Case Divides La. Town Along Racial Lines

Court Throws Out Conviction Against Black Teen In Beating Of White Schoolmate

(CBS)  The trouble in Jena, La., started under a schoolyard oak tree, reports CBS News correspondent Harold Dow.

"Things started happening with the nooses at the high school," said Billey Fowler, a member of Jena’s school board.

"Nooses that be hung in the tree mean that somebody is fix'n to die,” said Marcus Jones, who is the father of one of the students who is accused.

One morning last fall, students arriving at Jena High found nooses hanging from the tree. The three white students who admitted doing it were suspended for three days. The school superintendent said it was just a prank. That upset the town's African-American community.

"So it was a joke to them, but it wasn't to us, because we know what that meant - so many of our people was hung in the past, and that's no joking matter," said Jones.

"That's a racial slur against us," said one town resident.

Things in this central Louisiana town of 3,500 quickly unraveled. Fights between blacks and whites broke out, and someone burned down a wing of the school.

And then, last December, six black students allegedly punched and kicked Justin Barker, who was bruised, but not seriously injured. Witnesses alleged Barker had taunted the black students with racial slurs.

District Attorney Reed Walters, who declined an interview, charged the black students with attempted murder and conspiracy. The student's alleged lethal weapon: their tennis shoes.

"They are not murderers,” said John Jenkins, the father of an accused student. “They didn't attempt to kill anyone, you know it was just a school fight.”

The first of six to go on trial was Mychal Bell, 17, an all-state football player with good grades and a promising future.

On June 28, Bell was found guilty by an all white jury of aggravated second degree battery and guilty of conspiracy to commit the same.

It was evident there's never going to be a fair trial for any African American person.

Civil rights groups held rallies and raised money for a legal defense fund. And Jena found itself in the eye of a racial storm.

“I think our entire community feels badly about this. We don't know what to do,” said Fowler.

And newly-elected school board member Billy Fowler admits mistakes were made. “I just wish we that we could go back and wave a magic wand and re-do this, but we can't do that.”

But late yesterday, a Louisiana appeals court overturned Mychal Bell's conviction, saying the teen should not have been tried as an adult.

The prosecutor says he will appeal and is expected to continue pressing charges against all six black students.

Meanwhile, national civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are calling for a massive rally in Jena next week in support of the teens.

The oak tree is gone now, cut down by a town that is trying to erase its image as a symbol of racial hatred.

[facetoface1]

It true that black kids have so called criminal records it is also true, It is also true that the children of the high and mighty majority are sent home
after commiting criminal acts and therefore never have
criminal records as juvenile. Just a pat on the back by police officer and stern warning. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder why.

[facetoface1]

I find it quite sad that some people seem to find everything in life a joke. Do you see 911 as a harmless prank. Do you see hiroshima and Nagasaki as a hamless prank, do you see vietnam as harmless prank,
do you see Iraq as a harmless prank. I dont. Equally I dont see hanging nooses on a tree a harmless prank.
A noose in Black America is a symbol of hate, a symbol of degradation, a symbol of a past where cowards in white hoods kidnapped, mutilated and murdered hardworking, honest, innocent human beings just for the color of their skin. If you find hanging nooses on a tree to be a prank, why then do you call, other people of the world, savage and barbaric. You know muslim extremists and the lot. Oh I forgot, packing human beings in the bowels of a ship and chaining them down is not savage and barbaric, just a great big prank, so hanging nooses on a tree as a warning is nothing. Stupid me. Jeeeeeeeez

[eajones2]

