Jena 6 DA and judge fail to show for 'Jena 6' bail hearing
Tuesday, September 18th 2007, 9:14 AM
The black teen at the center of a furor over legal racism remained behind bars - though charges against him were thrown out Friday - because the judge and prosecutor didn't come to a bail hearing yesterday, his lawyer said.
"We showed up. There was nobody there," said Bob Noel, lawyer for 17-year-old Mychal Bell of Jena, La. "No DA, no judge."
A woman who answered the phone at District Attorney Reed Walters' office said he had no bail procedure on his calendar.
A massive protest is planned for Thursday in tiny, rural Jena on behalf of Bell and five co-defendants who are known as the Jena 6. Other rallies that day include one outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.
"To imagine that in 2006, 2007, we're still fighting these fights is just incomprehensible," said Assemblyman Darryl Towns (D-Brooklyn) at a Jena 6 rally at City Hall yesterday.
An appeals court on Friday threw out the conviction of Bell, who was charged as an adult with attempted murder last year for punching a white classmate in a schoolyard scuffle.
The charges were later reduced to aggravated battery, a charge the appeals court said should have been dealt with in juvenile court.
Noel had filed a motion to have Bell released - or his $90,000 bail reduced - while the prosecutor mulls whether to appeal the overturning of Bell's conviction. He has two weeks to decide.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Washington should step in.
"We needed federal intervention to get into school in Little Rock [in the 1950s] and we need federal intervention now," he said.
All six black Jena football players were hit with heavy charges after a white student was punched and kicked at Jena High School on Dec. 4, one of a series of racial dustups that began when white students hung nooses in a school tree.
White students involved in similar fistfights were shown leniency.
Bell is the only one who has been tried. The other blacks still face trial on charges that are widely seen as overly harsh.
Organizers say at least 10,000 demonstrators will flood the mostly white town of 3,000 people.
Councilman Albert Vann (D-Brooklyn) organized yesterday's New York rally to keep the pressure on Louisiana prosecutors and set the stage for Thursday.
"There's a national spotlight now on Jena," he said.
****What Can I Do To Help****
**LATEST JENA 6 NEWS YOU CAN STILL HELP** Many ask how can they help with the Jena 6 case I have put together some ways you can help..it's the latest news and ways you can help stop the racism..We need you to stand up!! Even $5.00 Will Help!!Donate online to the: Jena 6 Defense Fund or mail donations to. Jena 6 Defense Committee, P. O. Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342 Advocate in your community: Mobilize your community and local government to have a voice and unite on equality within the United States criminal justice system.Send a letter to the Louisiana Governor and the Louisiana Attorney General: Urge your local officials to investigate this matter to ensure that these young men’s constitutional rights are safeguarded.Register to vote: Make your vote count.Join the NAACP: Become a member of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization and help make a difference.DONATE HERE IT'S FAST AND SECURE PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!! PLEASE HELP!! PLEASE HELP EVEN $1 DOLLAR ADD'S UP!!
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Jena Defence
Louisiana Earns Dubious Distinction
Louisiana incarcerates more of its residents than any other state in the nation. Here are the top three:
1. Louisiana (791)
2. Texas (691)
3. Mississippi (660)
Lowest three states:
1. Maine (144)
2. Minnesota (180)
3. Rhode Island (189)
(Note: The national average incarceration rate is 491 per 100,000 residents.)
What Is The Jena 6
A little background for those that do not know, the Jena 6 are six Black students who face the possibility of going to prison for very long time, all because of a schoolyard fight. Almost a year ago, in the small town of Jena, Louisiana a group of Black students sat under a “whites-only” tree in the schoolyard. Yes they still have them.
Apparently, this upset some of the white students so much that the next day they put up nooses hanging from the tree. Soon after the nooses were hung, most of the 93 Black students (out of a total student enrollment of 546) at Jena High School stood together under the tree, in a courageous act of protest.
It wasn't long after this that a a school assembly was called, where a white district attorney told the Black students to just keep their mouths shut about the nooses. He told them if he heard anything else about it, he “can make their lives go away with the stroke of his pen.”
This eventually led to a fight that sent one white student to the hospital and six Black students to jail and that’s when all the comotion and eventual hell broke loose.
The Jena 6 are Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor. All were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high starting at $70,000 and going as high as$138,000 that the they were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
Here at Jena-6 .blogspot we will devote this entire site to the Jena 6 story. It is said to be covered by Oprah soon, only time will tell. We will keep you up to date on that as well.
Apparently, this upset some of the white students so much that the next day they put up nooses hanging from the tree. Soon after the nooses were hung, most of the 93 Black students (out of a total student enrollment of 546) at Jena High School stood together under the tree, in a courageous act of protest.
It wasn't long after this that a a school assembly was called, where a white district attorney told the Black students to just keep their mouths shut about the nooses. He told them if he heard anything else about it, he “can make their lives go away with the stroke of his pen.”
This eventually led to a fight that sent one white student to the hospital and six Black students to jail and that’s when all the comotion and eventual hell broke loose.
The Jena 6 are Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor. All were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high starting at $70,000 and going as high as$138,000 that the they were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.
Here at Jena-6 .blogspot we will devote this entire site to the Jena 6 story. It is said to be covered by Oprah soon, only time will tell. We will keep you up to date on that as well.
Jena 6 Race Factor
Jena 6 Videos
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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