Jena 6: Mychal Bell’s Conviction Overturned!

He’s being kicked back to juvenile court, unless DA Reed Walters ups the charges:

The 3rd Circuit of Court of Appeal has vacated Mychal Bell’s conviction of aggravated second-degree battery, one of his attorneys said this afternoon.

“We are ecstatic,” Bob Noel said.

This decision doesn’t mean Bell, now 17, will be automatically released. The ball, Noel said, is now in LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters’ court. Noel said Walters can appeal the decision; he can accept the decision and charge Bell as an adult with attempted murder; or Bell can be charged with aggravated second-degree battery as a juvenile.

… Noel argued in the September motion hearing that a juvenile can’t go through the adult justice system unless he or she is charged with one of a few crimes, including attempted murder. Aggravated second-degree battery is not one of them, he said.
Noel claimed Walters was employing “bait-and-switch” tactics to try Bell in the adult system.

I think “bait-and-switch” is a pretty good description too.  Obviously I’m pretty happy about this - I’ve never said he should get off scot-free for beating Justin Barker, just that the charges and potential sentences were inappropriate.  The rest of the Jena 6 ’s charges will probably be moved to juvenile court as well, unless Walters successfully appeals.  He’s got the next election to think of, and he just might do it.

In any event, a move back to juvenile court is the right thing to do.  If Bell goes on to commit more crimes later in life, as is certainly possible, then I will wish it wasn’t so - but I still think this case, these charges, were wrong.  He should be punished appropriately for each crime he’s committed - not overpunished now in an attempt to stop him from potentially committing a crime later.  That’s not how American justice is supposed to work.  The justice system needs to be fair, charges need to be appropriate, and it needs to be evenhanded and demonstrably so, or some juries will continue to let criminals off in an effort to balance out real and perceived injustice.  Want to put a stop to the “stop snitching” movement?  Then ensure fairness in the justice system - make it obviously fair, so that black folks will buy into the system and support it.

Jena 6: Linkapalooza

Nearby schools will be closed during Mychal Bell’s sentencing, as 40,000 marchers are expected to descend upon Jena on September 20th. Jena residents are battening down the hatches and preparing for 13 times the amount of Jena’s population to arrive. A PR coup may be had:

We’re rightly concerned about making sure justice is served, but as far as marchers go, no one seems particularly upset. In fact, lots are more worried about the practicalities. And those are worth worrying about. Where, if the Rev. Jesse Jackson gets his 20,000 marchers, will all those cars and buses park? But maybe even more worrisome is where in the world will they all go to the bathroom?

Well now, that may very well be the straw that breaks the backs of those so insistent that all these Jena folks are racists. It’s likely that marchers will see southern hospitality first hand as Jena folks open their doors and their bathrooms to the multitudes. If Jena wants to fight the picture of racial strife that currently colors the town, that’s probably the best way to do so — good old southern hospitality. Post a sign in every yard: “Gotta go? C’mon in, take your shoes off, sit a spell. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear.”

Here’s hoping that the views of “kuntryhick” and “lincoln1″ - members of the Town Talk message board who perpetuate the stereotypes - really are the minority. And “lincoln1″ seems to be under the wacky impression that it was ever safe to walk the streets of New Orleans at night. Newsflash: it wasn’t. Here’s the article they’re all discussing. Useful idiot Jesse Jackson said,

But the key, he said repeatedly, is “reconciliation over retaliation.” Jackson said he would like to see the community come together and hopes one day soon the black and white preachers, black and white students and black and white parents can all “sit in a room with one another and work things out.”

“We simply want the children to be freed,” he said. “… Simply let these boys go.”

Not everybody simply wants the children to be freed. That certainly won’t reconcile anyone to anything. And justice is not the same as retaliation. The beating was a crime, and no provocation excuses it. Most of us just want them to be charged appropriately. Simply setting them free is a recipe for disaster. I believe they should be charged as juveniles with lesser charges - I don’t believe tennis shoes should be considered a deadly weapon, and I seriously doubt there was any conspiracy. There’s been one unsubstantiated report that the attack was planned.