NO ONE OF ANY RACE SHOULD BE TREATED UNFAIRLY, AND THAT''S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE JENA SIX!! WHEN HAS A COMMON FIGHT IN A SCHOOL YARD, EVER BEEN CONSIDERED "ATTEMPTED MURDER"?!! AND THE FACT THAT THE WHITE STUDENTS SAT UNDER A TREE THAT WAS USED TO HANG AFRICAN AMERICANS BACK IN THE DAY, THEN FOR NO BLACKS TO BE ALLOWED TO SIT UNDER THE TREE SEEMS LIKE ALOT OF THOSE CHILDREN AT THAT SCHOOL HAVE VERY IGNORANT PARENTS. THE WAY THEY WERE CLEARLY RAISED SHOWS. NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO ASK CAN THEY SIT SOMEWHERE IN A PUBLIC PLACE!! THIS IS AMERICA LAND OF THE FREE, SLAVERY HAS BEEN ABOLISHED FOR MANY MANY YEARS. I WOULD NEVER ASK SOMEONE CAN I SIT SOMEWHERE, NOR WOULD I TAKE KINDLY TO SOMEONE TEASING ME ABOUT RACIAL NOOSES THAT WERE HUNG ON A TREE. LIKE I SAID ONCE BEFORE GO TO SOME OF THESE HIGHLY ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS AND SEE HOW THE WHITE KIDS WOULD HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF THAT SITUATION!! THEY WOULDN''T HAVE....

[eajones2]

Also, what was your point of putting Myckal Bell''s criminal history on here? Do you think that some of the things he may have done in the past, has anything to do with what happened@ his school? If you think so you as an OLD MAN need to grow up sir. You are obviously re-living and thinking about some of the things that you did back in your time!! You were probably involved with the KKK in some way. It was wrong what the white kids did to the blacks, just as wrong as it would be if the blacks did it to them. The issue at hand isn''t about race the issue is "STUPIDITY"!!!

KyRockBkGold............

[eajones2]

I feel it is necessary for me to write about the horrible acts in Louisiana. I feel as though the entire incident shouldn''t have happened. I wish people would start realizing that this yet another year and a new time, and the last I checked hanging nooses from a tree where blacks reside, is considered a hate crime. I feel it''s ridiculous that people in this world are still so ignorant and choose to do such things that have gotten people killed in the past. This was not a "JOKE" or "PRANK" as some call it, if you ask me I think the young man who got beat down deserved what he got!! Where I am from racial slurs and acts are not tolerated and it is considered a major crime. As for "cmpz71", "1pduke03, and definitely "kyrockbkgold" you all need to sit back and evaluate yourselves. It seems as though you all don''t love something about your life to make you say and I''m sure do some of the things you have been posting on this blog. You need to open your eyes and realize that the KKK dosen''t rule anything anymore,and every race has it''s own voice!! Go read about some of the famous black leaders, go to an NAACP meeting, go to an African American exhibit and you will see that we stand for something and if we do fall it surely is for a just cause!!!

[theonekingj]

this is un fair justice raical to all the african americans of un free people .this shows that we well never be free from racism.

[jeremyhoff]

I feel compelled to clear up something. I keep hearing that the guy who got beat up had pulled a shotgun on the other six guys. My parents, who live 10 or 15 miles from Jena, told me that the shotgun incident occurred not only on a different day, but didn''t have anything to do with the "Jena Six" incident. He had a relative''s shotgun in his vehicle when he arrived at school and was punished by the school for having it, even though he claimed he forgot it was in there. In Louisiana, it''s not illegal to have a weapon in your vehicle, but it went against school policy. I wish people would stop posting things that are based on heresay and faulty sources and start reporting on the truth. I am not defending or attacking either side in this case, I am just concerned that so many of the facts have been twisted and warped by both sides to fit their own brand of "justice." As a result, there is a plethora of misinformation out there. Stop spreading it and get the facts straight.

[kyrockbkgold]

jmacksgirl --

Mychal Bell%u2019s Criminal History

* Battery - 12/25/2005
* Criminal damage to property - 7/25/2006
* Battery - 9/2006
* Criminal damage to property - 9/2006

"...had blood coming out of both nostrils and his ears. I thought he was dead. He opened his eyes, they rolled to the back of his head. I heard a gasp."
-- Gawan Burgess, Jena High Vice-Principal

"His body was jerking around like he was knocked unconscious."
-- Kari Randall, Justin Barker''s girlfriend.
----------

Three cases of battery; third time is an automatic persistent felony offender in most states.

