SERIOUSLY INJURED IF HE WAS BEATEN AS BADLY AS YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY HE WAS…….ANOTHER QUESTION IF HE WAS HURT SO BADLY FROM BEING JUMPED BY 6 PEOPLE WHY WAS HE TREATED AND RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL THAT SAME DAY THEN SEEN OUT HAVING FUN ACTING LIKE HIS NORMAL SELF LATER ON THAT DAY????”
First, witness testimony verifies that six kids jumped him, maybe they just weren’t very tough and didn’t beat him as bad as they possibly could have. But he did get beaten pretty badly.
Second, nowhere does it say he was “acting like his normal self later on that day”. He suffered a concussion and his eye was swollen almost shut but he wanted to go the ring ceremony.
“WHERE I’M FROM KIDS GET JUMPED ON BY GANGS OF PEOPLE AND SOMEIMES KILLED EVERYDAY BUT THEY DON’T LOOK AT FACING 22 YEARS IN PRISON…..DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU SEE IT TO ME IT WAS STILL A FIGHT RATHER IT WAS ONE ON ONE OR NOT….IF YOUR TOWN BELIEVES IN SUCH HARSH PUNISHMENT FOR PEOPLE GETTING JUMPED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON REGARDLESS OF RACE WHY WAS THE WHITE KIDS WHO BEAT UP THE ONE BLACK BOY AT THE PARTY NOT CONVICTED THIS WAY EVEN THOUGH IT DIN’T HAPPEN ON SHCOOL GROUNDS?????”
That is a shame that where you are from people get jumped by gangs and sometimes killed everyday. I assume the people in Jena don’t want their town to be anything like that and I certainly don’t want mine to either. Maybe the gang beatings could be reduced in your town if harsher punishments were handed down. And no, a fight is not 6 on 1, a fight is 1 on 1 and no more. 6 on 1 is a beating and it is a pretty wimpy thing to do. It doesn’t paint the Jena 6 as tough guys that they wouldn’t man up and go 1 on 1.
As for the last part of that comment, punishment is always more severe when things happen on school grounds (and should be). PLus thjey have a zero tolerance policy as stated.
“FIRST OF ALL ……WERE YOU THERE TO SEE THAT HE WAS PUNCHED FROM BEHIND AND THAT HE WAS STILL BEING ATTACKED AS HE LAY ON THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS??? OR ARE YOU GETTING THIS FROM ARTICLES THAT YOU READ JUST AS WELL AS EVERYBODY ELSE?”
It doesn’t come from articles, it comes directly from WITNESS TESTIMONY.
“I HONESTLY DON’T BELIEVE THAT SIX KIDS JUMPED ON THIS ONE STUDENT BECAUSE “IN MY OPINION” HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD OR SERIOUSLY INJURED IF HE WAS BEATEN AS BADLY AS YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY HE WAS…….ANOTHER QUESTION IF HE WAS HURT SO BADLY FROM BEING JUMPED BY 6 PEOPLE WHY WAS HE TREATED AND RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL THAT SAME DAY THEN SEEN OUT HAVING FUN ACTING LIKE HIS NORMAL SELF LATER ON THAT DAY????”
Again, testimony says it was 6 kids. As for him being out “acting like his normal self later on that day”, no where does it say that. He had a concussion and his eye was nearly swollen shut. He went to the ring ceremony that evening but was certainly not “acting like his normal self”
“WHERE I’M FROM KIDS GET JUMPED ON BY GANGS OF PEOPLE AND SOMEIMES KILLED EVERYDAY BUT THEY DON’T LOOK AT FACING 22 YEARS IN PRISON…..DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU SEE IT TO ME IT WAS STILL A FIGHT RATHER IT WAS ONE ON ONE OR NOT”
Where you’re from is not somewhere I want to be then. Maybe they should give harsher punishments for gang beatings and killings so that it doesn’t happen as much. Also, a fight is not 6 on 1, that is a bunch of wussies who can’t fight for themselves visciously beating one kid together. A fight is two people squaring up one on one to air out problems.
“IF YOUR TOWN BELIEVES IN SUCH HARSH PUNISHMENT FOR PEOPLE GETTING JUMPED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON REGARDLESS OF RACE WHY WAS THE WHITE KIDS WHO BEAT UP THE ONE BLACK BOY AT THE PARTY NOT CONVICTED THIS WAY EVEN THOUGH IT DIN’T HAPPEN ON SHCOOL GROUNDS??????”
As is the case with most crimes, the punishment is much more severe when said crime occurs on school grounds. Also, From Jena has stated numerous times that the school has a zero tolerance policy for fighting on school grounds.
You really need to look more deeply into the facts of this case before hoisting yourself up on the soapbox.