Jackson Free Press

Update: Today a Louisiana appeals court overturned the conviction of Mychal Bell, one of the "Jena 6" who were facing severe charges for their end of a racially tinged feud at a school in Jena, La. Read more here. Maggie Burks of the Jackson Free Press has been covering the case since early August, when she went to Jena to cover Al Sharpton's visit there in support of the young men. Read her Aug. 8 story here. Read the Wikipedia entry on the case here

Previous Commentsshow

That's great! I wonder what's next.

LatashaWillis

Sep 14 2007

Text of the ruling should be available here sometime early next week. Gist of the news reports so far is that Bell was improperly tried as an adult, which is a definite "duh" moment--nobody ever meant for the juvenile-as-adult statutes to apply to blooming schoolyard fights, and the fact that the defendant is black is the only reason it stuck. We should remember that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Scottsboro convictions TWICE, though, and the kids still got the shaft. We need to watch this D.A. like a hawk and see what he tries to pull next.

Tom Head

Sep 14 2007

I think I saw an online petition circling somewhere requesting that the D.A. be disbarred. Wish I could remember where that was.

LatashaWillis

Sep 14 2007

The rally scheduled for Sept. 20th is still going foward. Even though Mychale Bell's charges have been dismissed this was in appellate court and could still be overturned and his sentence reinstated. There will be a conference call on Monday to discuss the rally and other things. Information follows: From: Ministry of Justice Millions More Movement Houston Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 2:03 PM Subject: Jena 6 Rally Conference Call Tonight 9.10.07 @ 8pm central Dear "Jena 6" Rally Supporters There will be a very important national conference call about the upcoming September 20th Rally & Protest. The Conference Call will take place on Monday,September 10 at 8:00pm CST. We are inviting you to join the Houston Millions More Movement and a host of organizations as we discuss the latest news and updates about the mobilization efforts that are being made throughout the country. You don't want to miss this. The Conference Call information is as followed: Number: 1 (605) 475-6000 Access Code: 519262

BuyJxn

Sep 16 2007

Speaking of injustice, the police in Las Vegas are trying to frame Orenthal James Simpson. How many times and how many ways is he going to have to beat the system for people to leave him alone. It hurt my feelings to see O.J. in cuffs and walking without his usual "I'm OJ - Yall Can kiss my a$$ walk." He, he. Since Al clearly hates OJ like may black folks, albeit quietly, I wonder if he'll be offering any help in Vegas. How sad it is for OJ to beat 2 murders and not know what he allegedly did wasn't nonsensical and criminal. He's abusing drugs. I'll bet my last dollar. Glad to see some justice being done in Jena.

Ray Carter

Sep 17 2007

The Gambit Weekly has a column about the Jena 6 this week. It does look like the media train is catching up to this story, which is great. One wonders if they will pay attention to what Judge Yerger just did, too. (Philadelphia, Miss., is not a Delta town as the Gambit states in the lede, but we will forgive them.)

DonnaLadd

Sep 19 2007