Sounds like the White student almost bought the farm; not a simple school fight as you say.

[jena_6]

Why aren''t you covering the Jena 6 case objectively? Why aren''t you covering the Jena 6 case in as much detail as the Duke scandal? Please investigate this case objectively, giving the surrounding incidents of the shotgun pulled and white students beating a black student at a party.
People are not asking for favors, just Equal Justice. Please take it upon yourself to inform your reports of the full background of the case prior to interviewing or reporting on it.

Regardless of the outcome of the trials or verdicts, please report on the issue as it stands more often. CNN is trying to report objectively on this, CBS should as well.

[jmacksgirl]

It sure is funny that the story has been twisted to where this boy was beaten within an inch of his life, had a concussion,etc. when in fact he was WELL ENOUGH to attend a school function LATER THAT DAY! This was no more than a fight at school,PERIOD. The whole situation should have been handled differently from the beginning, by ALL INVOLVED. The racial divide in this town is huge and did not start with this incident. The noose issue was not a PRANK as many of you have stated, this is a RACIAL THREAT, so please dont try and downplay that, if you have felt racism by anyone of any color, then you know full well what it feels like to feel threatened and you know this was no prank. Those kids got off light with 3 days suspension, so why not offer the same to the other boys? The DA and others are now declining comment because they know it is out in the open and the "Six" are not going to receive fair treatment in their town in a trial, this is the equivalent of a black in 60''s or earlier receiving a fair trial in Mississippi or Alabama, WOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED. All of the racist remarks flying here just shows even more people that alot of you have alot to learn regarding racism and tolerance, mudslinging back and forth is helping noone.

[kyrockbkgold]

Yeah, I used to think White people were the cause of racism in America when I was a teenager. I even read the book "Black Like Me" while I was in junior high school. Later, when I had more experience from living in Los Angeles, Dallas, and I had traveled across the U.S., I learned that racism is not the exclusive domain of White people.

[kyrockbkgold]

Do you belong to the Klan? These are the kinds of statements you read from them all the time on their site.

-- skyk

No, I don''t but after listening to your racist bs, I''m seriously thinking about doing so. Why fight alone against you racists of a different color.

[kyrockbkgold]

"The oak tree is gone now, cut down by a town that is trying to erase its image as a symbol of racial hatred."

----------

The whole town of Jena is being blamed for the actions of two high school students. The Left and the media are pushing this attack on the town.

The principal told the Black students they could stand or sit anywhere they want. So why is this the town''s fault.

Teenagers walk around all the time dressed to intimidate. Look at the Black kids and how they imitate the "gangstas" in their "hood." Look at the White kids who make themselves look like something out of a fright movie. Look at all of them with their pierced bodies and crazy hair styles; they look like they''re the offspring of some aboriginal tribe from the darkest part of a jungle somewhere in the far-flung islands of the Pacific.

So what if someone hung us a noose or two. They''re just being teenagers.

[kyrockbkgold]

There''s a big difference between making a threat and carrying it out. No Black students were lynched at Jena High School but a White student was stomped almost to death.

[kyrockbkgold]

I videotaped a NAACP convention during the early 80''s. I did it for the University of Louisville. I remember one committee was discussing the Tri-Lateral Commission or something like that. The Blacks were debating the role of the American government in killing off all the Blacks in the U.S. like the Nazis tried to do with the Jews in Germany and the rest of Europe.

Talk about a bunch of nuts and their conspiracy theories!!

[kyrockbkgold]

Now Sparky I grew up in the South and who the H*ll are you kidding? I knew before I could walk what ropes hanging in a tree meant to a black, we all did. I''m guessing that YOU know as well and when you take off that hood and sheet you''ll admit it. Some piece of White Trash decided he''d bring those ******* into line so they put the ropes up. The Blacks were very angry as any normal person would be and the white kid paid a price for it. By the way they had running shoes on when they kicked him and he didn''t even have to stay in a hospital over night. Now be a good like Klan Man and go burn your cross someplace else.

