The road to justice in Jena
The chances for the Jena 6 to achieve justice have dramatically improved.
Their story has been forced into the mainstream media, the Governor was finally forced to speak on the issue, Mychal Bell is facing a new trial with a maximum penalty of 4 years instead of 22, and the systemic problem of unequal justice across this country is getting more attention.
As the fight moves to court trials, ColorOfChange.org members have helped put the legal teams on solid ground by generously contributing $212,399 to the legal defense of the Jena 6, $106,000 of which has already been spent at the direction of the families to help get investigators on the ground, bring in expert witnesses, and to secure the best legal counsel available for these young men.1.
Having well-funded legal teams and more media attention is important, but we can't forget that these young men could be free of these charges completely if not for one man: LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters. He is still representing the State of Louisiana in the case and needs to be removed and disciplined for his misconduct immediately. 
Can you file a letter of complaint with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board asking them to investigate Walter's conduct?
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/walters/?id=1671-156865
After nooses were hung from the "white tree" at Jena High School in September 2006, the adults in Jena could have taken actions to reduce tensions and help the community heal, but their actions only further aggravated tensions. Reed Walters was one of the main instigators. He came to the school and threatened Black students who protested peacefully under the "white tree."2 He used his prosecutorial discretion to refuse to pursue incidents of white-on-black violence that preceded the beating of Justin Barker, and then abused that same discretion to overcharge the young men who allegedly beat Barker, claiming that tennis shoes were a "dangerous weapon" and the assault was attempted murder.3 From the day he threatened to "make [their] lives disappear with the stroke of a pen," Walters has had a clear agenda, and has followed it aggressively, unfairly, and outside of the boundaries of his position.
Now he's trying to cover his tracks. In a public statement on September 19, 2007, DA Walters claimed that there was no connection between the assault on Justin Barker and the hanging of nooses in the "white tree" several months before.4 In an op-ed in the New York Times, Walters claimed that the noose hanging "broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none." 5 But two attorneys we're working with easily found Louisiana Revised Statute 14:107.2, which creates a hate crime for any institutional vandalism or criminal trespass motivated by race. Walters was creative enough to turn a schoolyard assault into an attempted murder case; he surely could have figured out how to make nooses into hate crimes.6
After the massive protest on the 20th, Governor Blanco was forced to act, but sadly her only action was to give Walters cover to continue his aggressive prosecution. Blanco grandly proclaimed that Walters was not going to appeal the 3rd Circuit Court's nullification of Mychal Bell's conviction in adult court, and would instead prosecute him as a juvenile.7 Sounds good until you remember that 4 young men still face charges in adult court, and 2 are still facing charges as juveniles, for a fight that occurred at school. And Walter's "generosity" sounds even worse when you remember that only one of the young men who attacked Robert Bailey three days before Justin Barker was assaulted was even charged; that he was charged with a misdemeanor; and that he has never spent a minute in prison.8
It is outrageous that Walters is still pursuing charges against the Jena 6, and it's even more outrageous that he's being given political cover by the Governor, by Louisiana's District Attorney Association, and even by the New York Times. Anyone can file a complaint against an attorney by sending a letter to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, the organization that has the power to take action against Walters, and we want them to hear from as many of us as possible. We've prepared the letter. All you have to do is add your address and put it in the mail. When you send your letter, please let us know at walterscomplaint@colorofchange.org. If lots of you send letters, we'll use those numbers to get the media to cover the story, adding more pressure on the Disciplinary Board to act.
Justice should be blind, but unfortunately, prosecutors are not. They see color and it can impact how they exercise their prosecutorial discretion. This is the case for the Jena 6. Reed Walters' attacks have already damaged the lives of these 6 teenagers. He shouldn't be given the opportunity to keep at it a minute longer. Please send your letter of complaint requesting a thorough investigation into Reed Walters' conduct today.
posted by Mike G. at
7:57 AM
1 Comments:
Following the Jena High School beating incident, the Justice Department
reopened its investigation into the noose-hanging incident and found no link
to the assault on Justin Barker or other confrontations between black and
white students at Jena High School. Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Louisiana, told CNN that "A lot of things happened
between the noose hanging and the fight occurring, and we have arrived at
the conclusion that the fight itself had no connection." He added that "We
could not prove that, because the statements of the students themselves do
not make any mention of nooses, of trees, of the 'N' word or any other word
of racial hate."
There is no connection between the nooses and the attack on Barker.