While the “tone” of calling the Jena 6 children can be irritating, they really are children - as are Justin Barker and his noose-hanging friends. If you’re under 18, you’re a minor and classified as a child. This is why I think teenaged girls should not be permitted to make the decision on their own to have a surgical procedure (an abortion) - they’re children. This is why people who call the troops “children” get on my last nerve - they’re adults, legally entitled to sign their enlistment contract. There is a nice bright line between under-18 and over-18 where rights and responsibilities are radically different. The adult status of Mychal Bell, currently the only one of the Jena 6 to be convicted, remains in question:

Since then, his newly appointed defense team has tried pleading with acting Judge J.P. Mauffray, Jr. to overturn some of Bell’s charges. However, Mauffray refused all but one- agreeing that the conspiracy charge be tried in juvenile court. This drops Bell’s jail time to a maximum of 15 years.

And just yesterday, Bell appeared in front of the judge for the hearing of his conspiracy charge. The defense team is unable to comment about juvenile court proceedings, however, they say that at least one of the many filed appeals has been successful.

Attorney, Louis G. Scott, told News Channel 5 that although the sentencing trial date is set for next week, a lot could happen before then. An application was filed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that Bell’s battery charge also be sent to juvenile court. He says that if this request is approved, Bell’s adult convictions will be annulled. In addition, the defense is asking for another judge to be appointed to determine whether or not Judge Mauffray should try the sentencing hearing.

Joseph C. Phillips, one of my favorite conservative commentators and author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” weighs in on the Jena 6, and as always, he has a thoughtful and unique perspective.

This case has garnered very little coverage in the mainstream media. Much of the left wing blogsophere is following the case, but it is almost invisible on right wing Internet sites. Which begs the question: Where is the conservative outrage? The shenanigans going on in Jena are counter to everything we preach and everything we say we believe! Political opportunism should not dictate our actions. Broadcasters and commentators should marshal the same righteous indignation they found for Scooter Libby and take the lead in covering the Jena 6 because the fight for justice is supposed to be a hallmark of conservatism. Perhaps we have been slow to the cause because there have been some hints that the character of some of these young men is less than stellar. However the case is not about the character of these youths, but about whether there is integrity in the law and whether LaSalle parish will be made to join the 21st century with the rest of us.

Finally, a serious reality check from Gregory Kane of BlackAmericaWeb.com:
Commentary: The Jena Six Case, Part Two: White Racism Enrages Us More than Our Own Fratricide

… When it comes to mistreating black people, the skin color of the mistreaters makes all the difference with us.

… Over 400 murdered in Philadelphia in 2006 and 215 in Baltimore this year. And let’s not forget who most of the victims are: Young black men, just like the Jena Six.

The case of the Jena Six has inspired some black folks to let out a war whoop as they sally forth to slay yet another dragon of white racism. But those black folks who think that white racism is the only problem we face in 2007, or even the main one, are deluding themselves.

In fact, our obsession with white racism, and with a criminal justice system that we insist is rife with white racism and institutional racism, may contribute to that body count. Here’s how.

I can’t speak for other cities, but in Baltimore our body count gets so high because jurors in this town repeatedly cut loose young black men accused of violent crimes. In Baltimore — Bodymore, Murderland, the criminals call it — the typical homicide victim is a young black man with a criminal record. Homicide suspects have the same profile.

I’ve had people in a position to know tell me that, more frequently than is ever reported, Baltimore jurors have cut loose young black men with lengthy criminal records who have been accused of either murder or another violent crime. It is our insistence that white racism is pervasive and that the criminal justice system is rife with racism that may inspire some jurors to send these young black men back out on the streets, where they commit more murders.

… That body count of young black men murdered should outrage us every bit as much as what’s happened to the Jena Six. A young black man murdering another young black man and then walking out of court scot-free is just as much an injustice as six young black men being railroaded by the Louisiana criminal justice system.