-- skyk

"Some piece of White Trash"

I fought for this country and I was born here so I''m not going anywhere. Let America get it''s @ss in a sling and you guys love us redneck "piece of White Trash" when the chips are down.

By the way, my username is KyRock not Sparky. And if I was a Klansman, I wouldn''t be ashamed of it. At least the KKK is organized and fighting for the rights of Whites. No American is ashamed of belonging to the NAACP and it''s a racist organization.

[kyrockbkgold]

This is the same part of the country that allowed slavery in the first place, hanged people of color, and violently fought desegregation and integration.

Everybody should bow their heads in shame.

-- cyberDJs4

Read American history. While the North fought the South, Maryland, a "slave" state belonged to the Union. Slavery was an American institution, starting with the White people who were enslaved but were conveniently called "indentured servants."

In 1950, almost a century after the Civil War and Blacks had gained their freedom, 90 per cent of them remained in the South. Why? There, they faced Jim Crow laws and lynching according to what I''ve always read. Why stay? Could it be that they felt no more welcome in the rest of the nation than they did in the South?

During the Reagan years, I was forced to go to Texas in order to find work. We were called "Snow Birds" by the locals. One Texan told me that he thought Americans from the Rust Belt were an economic boon for the state. There has always been mistrust of outsiders.

[skyk-2009]

We''''re not talking about a punch or two. Six Black students stomped a White kid after he was knocked unconscious. Hello?...this is post-Columbine America we''''re living in today.


Posted by KyRockBkGold at 06:24 AM : Sep 17, 2007
+ report abuse

Now Sparky I grew up in the South and who the H*ll are you kidding? I knew before I could walk what ropes hanging in a tree meant to a black, we all did. I''m guessing that YOU know as well and when you take off that hood and sheet you''ll admit it. Some piece of White Trash decided he''d bring those ******* into line so they put the ropes up. The Blacks were very angry as any normal person would be and the white kid paid a price for it. By the way they had running shoes on when they kicked him and he didn''t even have to stay in a hospital over night. Now be a good like Klan Man and go burn your cross someplace else.

[skyk-2009]

I was stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama and I don''''t recall any racial incident, at all. Blacks and Whites both lived and worked together. I never heard any comments about Yankees, either. There was one instructor who was very proud of being Polish and he told every Pollock joke he knew and even encouraged us to add to his favorites.

Later, I remember the new guys who were Blacks from the Caribbean nations. At first they liked us and we liked them then after the other "Brothers" schooled them, they didn''''t want to hang out with us anymore.


Posted by KyRockBkGold at 07:20 AM : Sep 17, 2007
+ report abuse

So because YOU were stationed in Alabama and YOU, who were on a base the vast majority of the time where FEDERAL LAW would have put you in the brig for such acts, did see any racism it''s just a matter of our imagination? Yeah right and YOU aren''t a racist??? ROFLMAO Do you belong to the Klan? These are the kinds of statements you read from them all the time on their site.

[skyk-2009]

I read about the history of Haiti and how Blacks treated Whites they overthrew. The Blacks marched through the country with a White baby impaled on a spike. After all the Whites were killed, TWICE, you won''''t find many White people in Haiti anymore. Yes, your people did a wonderful job with Haiti and Zimbabwe and South Africa. I commend you.

Posted by KyRockBkGold at 06:52 AM : Sep 17, 2007
+ report abuse

So because we had IGNORANT black people in OTHER nations that justifies the IGNORANT White Trash in La. Makes prefect sense to a Southern Fascist I''d guess. Let''s try, if we can, to stick to trying to make OUR nation a better place to live. Ropes do NOT grow on Trees. That means, having grown up in the south, that we have some SERIOUS work to do in our South. Those kids didn''t come by this hate by nature. They had a living breathing BIGOT such as the one''s posting on this sight to TEACH them that hate. If anyone has ever seen a Klan Rally and it doesn''t make you sick to the pit of your stomach YOU are part of the problem and NOT the solution.