Jena 6 Update: Mychal Bell is Released on $45,000 Bail
Put forth on September 30, 2007 by XicanoPwr
Posted in Civil Rights, Prejudices, Racism, Segregation
After spending almost 10 months behind bars, Mychal Bell is finally free after a local judge set the bail for $45,000. This came hours after a LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters told a nationally televised press conference, he would no longer seek an adult trial for the Mychal. Walters had said he would appeal that ruling, but decided to drop the case once Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who had declined for months to get directly involved in the Jena case, decided to intervene, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, the Washington Post is reporting that Walters decided not to prosecute because “it was in the best interest of the victim, Justin Barker, and his family to let the juvenile court handle the case.”
According to 2theadvocate.com, after a meeting held in Baton Rouge between Blanco, Sharpton and Martin Luther King III on Wednesday, Blanco told reporters at a press conference she asked Walters to drop his appeal and let Bell’s case stay in juvenile court and that he had agreed. Blanco added: “The Louisiana justice system is designed to correct itself when necessary … The juvenile court system is where this case belongs.”
However, Walters said he made the decision on his own and that neither Blanco nor the march on Sept. 20 that drew families from across the nation who rode buses for hours to protest perceived racial discrimination in the mostly-white town of 3,000 people had no influence on the decision. He also claimed that is was God who kept the demonstration completely nonviolent. Both state and local authorities confirmed that they made no arrests and received no reports of property damage.
“I’m sure you also want to know what impact the demonstrations that occurred in Jena last week and other statements made by prominent people played in my decision,” Walters told reporters during the news conference at the courthouse. “The answer is none.”
“The only way – let me stress that – the only way that I believe that me or this community has been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community,” Walters said.
“I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that.”
One does have to wonder what he meant by that statement and would he have made the same statement if the majority of protesters were white instead of black. One could argue that Walters was implying that African Americans are typically barbaric when it comes to protesting, and it was only through divine intervention that prevented them from tearing Jena apart. Moreover, in another statement Walters made, it certainly seems that way. Soon after Rev. Donald Sibley, a black Jena pastor, stated it was a “shame” that Walters would go so far to credit divine intervention for the protesters behavior, Walters said, “What I’m saying is, the Lord Jesus Christ put his influence on those people, and they responded accordingly.”
My reaction to Walters’ statement maybe considered too sensitive, or that I am looking for something that really is not there. And why not, the whites in Jena certainly believe their town didn’t have any race problem until the Blacks made a big deal about it. The common message by white residents from Jena is that their town is “not a racial town” and in fact Jena “wasn’t racially divided,” they were “unified.” Although violence and hate propaganda are renounced by elites, however, other forms of racism are not. Covert disparate treatment and sanitized racist comments are commonplace and socially acceptable in many settings. No matter how much both victims and well-meaning dominant-group members resist it, racial inferiority is planted in our minds as an idea that may hold some truth.
The idea is improbable and abhorrent, but because it is presented repeatedly, it is there before us. “Those people” are lazy, dirty, barbaric, sexualized, money grubbing, dishonest, inscrutable, we are told. We reject the idea, but the next time we sit next to one of “those people,” the dirt message, the barbaric message, is triggered.
Bell was released after Lake Charles’ Dr. Stephen Ayres, a medical doctor, posted the $11,000 – 12 percent of the $45,000 bond – needed to get Bell out of jail. Ayers told local NBC affiliate KPLC the he felt compelled to help the family because Mychal did not get a “fair shake.” Ayers said:
“I hate to say racism, but it seems as though for some reason or another this kid was not getting a fair shake,” said Doctor Stephen Ayers.
“I said wait a second, no this cannot happen we have to do something about this get him out of there as best as you can, it does not matter what it costs — I’ll pay for it,” said Dr. Ayers.
“It was really great to see… Now this is how it is supposed to happen. Crime committed, pay the appropriate penalty for it and that’s all we ask for is just a level playing field,” said Dr. Ayers.
Bell was originally held on a $90,000 bond. Once convicted in juvenile court, his bond request was denied because he previously had a juvenile record, including adjudications for battery. One of the criticisms made during the protest why didn’t any of the civil rights leaders or any of the celebrities bail out the 17-year-old at the center of the civil rights controversy in the small Louisiana town. Some felt that Sharpton was exploiting Mychal Bell to further his personal agenda. However, on Friday’s episode of the Dr. Phil Show Sharpton explains why he did not pay Mychal’s bail. (click on “Our town wasn’t racially divided before this happened” to view the transcript)
From Slide: 2
“People say, ‘Why didn’t I pay [Mychal Bell's] bail?’ There is no bail. I would pay it today if he had a bail. The judge revoked the bail,” he says. “They say that we said the prosecutor is wrong. The 3rd Circuit Court said he’s wrong. His conviction was overturned, and the courts in Louisiana said he should not have been charged as a juvenile. You can’t have it both ways.”From Slide: 4
Dr. Phil addresses Sharpton. “You’re saying, if a bail is set for this young man, that you would pay it, or cause it to be paid to get him out of jail,” he says.“Immediately, and I think that that would be the right thing to do,” he says. “He’s has done 10 months in jail as an adult. He’s paid the price.”