According to witness statements, the black students were angry because they
overhead Barker talking about a fight at a private party that involved
Robert Bailey, a member of the Jena Six. Police arrested Justin Sloan, a
white 22-year-old male, in connection with the fight and charged him with
simple battery. He pled guilty and was place on parole. Police have refuted
allegations that Sloan hit Bailey with a bottle, and in his statement to
police Bailey merely alleges that Sloan hit him, he doesn't mention being
hit with a bottle. The simple battery charge was appropriate because Sloan
did not use a weapon and no serious injuries were inflicted; Bailey required
no medical attention. Virtually everyone convicted of simple battery,
regardless of race, is placed on parole provided it's a first offense.
Mychal Bell, for example, was on parole at the time of the beating incident
at Jena High School.
The charge of attempted murder was dropped before Mychal Bell went to trail
and should no longer be part of the controversy over whether the Jena Six
have been inappropriately charged. They are charged with aggravated battery
and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. One of three circumstances or a
combination of three circumstances elevates simple battery to aggravated
battery: (1) a deadly weapon was used, (2) sever injuries were inflicted, or
(3) the victim was vulnerable (helpless or defenseless). In some states,
simple battery becomes aggravated battery if "the offense occurred in a
public transit vehicle or station, school zone, or other protected place,"
but I don't know if this applies in Louisiana.
Four of the Jena six were over 17 at the time of the beating incidence.
Trying them in juvenile court is not an option; by law they must be tried as
adults.
The argument that shoes constitute deadly weapons has legal precedence.
Courts have ruled that shoes constitute deadly weapons in cases where
victims were kicked to death. (Carol Swan, a professor of political science
at Vanderbilt University, has posted the story of her brother's death on
the university's official website
(http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=37643. He was kicked to death by
teenagers wearing sneakers.) However, the prosecution will not have to
convince the jury that shoes qualify as deadly weapons to prove aggravated
assault.
The prosecution will argue that Barker was seriously injured. An ambulance
had to be called to the scene and doctors treated him for three hours. The
prosecution will call the doctors to the witness stand. Beside cuts and
bruise, he suffered a concussion. Concussions are serious life-threatening
injuries that often have lingering and sometimes permanent effects. Barker's
parents will likely to testify that doctors recommend Barker stay in the
hospital overnight, but that they had no insurance and could not afford the
costs. Barker's attorneys estimate his medical costs at $14,000. Jurors may
consider these costs are indications of serious injuries. Barker did attend
a senior right ceremony after his release from the hospital, but his
friends, if called to testify, will says that he left before the end of the
ceremony because he was in pain and felt dizzy.
However, the prosecution does not have to prove that Barker suffered serious
injuries to prove their case. In sworn police statements, nearly a dozen
witnesses stated that the Jenna Six continue to kick Barker in the head
after he lay unconscious (helpless and defenseless) on the ground. In a
sworn statement to the Sheriff's office, one student wrote, "Me and J.O. was
walking out of the gym when all of a sudden a tall black boy come running
from the side and jumped Justin Barker and slammed his head on the concrete
beam that people sometimes sit on. Theo Shaw and a group of other blacks
were all standing there waiting on Justin and after he was knocked out cold
on the ground Calvin Jones and Robert Bailey started kicking his head for no
reason at all. Me and J.O. looked over and there was blood pouring out of
his ears and his hands were shaking because he was knocked out cold, then
Mrs. ______ made us go to class."
The Jena prosecutor says he did not prosecute the three teens who hung the
nooses because Louisiana has no applicable hate crime laws. For the same
reason, he has not filed hate crimes charges against the Jena Six, although
there is plenty of evidence the attack on Barker was racially motivated and
that members of the Jena six used racial slurs. In a sworn statement, one
student wrote that just prior to the attack, "I heard one of the boys say,
"There's that white mother f---er that was running his mouth." In their
written statements, other students said that members of the Jena Six had
threatened and bullied other white students just prior to the attack and
that members of the Jena Six told them they had a list of white students
they plan to attack. These are allegations, of course, but since they were
made in sworn police statements and are part of the public record, they
merit serious attention.
The justice Department has investigated the three white students who hung
the nooses to determine if federal hate crime charges were justified.
Following the beating at Jena High, the Justice Department reopened its
investigation to determine, among other thing, if Justin Barker taunted the
Jena Six with racial slurs. Now that the Justice Department has investigated
the victim of the Jena High School beating, it should investigate the
perpetrators to determine if federal hate crimes should be brought against
the Jena Six.
The police documents and witness statements related to the Jena Six events
are posted at http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/http. Anyone reading the
witness statements will understand why Bell's defense lawyer called no
witnesses. If Bell's defense lawyer had called character witness, he
probably would have been disbarred for incompetence. Calling character
witnesses would have allowed the prosecutor to reveal Bell's criminal record
and call victims of his previous assaults to the stand.
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