JENA 6 UPDATE...

Judge recuses self from bid to open Jena trial
New judge will decide if racially-charged case should be open to public
source (image courtesy of Google Images; editing by Ivent)

NEW ORLEANS - A judge has disqualified himself from hearing a request from news media to open juvenile court proceedings for a black teenager charged with beating a white classmate in Jena, a case that has drawn thousands of protesters.

State District Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr.’s recusal paves the way for another judge to decide whether the case against 17-year-old Mychal Bell should be open to the public.

Another judge was not immediately appointed to hear the petition filed by The Associated Press and more than two dozen newspapers, television networks and network affiliates.

The news organizations are seeking permission to attend new hearings in Bell’s case, to review transcripts of previous hearings and other court records, and to lift a gag order against participants in the case.

Bell, 17, originally was charged with attempted murder for his alleged role in a December 2006 attack on Justin Barker at Jena High School. That charge was reduced before a jury convicted him in June of aggravated second-degree battery. Mauffray presided over the trial.

The charges against Bell and five others — the so-called “Jena Six” — sparked a huge civil-rights demonstration in Jena last month. Critics accused District Attorney Reed Walters of treating blacks more harshly than whites, because his office didn’t file charges against three white teens accused of hanging nooses in a tree at the high school shortly before the attack on Barker.
In September, a state appeals court vacated Bell’s conviction and ruled that he shouldn’t have been tried as an adult. Bell is due in juvenile court early next month — also before Mauffray — and has a tentative trial date of Dec. 6.

Judge named as defendant
In a one-page ruling, Mauffray indicated he recused himself because he was named as a defendant in the news media’s litigation. Mauffray is the only judge assigned to the Lasalle Parish court where Bell’s case is being heard. Dan Zimmerman, an attorney for the news organizations, said the judge would have been in a “difficult position” if he had to review his own decision.

Criminal cases involving juveniles in Louisiana are usually sealed, but lawyers for the news organizations argue that aggravated second-degree battery is one of the violent offenses that allows a juvenile court case to be opened to the public.

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I'm not sure if in fact is a good idea to open this court case to the public.

This was and is still an emotionally charged situation and I don't believe everyone will be mindful of court protocol, nor that court will be in process. There are those who cannot leave their emotions out in the parking lot, and I believe should this case be allowed to proceed in public, it will become a spectacle...however,I do hope I'm wrong.

While I believe transcripts should be made readily available (highly unlikely since this is in regards to a juvenile), I also believe it will be met with regret should this court allow the public to viw court proceedings. Again, I hope i'm wrong.

Will Freedom Ring????

Jena Six Case to Be Subject of Hearing Before House Judiciary Committee Tuesday Morning
credit-BlackAmericaWeb.com

The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Jena Six case Tuesday morning, less than a week after a youth at the center of the controversy was locked up again.

Mychal Bell, the only one of the six youths who had been convicted in connection with a Dec. 4 fight with a white classmate, was ordered to a juvenile facility on Thursday.

The most recent sentence, handed down by LaSalle Parish Judge J.P. Mauffrey Jr., was not directly related to the December 2006 incident. The judge said Bell had violated terms of his probation from earlier convictions on juvenile charges of simple battery and criminal destruction. He must now spend 18 months in a juvenile detention facility.

An appeals court ruled in September that the lower court erred by handling Bell’s charges for the 2006 incident in adult court and his conviction was overturned. He still is awaiting trial on juvenile charges related to the fight with Justin Barker at Jena High School.

Bell’s parents and civil rights leaders were outraged by the latest sentence. Attempts by Bell’s family and civil rights leaders so far to get another judge on the case have been unsuccessful. The same judge who handled the adult case is also handling the juvenile case in the small town.

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Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord!!

File This Under: I'm Laughing, So I don't Cry!

His Probation Revoked, Jena Six's Bell back in Jail

credits: AP/blackamericaweb.com (emphasis by Ivent)

JENA, La. - (AP) A teenager at the center of the controversial Jena Six case is back in jail after a judge revoked his probation because of an old drug charge that had never been tried, his father said Thursday.

