Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #3
10-4-07
The Jena Six
1.Representation of the Item:
“In a May 20, 2007 Chicago Tribune article titled "Racial Demons Rear Heads," Howard Witt reported that the six students faced prosecution for charges including second degree attempted murder -- and possible prison sentences of up to 100 years -- for allegedly participating in an unarmed school brawl that resulted in no serious injuries. The alleged brawl followed months of racial tension after hangman's nooses were hung from a tree at the students' school.”
Link: http://www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html
You Have to Watch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4B4KhIVTE
2. Intro and Why: The Jena Six, a group of six African American males are being put on trial because they stood up against segregation. In Louisiana, in a small town of Jena, at the high school a particular tree was always know to be the tree for white people. After a member of the Jena Six asked to sit under the tree, nooses were then hung on the tree by a group of whites. After this, apparently the Six African Americans beat up one of the white boys that hung up the nooses. The Jena Six are now on trial by a selected all white jury, and face charges of 2nd degree attempted murder and up to 100 years in prison. Many petitions have been sent out to turn this trial around, so that the Six boys may be freed rather than face the cruel world of racism in the courts where they will receive more than they deserve.
I chose this incident because it relates to how our class discussions in every way. I feel that we should even take a class period to discuss what has happened in this town, because it shows how racism still exists today, and the cruelties that are still tied to racism. Also in the video on youtube.com they mentioned that Jena has a barber shop where blacks are not allowed in. This article, movie, and situation in it’s entirety is important to our class and relates to everything we have discussed thus far.
3.Analysis: Since it is obvious that this situation in Jena can relate to every reading and movie we have done so far in this class, I am only going to single in on Johnson’s “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference” because it seems to flow well with the Jena situation. Johnson would probably argue that this whole situation was created by social structures, made by the “Diversity Wheel.” The wheel clearly shows reasons for which differences are created, and some main reasons include race, gender, and ethnicity. Johnson also makes statements about privilege, which Jena seems to definitely be socially constructed around “whit privilege.” Privilege seems to be the main problem in Jena. Only whites have the privilege of sitting under one particular shady tree, and use one certain barber shop. The blacks in the same community could not even sit under a tree in fear of being segregated by the townspeople. Johnson describes privilege as “when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to.” In Jena, whites belong to white groups and blacks belong to black groups. For them it seems it is wrong to intertwine with one another. The Jena Six have demonstrated, just by standing up for their rights, that privileges create differences. The Six just wanted to have the same privileges as whites and it led to a brawl and now a court case in which they can be in prison for life. It is sad really to see everything that has been built to allow for a diverse and equal society be broken down just because a high school student wanted to sit under tree that provided a lot of shade.
4. Response: Shocking…………I did not think that I situation such as this could occur anymore in today’s society. I believed that America had gotten past things of this scale. I first heard about this from my mom and once she told me I knew I had to write about it. This is something that definitely follows with this class. It seems as if it could be an incident that could even be a class discussion some day. It was just crazy for me to hear that this event happened so recently, even when society seemed to have become more open to differences. It just shocking.
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Following the Jena High School beating incident, the Justice Department reopened its investigation into the noose-hanging incident and found no link to the assault on Justin Barker or other confrontations between black and white students at Jena High School. Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Louisiana, told CNN that "A lot of things happened between the noose hanging and the fight occurring, and we have arrived at the conclusion that the fight itself had no connection." He added that "We could not prove that, because the statements of the students themselves do
not make any mention of nooses, of trees, of the 'N' word or any other word of racial hate."
According to witness statements, the black students charged with attacking Justin Barker were angry because they overhead Barker talking about a fight at a private party that involved Robert Bailey, a member of the Jena Six. Police arrested Justin Sloan, a white 22-year-old male, in connection with the fight and charged him with simple battery. He pled guilty and was placed on parole. Police have refuted
allegations that Sloan hit Bailey with a bottle, and in his statement to police Bailey merely alleges that Sloan hit him; he doesn't alleged that he was hit with a bottle. The simple battery charge was appropriate because Sloan did not use a weapon and no serious injuries were inflicted; Bailey required no medical attention. Virtually everyone convicted of simple battery, regardless of race, is placed on parole provided it's a first offense. Mychal Bell, for example, was on parole at the time of the beating incident at Jena High School.