At University of Maryland, A Noose Is Investigated As A Hate Crime

A noose was left hanging from a tree limb near a black cultural studies center on an American college campus.

That’s the scenario that University of Maryland police, with help from the FBI, are investigating as a possible hate crime that may be tied to a similar racial controversy playing out in Louisiana.

… There is recent precedent for racially motivated disputes on the Maryland campus. In 1999, police investigated a series of disparaging letters sent to some of the university’s black leaders. No charges were filed, Dillon said, but police did “get to the bottom” of the harassing letters.

Out of curiosity, because of the vagueness of the phrase “get to the bottom,” I checked to see if the letters were reported anywhere as a fake hate crime, something that has happened on many college campuses.  In this case I didn’t find anything.  Still, I don’t see any possible connection between this and the Jena 6, as the article suggests, and I think “recent” is quite a stretch for eight years ago.

Ah… Calm, Peace, and Quiet

I’m liking this no comments policy. I may leave them off permanently, at least for Jena posts. ER and I had a brief email exchange - she seems to feel unfairly singled out, and honestly, that wasn’t my intent. My intent was to say what I said - that it was the last straw. If I seem a bit thin-skinned about this, you might consider that people have been whipping it off of me for several months now. Since Hurricane Katrina, I’ve seldom worked less than a 60 hour work week, and this blog was something I did for fun. Now, not so much. So since I’m not going to be dealing with comments - including several dozen comments a day that, if I believed in the concept of hate crimes, might actually qualify - I’m going to be posting more.

One last word, for now, about Donald Washington and that article that Jena defenders are so in love with - a snippet from my email to ER about why I feel he has no real credibility:

I dismiss him because I did, in fact, catch him in a lie with regard to prosecuting selective prosecution: “He said he would have to have proof of Walters’ intentions, such as a record of Walters’ spoken words or somewhere that he had written that intention down.” At the forum he said he’d have to “dig in [Reed Walters] head.” This is not true; and in any event, it hasn’t even been investigated, just dismissed out of hand because he says it’s too hard. Selective prosecution could be proved in Jena (if it is happening) the same way it was in Yick Wo v. Hopkins and other cases - statistically and logically. You see no proof that he’s a liar, but then have you looked? Researched other selective prosecution cases? What I am tired of is Jena defenders citing the Gospel of Washington as if he had actually done anything but the most cursory overview of the situation, as if he had been sent to do anything more than smooth it over.

I was lamenting to a good friend that lately I’m prone to swear. She’s very blunt, which is one of the reasons I love her so much: “You’ve got a language problem - better deal with it.” Everyone needs someone who will hold them accountable. But I disagreed with her that the problem was my language. Bad language is the symptom, not the disease, of a Christian who is not where they should be spiritually. So the time I used to spend on comment-herding won’t just be spent on posting; I’ll be enjoying more downtime and spending it on things that are eternal.

So that’s it. I was quite content with my previous traffic levels of 25-30,000 a month, and the extra 10-15k related to Jena, if they leave because I’ve shut down comments, really weren’t worth the time, abuse and stress anyway. If I do restore comments later, they may well be registration only and 100% moderated, the way The Anchoress does it. We’ll see.

Added - I’d also like to restate that a main issue with the comments lately is that they’re too much like an unproductive cough - annoying, painful and tiring.  Nothing new, just the same old arguments, sometimes with new people.  Why bother, if nothing new is going to come out of it to make it worthwhile?

Jena 6 Comments are Closed

You have “ER” to thank for putting that last straw on my back. They’re going to stay closed until - or if - I damn well feel like dealing with it again. It costs me time and money, and it’s just not worth it to keep on unless there is new information that will move this story forward. If you look at the last 50 or 100 comments, it’s all the same old BS. Nothing new, except more and more of my time sucked into arguing with people who have nothing to back up their case except an unproved assertion that they’re from Jena and they know The Actual Truth that is going on. Well, look at the last three years of posts - I’m perfectly willing to believe the media twists stories. Show me some evidence and I’ll be on your side. But your say so isn’t evidence. And since you refuse to put up - even though I’ve offered to pay - then you can just shut up for the time being - at least on this blog.

