From The Advocate in Baton Rouge:
By SANDY DAVIS
Advocate staff writer
JENA — Mychal Bell walked out of the LaSalle Parish Courthouse into freedom Thursday after being jailed for 10 months for the December beating of a white Jena High School student.
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Bell was released after Dr. Stephen Ayres, a medical doctor who has clinics in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles, posted the $5,400 needed to get Bell out of jail — or the 12 percent of the $45,000 bond set for Bell’s release.
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The case of the Jena 6 rocketed to the public eye over the last several months, drawing national and international media attention.
Finally, up to 20,000 people poured into Jena on Sept. 20 from across the country to support Bell and the five other black defendants accused of beating white Jena High School student Justin Barker Dec. 4.
The demonstration was praised because the thousands of people who literally filled the streets of downtown Jena were peaceful.
“There wasn’t even a report that a window was broken,” Sharpton said. “And no one was arrested.”
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“Mychal Bell still faces charges in juvenile court,” Sharpton said. “But at least it’s on an even playing field now that the charges are in juvenile court.”
Sharpton noted that he was not supporting the reason Bell was arrested.
“We’re not condoning fighting in school,” Sharpton said. “But we can’t have some facing adult charges while others have only been fined.”
Perhaps, you've already heard this news, but I wanted to call attention to this statement by the LaSalle Parish District Attorney, Reed Walters:
“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.”
It couldn't be that the folks who went to Jena to show support for justice in Mychal Bell's case just wanted a peaceful demonstration. Oh, no. "The only way" that the demonstration went off peacefully is by the direct intervention of Jesus Christ. Otherwise - "disaster". One wonders if it was only the prayers of the white Christian people that brought the Lord to directly intervene.
Grandmère, I am stunned by the comment of the D.A. Has it not occurred to him and the people of Jena that Mychal Bell has escaped a miscarriage of justice because of the prayers of people of all faiths, including Christians? These same prayerful, peace-loving, justice-seeking people are the very ones who descended on his town and it simply makes sense that they would have been orderly, respectful and law abiding.
ReplyDeleteBoocat, I am stunned by the whole story out of Jena, beginning with the for-whites-only tree.
ReplyDeleteAnd the irony of the offending tree being cut down - as though all was the fault of the tree.
Grandmère, Oh, by all means, blame the tree. It had to be the fault of something or someone else, not the fault of the local bigotry that had been left unchecked for eons. The whole thing is simply tragic.
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