The charge of attempted murder was dropped before Mychal Bell went to trail and should no longer be part of the controversy over whether the Jena Six have been inappropriately charged. They are charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. One of three circumstances or a
combination of three circumstances elevates simple battery to aggravated battery: (1) a deadly weapon was used, (2) sever injuries were inflicted, or (3) the victim was vulnerable (helpless or defenseless). In some states, simple battery becomes aggravated battery if "the offense occurred in a public transit vehicle or station, school zone, or other protected place," but I don't know if this applies in Louisiana.
Four of the Jena six were over 17 at the time of the beating incidence. Trying them in juvenile court is not an option; by law they must be tried as adults.
The argument that shoes constitute deadly weapons has been ridiculed but it has strong legal precedence. Courts have ruled that shoes constitute deadly weapons in cases where victims were kicked to death. (In response to those who laughed at the “deadly sneaker” charge, Carol Swan, a black professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, has posted the story of her brother's death on the university's official website (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=37643. He was kicked to death by teenagers wearing sneakers.) However, the prosecution will not have to convince the jury that shoes qualify as deadly weapons to prove aggravated assault. The prosecution has to prove only that one of the three circumstances apply.
The prosecution will argue that Barker was seriously injured. An ambulance had to be called to the scene and doctors treated him for three hours. The prosecution will call the doctors to the witness stand. Beside cuts and bruise, he suffered a concussion. Concussions are serious life-threatening injuries that often have lingering and sometimes permanent effects. Barker's parents will likely to testify that doctors recommend Barker stay in the hospital overnight, but that they had no insurance and could not afford the
costs. Barker's attorneys estimate his medical costs at $14,000. Jurors may consider these costs are indications of serious injuries. Barker did attend a senior right ceremony after his release from the hospital, but his friends, if called to testify, will says that he left before the end of the ceremony because he was in pain and felt dizzy.
However, the prosecution does not have to prove that Barker suffered serious injuries to prove their case. In sworn police statements, nearly a dozen witnesses stated that the Jenna Six continue to kick Barker in the head after he lay unconscious (helpless and defenseless) on the ground. In a sworn statement to the Sheriff's office, one student wrote, "Me and J.O. was walking out of the gym when all of a sudden a tall black boy come running from the side and jumped Justin Barker and slammed his head on the concrete beam that people sometimes sit on. Theo Shaw and a group of other blacks were all standing there waiting on Justin and after he was knocked out cold on the ground Calvin Jones and Robert Bailey started kicking his head for no reason at all. Me and J.O. looked over and there was blood pouring out of
his ears and his hands were shaking because he was knocked out cold, then Mrs. ______ made us go to class."
The Jena prosecutor says he did not prosecute the three teens who hung the nooses because Louisiana has no applicable hate crime laws. For the same reason, he has not filed hate crimes charges against the Jena Six, although there is plenty of evidence the attack on Barker was racially motivated and that members of the Jena six used racial slurs. In a sworn statement, one student wrote that just prior to the attack, "I heard one of the boys say, "There's that white mother f---er that was running his mouth." In their written statements, other students said that members of the Jena Six had threatened and bullied other white students just prior to the attack and that members of the Jena Six told them they had a list of white students they plan to attack. These are allegations, of course, but since they were made in sworn police statements and are part of the public record, they merit serious attention.
The Justice Department reopened its investigation to determine, among other thing, if Justin Barker taunted the Jena Six with racial slurs. Now that the Justice Department has investigated the victim of the Jena High School beating, it should investigate the perpetrators to determine if federal hate crimes should be brought against the Jena Six.
The police documents and witness statements related to the Jena Six events are posted at http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/http. Anyone reading the witness statements will understand why Bell's defense lawyer called no witnesses. If Bell's defense lawyer had called character witness, he probably would have been disbarred for incompetence. Calling character witnesses would have allowed the prosecutor to reveal Bell's criminal record and call victims of his previous assaults to the stand.
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