If you want to communicate with me, do it by email.

Jena 6: Judge throws out one of Bell’s convictions

Another Town Talk article - this time on the latest court proceedings: Judge throws out one of Bell’s convictions

On more than one occasion as the attorneys and judges were arguing a motion, the packed courthouse audience reacted loudly with cheers or sounds of disbelief or disgust.

“I’m feeling strange because I’m arguing with your honor instead of the district attorney,” Scott said to Mauffray. The audience greeted this with cheers of agreement.

Mauffray said he was showing Scott what Walters had already pointed out during his arguments.

The judge was restating the DA’s arguments, and arguing with the defense attorney? He doesn’t sound very impartial to me. That is just as troubling as the statement, “the packed courthouse audience reacted loudly with cheers or sounds of disbelief or disgust.” Evidently the tension continues to mount as people continually become more entrenched in their positions - as I do, lacking any evidence to the contrary that the Jena 6 are being unfairly railroaded.   In fact, the report that the judge is openly siding with the DA on this instead of acting as a fair arbiter between the two parties adds credibility to the Jena 6 defenders, and puts the lie to all the commenters here who insist that we should trust and let the justice system work.  The only encouragement I’m seeing in this article is from Carwin Jones father, who sounds very reasonable:

Carwin Jones’ father, John Jenkins, said he was glad to hear the charges were reduced but that he will be even happier when they are reduced further.”I just wish we could sit down somewhere, all the families involved, and work this out, get it down to simple battery,” he said. “It is a blessing that (Barker) wasn’t hurt more. I just think we need to take care of this.”

Jenkins said the families weren’t trying to make excuses for their children, that some punishment needs to happen, but not what has been presented. He also said those responsible should take care of Barker’s thousands of dollars in medical bills.

“We’re not out here trying to make a fuss or make this a black and white thing,” he said. “The only objective is to get these charges away from our kids for a school fight. Something happened at that school that needs to come out. We aren’t trying to make excuses for our kids, just standing up for them.”

Jenkins said if the charges had remained at aggravated battery — what the boys were initially charged with — or were simple battery, “all this wouldn’t be here,” he said gesturing to the courthouse lawn filled with reporters and cameramen from local and national media.

Indeed.

Jena 6 Retraction

I just noticed this retraction over at FOJ and I’d like to second it, pending further information. I believed that Jessica Hooter’s mother was on the jury - it now appears that she may not have been (emphasis added):

Several people told me that the Jessica Hooter who testified during the trial was the daughter of the Ms. Hooter who was on the jury. A journalist following up on my report has discovered that this is probably not the case.

The Jena 6: Photo of Justin Barker’s Injuries

I just found this photo in the CNN article Residents: Nooses spark school violence, divide town, and my first thought was, “You have GOT to be kidding me. A felony conviction for THIS?” I knew Reed Walters didn’t have any serious medical testimony to back him up, but I figured the photos had to be sufficiently gory for the jury to come back with that verdict. How anyone can look at this photo and think “beaten half to death” or “stomped on face” or any of the other rhetoric that has been thrown around so liberally is beyond me.

Seriously, future comments where I see someone going on an on about these dire injuries and “bleeding out his ears,” I’m deleting it. I don’t care who it’s from or whether there is anything else of value in the comment. Whether the writer intends it or not, it’s a lie, and this photo proves it. And don’t give me the whole “$12,000 in medical bills,” either. Over half of that was the ambulance ride, ER and CT scan, and the rest was probably for more expensive testing in a desperate attempt to justify these excessive charges. I’ll put the best possible face on it and suggest it was CYA for the doctors or “concerned parent” medical overkill. That, or they flew him to the Mayo Clinic. Jeez. What utter crap. This really makes me mad.

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