|19July2009
Final Call article |
Court Documents 26Jun09 | "To be clear. .." What!!? |
Posted on Wed, Jun. 24, 2009
AP Newsbreak: Jena 6 cases near conclusion
MARY FOSTER
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - Five of six black teens accused of beating a white high school classmate in a case that led to the biggest civil rights protest in decades will plead guilty in a deal expected to be finalized this week, Louisiana court officials involved with the case told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The six students were initially charged with attempted murder in the 2006 attack on Justin Barker and became known as the "Jena Six," after the town where the beating took place.
Charges against Carwin Jones, Jesse Ray Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery.
Court officials, who asked not to be identified because the agreement was not yet public, told the AP that those five will plead to lesser charges Friday but would not be specific. Officials also would not talk about penalties.
A sixth defendant, Mychal Bell, pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a misdemeanor second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Bill Furlow, a spokesman for LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, confirmed the hearing for the remaining five defendants, but said Walters would have no comment.
Bailey's attorney, James Boren, wouldn't confirm the deal but said, "you certainly want to be in court on Friday."
The severity of the original charges brought widespread criticism and eventually led more than 20,000 people to converge in September 2007 on the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena for a major civil rights march.
Racial tensions at Jena High School reportedly grew throughout in the months before the attack. Several months before attack, nooses were hung in a tree on the campus, sparking outrage in the black community. Residents said there were fights, but nothing too serious until December 2006 when Barker was attacked.
Barker was knocked unconscious as the lunch period was ending. He was hit and kicked by the defendants as he lay on the ground, according to court testimony. Pictures from the emergency room show his face was swollen and bloodied, but he was not admitted and was able to attend a school function that same night.
Barker graduated that spring and is now working on an oil rig, according to Henry Lemoine Jr., the attorney representing Barker in the civil cases.
Bell graduated in May and is currently trying to find a college where he could play football, according to his attorney Louis Scott. Bell was considered a top football prospect before the attack and Scott said he was being widely recruited.
Meanwhile, Lemoine said Barker's family agreed on a settlement Wednesday with Bailey, Shaw and Jones.
His family filed a lawsuit in state court against the LaSalle Parish School Board, the parents of the young men accused of beating him and the adult defendants.
"It's not much, but the Barkers are satisfied," Lemoine said. "They believe it's time to put this to bed."
The agreement, according to Lemoine, also provides for Barker to receive the royalties from any account of the incident by any of the defendants.
"If they get funds from any source for anything about the incident within the next five years, we get them," Lemoine said.
The school board has not agreed on a financial settlement, Lemoine said.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects that attack was in 2006. Adds background about the case, where victim is now, quote from one of the defendant's attorneys.) By The Associated Press • June 24, 2009
The Justice We Need? The freedom from shackles, a sure desire.
Mychal Bell Speaks in Houston May 19, 2009 Bell Audio[mp3] Bell scrimmaging at SUBR.
The story goes, that exactly two years ago Mychal Bell was convicted in an adult court, which was later overturned. He was re-tried as a juvenile, to which he took a plea. As, Carol Powell-Lexing stated on the Dr. Phil show, referring to [Bell's] prior crimes, “That’s from proceedings that should have remained confidential," Carol replies. "It should not have any bearing upon this current situation.” Most definitely, this is not the justice we need.La Supreme Ct.-Media access to "Bell Files" Remedies ongoing litigation, filed May 26th 2009. 28th JDC Opposition to Media request filed by Special Assistant to DA Reed Walters June 12th 2009.Could it also be why there is still litigation ongoing concerning media access to the "Bell Files" and remedies for the courts denial of the same, going back to late fall 2007.
Mychal Bell Speaks in Houston May 19, 2009 Bell Audio[mp3] Bell scrimmaging at SUBR.
The Justice We Need
In the AP article above, defendant Bryant
Purvis or his lawyer, is not mentioned.
The contention on his behalf has always
been, he had nothing at all to do with
the incident on the campus in Dec
2006.
March 20, 2009: Plea agreements possible in remaining 'Jena Six' cases.By Abbey Brown • abrown@thetowntalk.com
Attempts to bring resolution to the remaining five "Jena Six" cases continue in the form of discussions on possible plea agreements, attorneys involved in the case say. David Utter, one of the attorneys representing Jesse Ray Beard, said there has been an "ongoing conversation" about a plea agreement throughout the case, which is now more than 2 years old.
That conversation continued Wednesday during a status conference in Jena before 9th Judicial District Judge Thomas Yeager and all the parties involved in both the civil and criminal cases, except the defendants. Yeager, from Rapides Parish, was appointed as judge after now-retired 28th Judicial District Judge J.P. Mauffray was recused in August for an "appearance of impropriety."
Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw are the remaining defendants in the case in connection with the attack on then-Jena High student Justin Barker on Dec. 4, 2006.
Mychal Bell pleaded guilty nearly a year later to a juvenile second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in the state's custody, which was placement with a Monroe foster family.