Mychal Bell, who along with five other black teenagers had been accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to juvenile court expecting another routine hearing, Marcus Jones said.
"He's locked up again," Jones said. "No bail has been set or nothing. He's a young man who's been thrown in jail again and again, and he just has to take it."
Bell was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charges were reduced and he was convicted of battery. A court threw that conviction out, saying Bell should not have been tried as an adult on that charge.

More than 20,000 (how about 70,000+ ?!) demonstrators gathered recently in Jena to protest what they perceive as differences in how black and white suspects are treated. The case has drawn the attention of civil rights activists including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

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Is that HIS FAULT-the court did't try him??

Ok, I must remember who I am, and WHOSE I AM.

Before I am black, before I am an African-American,

I am a Christian.

I must be mindful of that fact otherwise, that stinking-thinking part of me is going to rise up and say something I will mean, towards the authorities in Jena,LA

but will also have the potential to spill over into the lives of the non-minority people I love.

So, out of respect for my "dark-melanin-challenged" friends and co-workers, I shall utilize some shut mouth grace.

I cannot believe this is happening in 2007. We are still second class citizens.

We're red-lined.

Price gouged.

Pay higher insurance.

Higher utilities--

citizens of Detroit, can testify to paying exorbitant rates.

DTE (electric utility co.) has been known to charge 2-3x's HIGHER, than

that of suburban communities for monthly service.

They bill your gas/electric together, so if you don't pay one-BOTH are cut off.

When I lived in Detroit--in the winter I HAD A BILL THAT WAS $600 for ONE MONTH.

I vowed to move that year and I did.

"...one nation under God, with liberty (Mychal B, do you have liberty?), and justice (Mychal will you say you've been treated fairly?)

Free at last, Free at last-Thank God Almighty-Mychal's Free at last!!

As I stated a couple of days ago-when God closes a door-no man can open it, and when God opens a door, no man can close it. I also said this was the time to have faith...believe without having to see.
It is because of the faith of many, Mychal Bell has walked out a free man. Father in heaven-THANK YOU, for you faithfulness in Jesus' name amen!

What's funny is-as national radio talk show host effective predicted the number of protesters who went to Jena 6 would be greatly decreased when reported by mainstream media. If you look below I emboldened the number of protesters they said attened-15,000-how insulting. Nevertheless, we know the truth.

I MUST give credit to Al Sharpton. I thought he was a loud mouth buffoon, but he is in fact tenacious, outspoken, fair and right! Thank you Al Sharpton, and Michael Baisden.

WELCOME HOME, MYCHAL and God bless you!

see story below:

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Mychal Bell of 'Jena 6' released on bail
source: cnn.com
(CNN) -- Mychal Bell, a black teenager accused of beating a white classmate and who was the last of the "Jena 6" behind bars, was released from custody Thursday after a juvenile court judge set his bail at $45,000.

Bell's release followed an announcement from LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, who said he would not appeal a higher court's decision moving Bell's case to juvenile court.
Wearing a blue striped golf shirt and jeans, Bell walked out of the LaSalle Parish courthouse a week after an estimated 15,000-plus demonstrators marched through Jena -- a town of about 3,000 -- to protest local authorities' handling of the teens' case.

"We do not condone violence of any kind, but we ask that people be given a fair and even chance at the bar of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said outside the courthouse.
"
Tonight, Mychal can go home, but Mychal is not out of the juvenile process. He goes home because a lot of people left their home and stood up for him," he said.
"Let America know -- we are not fighting for the right to fight in school. We're not fighting for the right for kids to beat each other. We're fighting to say that there must be one level of justice for everybody. And you cannot have adult attempted murder for some, and a fine for others, and call that equal protection under the law. Two wrongs don't make one civil right."
Don't Miss
In Depth: The 'Jena 6'
Thousands 'march for justice' in Jena
U.S. attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related
FBI investigates supremacist anti-'Jena 6' Web site

Demonstrators at last week's march were protesting how authorities handled the cases of Bell and five other teens accused of beating fellow student Justin Barker.
Many said they were angry that the students, dubbed the Jena 6, were being treated more harshly than three white students who hung nooses from an oak tree on Jena High School property.

