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jena six
Mychal Bell is Home, Out on $45,000 Bail
Jena 6 Teen Released on $45,000 Bail
By DOUG SIMPSON
The Associated Press
Washington Post
Friday, September 28, 2007
JENA, La. -- A black teenager whose prosecution in the beating of a white classmate prompted a massive civil rights protest here walked out of a courthouse Thursday after a judge ordered him freed.
Mychal Bell's release on $45,000 bail came hours after a prosecutor confirmed he would no longer seek an adult trial for the 17-year-old. Bell, one of the teenagers known as the Jena Six, still faces trial as a juvenile in the December beating in this small central Louisiana town.
"We still have mountains to climb, but at least this is closer to an even playing field," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who helped organize last week's protest.
Jena 6 District Attorney thanks Jesus Christ!
This is so wrong on sooo many levels. He preaches from his staged press conference that it was J.C. who prevented violence during a huge protest rally last week. Because African Americans would never act in a civil manner. What a slap in the face to the African American community
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR RELEASE OF MYCHAL BELL, FOR ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE JENA 6 TO BE DROPPED
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR RELEASE OF MYCHAL BELL, FOR ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE JENA 6 TO BE DROPPED, AND FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO JENA 6 ARRESTS AND PROSECUTIONS / NLG STATEMENT ON JENA 6
Monday, September 24, 2007, 11:44 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 24, 2007
Contact: Kerry McLean, 917-334-9331
Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, 858-204-3565
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR RELEASE OF MYCHAL BELL, FOR ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE JENA 6 TO BE DROPPED, AND FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO JENA 6 ARRESTS AND PROSECUTIONS
La. Protests Hark Back to '50s, '60s
La. Protests Hark Back to '50s, '60s
Friday September 21, 2007 3:16 AM
By MARY FOSTER
Associated Press Writer
JENA, La. (AP) - Drawn by a case tinged with one of the most hated symbols of Old South racism - a hangman's noose tied in an oak tree - thousands of protesters rallied Thursday against what they see as a double standard of prosecution for blacks and whites.
The plight of the so-called Jena Six became a flashpoint for one the biggest civil-rights demonstrations in years. Five of the black teens were initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate.
Large Crowd Rallies for 'Jena 6' in Louisiana
Large Crowd Rallies for 'Jena 6' in Louisiana: Thousands of chanting demonstrators filled the streets Thursday. It's not about black and white. It's about right and wrong. I would like to see these young men set free," said Martha Kelly, 64, of Alexandria, La. Photo by Alex Brandon, AP
.: Michael Baisden, second from left, walks with Rev. Al Sharpton and Melissa Bell, mother of Mychal Bell, right of Sharpton, behind two Louisiana State Troopers during a march in support of the "Jena Six" on Thursday.
"Mychal Bell should not have been tried as adult" judges decision
Conviction in Jena case overturned
Judges rule teen should not have been tried as adult in racially tinged case
The Associated Press
Sept 15, 2007
JENA, La. - A state appeals court Friday tossed out the aggravated battery conviction that could have sent a black teenager to prison for 15 years in last year's beating of a white classmate in the racially tense Louisiana town of Jena.
Mychal Bell, who was 16 at the time of the December beating, should not have been tried as an adult on the battery charge, the state Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles ruled.
Bell is one of six black Jena High School students charged in an attack on fellow student Justin Barker, and one of five originally charged as adults with attempted second-degree murder.