The reporting on the events in Jena by the mainstream media has been disappointing. Most of them have reported on the emotional reactions rather than on the relevant facts. By focusing on the beating of a white male schoolmate, the real issue is deflected – how the “noose” played a crucial role in the escalating series of confrontations between white and black youths in Jena. It also diverts attention away from Justin Barker. Moreover, it also trivializes the day-to-day experiences of blacks who suffer a range of abuses in contacts with the justice system that go from negligence to outright brutality. And it dangerously misreads the discontent of a significant population that is not merely disaffected but enraged, whose fury is barely reflected in the staggering rates of black criminalization and imprisonment.
Prior to Justin Barker’s beating, Robert Bailey, one of the Jena 6, was also “beaten” just like Barker by a group of white students when he entered an all-White party held at the Jena Fair Barn. Upon his arrival, Bailey was hit with fists and hit with beer bottles. Yet, only one, Justin Sloane, was later charged with simple battery and ultimately received probation. Nobody mentions that it was Justin and a group of whites, which included the three noose hangers, taunted Robert Bailey and other black students. According to reports, they used the word “n*****” and mocked Bailey for having his “ass whipped.”
As much as one may try to resist hate propaganda, such as the “noose,” the effect on one’s self-esteem and sense of personal security is devastating. It hits right at the emotional place where we feel the most pain. The sense of insecurity comes not only from the hate message itself, but also how the government respond to intolerance. When racist attacks are officially dismissed as pranks, the victim becomes a stateless person and targeted-group are forced to either identify with a community that promotes racist speech or admit that the community does not include them.
The presence of racist acts tends to distance dominant culture from the discriminated, thus, making it harder to achieve a sense of common humanity. It forces those who are discriminated to view all members of the dominant culture with suspicion. No matter how much a person tries to stifle incoming racist messages and reject it as being wrong, the problem will always there, interfering with our perception and interaction with the person next to us.
The series of events that provoked the accusations of racism and uneven treatment of black and white students could have been avoided if only the Jena High leaders had paid close attention the the warning signs. However, this was not the case. Racism and racial stigmatization harm not only the victim and the perpetrator of individual racist acts but also society as a whole because racism is a breach of the ideal of egalitarianism, that “all men are created equal.”
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This is the blog of Edmundo "XicanoPwr" Rocha, a social worker, an activist, freelance writer and founder and editor of The Sanctuary. My interests include: immigration reform, critical race theory and it's interaction with equality/inequality and freedom/oppression as they relate to the experiences of people of color in the Americas.
Para Justicia y Libertad is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States.
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Jena High School students, teachers and administrators say that students of both races congregated beneath the tree and that the tree was never officially or unofficially reserved for white students. According to the Jena Times, the black student who requested permission at an assembly posed the question in jest. The paragraph below is taken from the Jena Times chronology of events:
“August 30, 2006: During a Wednesday assembly of all males at Jena High School, many items were discussed concerning rules and policies of the school for the new school year. Such items included dress codes, etc. Near the end of the assembly, one black student jokingly asked Assistant Principal Gawen Brugess if black students were permitted to sit underneath the tree in the center of the square located in the center of the campus. The question evoked laughter from everyone at the meeting, including the black students, with Burgess responding, “Don’t even go there. You know you can sit anywhere you want.” Burgess and the rest of the students knew the remark was made to gain laughter as a joke, not as a serous question. A couple more jokes were also made (not about the tree) before the lighthearted assembly was dismissed.”