The white students were suspended from school but did not face criminal charges. The protesters said they should have been charged with a hate crime.

Bell's attorney Lewis Scott said the teen was moved from jail to a juvenile facility earlier Thursday.
Walters said his decision not to appeal was based on what he believed was best for the victim in the case.

"While I believe that a review would have merit ... I believe it is in the best interest of the victim and his family not to delay this matter any further and move it to its conclusion," Walters told reporters. Watch the Rev. Al Sharpton discuss the teen's release »

He said last week's march, which included Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, did not influence his decision.
Bell, now 17, was the only one of the Jena 6 behind bars. His bond previously was set at $90,000.

A district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in juvenile court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did the same with Bell's battery conviction in mid-September.

Prosecutors originally charged all six black students accused of being involved in beating Barker with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy. Walters reduced charges against at least four of them -- Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw -- to battery and conspiracy.

Bryant Purvis awaits arraignment. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, who was 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile.
Wednesday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced that Louisiana State Police officers will protect the families of the Jena 6 and investigate any threats they have received. A white supremacist Web site posted the names and addresses of the six black teens after last week's march, calling on followers to "let them know justice is coming."
Thursday, the FBI said it had been made aware of allegations of threats.

"Threats are taken seriously, and as these investigations are ongoing we cannot comment further," said Sheila Thorne of the FBI's office in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The December 4 attack on Barker came after months of racial tension, including at least two instances of fighting in the town, sparked originally when three white teens hung the nooses.
Walters has said there was no direct link between the hanging of the nooses and the schoolyard attack, and defended the prosecutions ahead of last Thursday's peaceful march. Blanco defended the prosecutor Wednesday, saying, "He has a solid record and is highly respected among his peers."

Walters also addressed the stress and notoriety the town has been subjected to, saying the only way he and other residents "have 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."
He also suggested that some kind of "disaster" was averted when thousands of marchers came to Jena last week.

"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," Walters said.
"The Lord Jesus Christ put his influence on those people, and they responded accordingly," he said, without explaining exactly what he meant.

Soon after the district attorney spoke, a local reverend took issue with his comments.
"Obviously, we are serving two different gods here," the Rev. Donald Sidley said. "My Bible says that we should do -- we should be loving, love your neighbor as yourself.
"For him to try and separate the community like he is and then using Christ Jesus to influence the people that Jesus is working on their side, well, that's -- that's absurd. ... God is god of the human race,"said Sidley, of the New Evergreen Church.
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Fam, you betta recognize the power that comes with the name of Jesus!

Ivent

Mychal Bell’s Parents, Others Seeking His Release Set to Meet with Gov. Kathleen Blanco
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2007By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The parents of a jailed Jena, Louisiana teen and civil rights leaders are scheduled to take their pleas for the release of Mychal Bell directly to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco in a Wednesday meeting at the state capital.

Bell, one of six black youths dubbed the Jena Six, has been locked up for about 10 months in connection with a fight with a white classmate. That case attracted thousands to the central Louisiana town last week in what was one of the biggest civil rights marches in recent history.

On Tuesday, Bell’s mother, Melissa Bell, met in Washington, D.C., with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Al Sharpton. Today, Melissa Bell is to be joined by Sharpton and Martin Luther King III in the meeting with Blanco.

Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, who organized Tuesday’s meeting, told BlackAmericaWeb.com, “We must now apply pressure in the right places.” Blanco has said that Louisiana’s constitution, which provides for a separation of powers, prevents her from intervening in the case at the time. But, Jackson-Lee said, Blanco "must render justice, and not excuses.”

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On the Michael Baisden show, Al Sharpton was quoted as saying that state of LA was basically "holding Mychal Bell" hostage. Seeing as how LA has no reason to hold Mychal Bell. The charges were overturned, and bail is not posted.

We really are "...ONE nation, under God. With LIBERTY AND JUSTICE, for all." NOT!

This is where faith in God comes in. We can't believe the report of man. When God opens a door, no one can close it-and when He closes the door, no one can open it. This will be a closed door in Mychal's life soon enough. It is in the hands of the Lord.

You betta recognize...this is real life. The life and plight of the black individual in the United States.

Ivent