The Jena Six case drew the nation's attention and much criticism as many claimed the six teens -- originally charged with attempted murder -- were charged too harshly because they are black and the victim is white.
According to witness statements and police reports, the six defendants are accused of hitting Barker, knocking him unconscious, and then kicking him while he was lying on the ground. The four remaining adult defendants each are facing a charge of aggravated second-degree battery, while details about Beard's case aren't known as it is a juvenile proceeding.
More than 20,000 people came to the community of Jena -- with a population of about 3,000 -- for a rally on Sept. 20, 2007.
That rally has been categorized by some as the biggest civil rights demonstration in decades.
"We talked with everybody to try to resolve this case," Utter said of the status conference. "This is an old, hard case that everyone wants to resolve. ... The defense has always been wiling to reach a resolution that is both acceptable to the Barkers and addressed the differing circumstances of each of the defendants."
The next status conference in the case is set for May 8 in Jena.
Utter stressed that he thinks the defendants' individual situations need to be considered in possible plea agreements.
"Each of these kids is different," he said. "Jesse Ray (Beard) is a juvenile. That's a distinction that matters. We are trying to get individual treatment for each of the defendants."
Judge Ronald Lewellyan was appointed on Monday to hear the civil suit filed by Barker's family in 2007 against the LaSalle Parish School Board, the parents of the defendants and members of the Jena Six. No hearing dates have been set in the matter.
After Wednesday's status conference, a mediation was held to discuss a possible resolution to the civil suit. But Henry Lemoine, the attorney representing the Barkers, said that discussion went nowhere.
"I thought that the civil case would have some chance of resolution," he said. "It turns out, no one came to the table with any money. They all had a lot of hot air, but no money."
Lemoine said they are asking for Barker's medical costs and compensation for injuries.
"I started the mediation at $187,000," he said, pointing out that the family still has more than $18,700 in unpaid medical bills. "They started at zero, so the mediation didn't last long. I went there in good faith; I thought they did too. But it is not in good faith when your response is, 'We don't have any money.' I'm not happy with them."
Attempts to bring resolution to the remaining five "Jena Six" cases continue in the form of discussions on possible plea agreements, attorneys involved in the case say. David Utter, one of the attorneys representing Jesse Ray Beard, said there has been an "ongoing conversation" about a plea agreement throughout the case, which is now more than 2 years old.
That conversation continued Wednesday during a status conference in Jena before 9th Judicial District Judge Thomas Yeager and all the parties involved in both the civil and criminal cases, except the defendants. Yeager, from Rapides Parish, was appointed as judge after now-retired 28th Judicial District Judge J.P. Mauffray was recused in August for an "appearance of impropriety."
Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw are the remaining defendants in the case in connection with the attack on then-Jena High student Justin Barker on Dec. 4, 2006.
Mychal Bell pleaded guilty nearly a year later to a juvenile second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in the state's custody, which was placement with a Monroe foster family.
The Jena Six case drew the nation's attention and much criticism as many claimed the six teens -- originally charged with attempted murder -- were charged too harshly because they are black and the victim is white.
According to witness statements and police reports, the six defendants are accused of hitting Barker, knocking him unconscious, and then kicking him while he was lying on the ground. The four remaining adult defendants each are facing a charge of aggravated second-degree battery, while details about Beard's case aren't known as it is a juvenile proceeding.
More than 20,000 people came to the community of Jena -- with a population of about 3,000 -- for a rally on Sept. 20, 2007.
That rally has been categorized by some as the biggest civil rights demonstration in decades.
"We talked with everybody to try to resolve this case," Utter said of the status conference. "This is an old, hard case that everyone wants to resolve. ... The defense has always been wiling to reach a resolution that is both acceptable to the Barkers and addressed the differing circumstances of each of the defendants."
The next status conference in the case is set for May 8 in Jena.
Utter stressed that he thinks the defendants' individual situations need to be considered in possible plea agreements.
"Each of these kids is different," he said. "Jesse Ray (Beard) is a juvenile. That's a distinction that matters. We are trying to get individual treatment for each of the defendants."
Judge Ronald Lewellyan was appointed on Monday to hear the civil suit filed by Barker's family in 2007 against the LaSalle Parish School Board, the parents of the defendants and members of the Jena Six. No hearing dates have been set in the matter.
After Wednesday's status conference, a mediation was held to discuss a possible resolution to the civil suit. But Henry Lemoine, the attorney representing the Barkers, said that discussion went nowhere.
"I thought that the civil case would have some chance of resolution," he said. "It turns out, no one came to the table with any money. They all had a lot of hot air, but no money."
Lemoine said they are asking for Barker's medical costs and compensation for injuries.
"I started the mediation at $187,000," he said, pointing out that the family still has more than $18,700 in unpaid medical bills. "They started at zero, so the mediation didn't last long. I went there in good faith; I thought they did too. But it is not in good faith when your response is, 'We don't have any money.' I'm not happy with them."
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