The three white students said they hung the nooses as a continuation of the joke made at the assembly and that they did not mean it as a threat. The U.S. Justice Department investigated and determined that it did not fall within the department’s parameters for a hate crime. After the beating of Justin Barker at Jena High, the Justice Department reopened its investigation into the noose-hanging incident and determined there was no link between the nooses and the beating. U.S. Attorney Donald Washington 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 none of the black students involved in the beating made “any mention of nooses, of trees, of the ‘N’ word or any other word of racial hate.” According to CNN, federal official also examined the way the school handled the infractions and whether black students were being treated differently than white students. Washington told CNN that they discovered “it was not unusual for the school superintendent to reinstate students after the principal recommends expelling them.” Washington also told CNN that the 16-year-old defendant, Mychal Bell, has “several previous assault charges on his record.” The CNN story (“U.S. Attorney: Nooses, Beating at Jen High Not Related”) is online at http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six.link/index.html?iref=newssearch
The beating of Justin Barker stems from a fight at a private party which was held off-campus at the Jena Fair Barn. Although the party was predominantly white (Jena is 85-percent white), both blacks and whites attended. Trouble started with a group of uninvited black youths attempted to crash the party. When the hostess, a white woman, asked them to leave they refused. Rather than calling police, a 22-year-old white male confronted the party crashers, and hit Robert Bailey, a black 17-year old who would later be implicated in the beating of Justin Barker at Jena High. Sloan pled guilty to battery. Since it was his first offense, he was placed on parole. Police describe the fight between Sloan and Bailey as a one-punch affair. Sloan hit Bailey and knocked him down. Then other people stopped the fight. To date, Sloan is the only person who has been sentence in connection with the Jena racial incidence. According to police statements, including Bailey’s,” Sloan did not hit Bailey with a beer bottle, and Bailey did not require medical treatment after the fight. The allegation that Sloan hit Bailey with a beer bottle surfaced in blogs after the incident drew national attention. The Jena Police Department and prosecutor’s office have refuted it several times.
Justin Barker was not involved in the fight at the private party. The black students accused of beating Barker at Jena High School told police they were angry because they overheard Barker discussing the fight at the private party with other students. They did not allege that Barker taunted them or used racial slurs. These allegations surfaced only after the Jena incidence attracted national attention.
The police documents relevant to the Jena Six incidents, including police statements made by alleged victims, alleged assailants and witnesses to the events, are posted near the bottom of the page at http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/
It is funny how there is a double standard when it comes to the injuries. People prefer to downplay the fight at the party Robert Bailey got beaten up at, yet, they shrill when somebody mentions the fact that Barker got out of the hospital in three hours and how people are downplaying his injuries. The same argument can be made in regards to the seriousness of the beat down Bailey received. How can a beer bottle was thrown at a person not be as serious as being kicked? Walters could have prosecuted the group of whites with the same felony charges he charged to prosecute the Jena Six. Why didn’t he? Instead, Walters charged one white with a misdemeanor, while the others walked. As for the witnesses, re-read those statements, two of them caught the action in the middle of the fight. One of them admitted she did not see a thing. If Robert Bailey, Theo Shaw and the other two boys actually stole the shotgun at the Gotta Go Grocery incident, why were they not arrested for theft?
You pointed out that the the United States attorney “found no federal law against what was done.” However, I will point out to you, in the same article you linked it states – “Washington said FBI agents who went to Jena in September to investigate the noose report, and other federal officials who examined what happened, concluded it ‘had all the markings of a hate crime.’” But because of the boys’ ages and backgrounds, he declined to bring charges that could have put them away for 10 years. It was Washington’s discretion not to go forward.
Going back to the joke at the assembly. Even if the kid meant it as joke, giving it the benefit of the doubt, in what logical manner can placing three nooses on that tree the day after the question was asked by considered as a prank. Shall we start burning crosses just for kicks now? Such a thing is never done in jest, but is a threat of an intended action, a threat meant to control behavior or actions. And the FBI who investigated this matter found it to be a hate crime and NOT A PRANK.
The fact is in the 21st century, Black people continue to be vilified and Black men are made to be society’s pariah, which these are the conditions the Jena 6 lived with at the time of their arrest.
The Jena Police Department and presecutor’s office have stated several times that no beer bottles were involved in the fight at the private party. The allegation that Robert Bailey was hit with a beer bottle surfaced only after the Jean Six incident drew national attention. In his police statement, Bailey does not alledge he was hit with a bottle.
The students involved in the shotgun incidence at the Jena convenience store have been charged with aggravated robbery and theft of a firearm.
Some witnesses do state they arrive late at the scene of the beating and were unable to indentify who was involved; however, several others, including two of three coaches, saw the beating from start to finish and they postively identify members of the Jena Six.
One of three circumstances or a combination of three circumstances elevates simple battery to aggravated battery: (1) a deadly weapon was used, (2) severe 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 that 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.”
Due to the Jena Six protest, a judge might allow the defense to claim the beating was tied to the noose hanging incident, but the prosecution will be able to use the Justice Department report to argue that there is no such connection.
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 had 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. The 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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