Good story. Thanks David

THE JENA 6 COMMITTED A CRIME.  IT IS APPARENT THAT IF YOU ARE BLACK ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PLAY THE RACE CARD.  HOW COULD ANYONE SUPPORT SUCH A CRIME. THE JENA SIX ARE NOT THE VICTIMS, THEY ARE CRIMINALS!

Lets all take a few steps back and look at what triggered this fight.

Thank God Almighty for all the supporter of Jena6.
Standing up together, ALL of our voices was heard.

When whites don’t want certain businesses in their
communities…... they let it be known in their groups….
by forming a committee and letting their voices be heard
.
BUT when BLACKS come together,  Why will it be
consider stirring up trouble. 

KEEP THE FAITH!  LIFT EVERY VOICE!

I am proud to be apart of this event standing up for whats right.  NO ONE in this CENTURY should still be going through Racism.

JENA6 We are on your side,

Our prayer are with JENA6
RELEASE JENA6

Thank God for a PEACEFUL RALLY.

Way to go Sharpton and Jackson! This Jena 6 protest will do more to harm race relations than ever.  Hey, if the folks in Jena weren’t crazy about blacks to begin with, I’m sure having thousands of blacks (who don’t even live in Jena) descending upon their town to bully them is gonna really warm them up to improving race relations.  Not to mention having these mostly black protestors insisting that it’s pretty much ok for six black kids to beat one white kid unconscious.  I hope each of the Jena 6 is put away for a long, long time.  Otherwise, the message society sends is that it’s okay for blacks to beat up whites, long as it’s a 6 to 1 deal.

STACEY JONES, NOBODY IS NOT SAYING THAT THEY DIDN’T COMMIT A CRIME WE ARE SAYING THAT THEY DIDN’T COMMIT ATTEMPTED MURDER. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU. WE ARE SAYING THAT IF THEY WERE WHITE THAT THEY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER DUMB ASS. CISCO, YOU ARE AN ASS,  ONCE AGAIN NO ONE IS SAYING THAT ANYONE CAN BEAT UP ANYONE. YOUR DUMB ASS THINKS IT’S OK TO HANG NOOSES FROM TREES AND DO ALL KIND OF WHITE RACIST THINGS. RACE RELATIONS WILL NEVER IMPROVE ANYWAY. WHITE COPS WILL NEVER TREAT US AS HUMANS AS LONG AS THEY ARE ABLE TO BE PUNKS AND HIDE BEHIND THEIR BADGES AND RACIALLY PROFILE. SO WE NOT ONLY NEED THIS PROTEST BUT WE NEED MANY MORE FOR THE SMALLER CRIMES LIKE THE RACIAL PROFILING. WE SHOULD HAVE WEEKLY MARCHES UNTIL WE ARE TREATED AS EQUALS BY THE POLICE.

I only heard about this case for the first time today ... so I haven’t read a lot about what’s happened ...

Violence is not acceptable and I cannot condone it ...  although I do understand why some folks lose control due to frustration at the Injustice System ... if the government cannot keep us safe ... sometimes, sadly, we must stick up for ourselves ...

I believe racism is still inherent in the world today the same as it was back in the 60’s, the only difference is the way it’s disguised.
I hope very much Justice will prevail in Jena and all the young people involved go on to make a success of their lives.

Equality and Justice for ALL ... regardless of the colour of your skin !

marueen you are correct, you touched on the true points here, Stacey,Cisco& Chief 00, everyone is entitle to voice their opinion, but it dosen’t make them correct, injustice is injustice, it is never left the South , I was reaise in it , so it is up to our generation to edicate people like Cisco, who probably never served in any any of the wars ( or conflicts) when we tend to forget the color of the skin we depen on one another character and williness to porotect the rights and freedom’s that is supposed to be here in America. (Please think about this situation if it was your child if you have any)also have you ever be percuted for being white or any color. take a step back and feel the pain.
Then you may gain some clarity in what you are saying not a old idealogoly from the past.

Equality & Justice for Everyone ... regardless of Color. (make a difference in you life and our young people.)

America has a violent history of dealing with people of color. But, when people of color react, those guilty of violence become afraid, and view the response to their violence as “inappropriate”; it’s simply action and reaction. You can’t expect to disrespect people, and then ask them to “be nice”.  You get what you put out. 

And for those Christians who want to say, “Turn the other cheek”, turning the other cheek, means not allowing a person to disrespect you.  In fact, it is the ultimate act of love when a person acts to teach another that he will not allow the other to disrespect him.

The violent white youths in Jena must be taught how better to behave.  The lesson is not always going to be in the manner of a calm discussion;  in fact, a calm discussion is usually lost on violent people because they only understand violence. 

Finally, this discussion should never include the perspective of whites, who have never experienced racism in the U.S.  Their opinions should in no way shape the issues of “were the nooses and subsequent legal actions, racist”?  Were this the 1950s many would’ve been proud to defend the actions of the white youths in Jena; in case no one has noticed, white supremacists have since changed their tactics.  Now, they pretend not to “understand” why the nooses weren’t a prank.  It’s a clever, passive-aggressive tactic to evade responsibility and retribution for their true feelings, and actions many of them are afraid to commit themselves—but, ones they wholeheartedly support. Racists don’t hide behind sheets anymore, now they use ignorance and smiles.

JOHNNYSWIFT, WELL PUT TOGETHER BUT I DON’T THINK EVERYONE IS ENTITLEDTO THEIR OPINION WHEN THE OPINION IS RACIST. IT’S NOT AN OPINION IT IS THE WAY THEY ARE BROUGHT UP. IT COMES FROM THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS. THERE IS NO WAY THESE PEOPLE CAN BE EDUCATED. THEY ARE LOST CAUSES IN LIFE. IF YOU TURN THE OTHER CHEEK YOU GET CLOWNS LIKE CISCO AND STACEY JONES WHO WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE THES TYPES OF COMENTS. LIKE I SAID THESE KIDS DID COMMIT A CRIME BUT NOT ATTEMPTED MURDER AS THE PROSECUTOR WANTS TO CHARGE THEM WITH. BUT I DEFINATELY HESR YOU AND YOU ARE CORRECT THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENT. WE NEED TO HEAR PEOPLE WITH GOOD SINCE INSTEAD OF SOME OF THESE CLOWNS.

The unfortunate aspect of the protest is that that there has been little or no acknowledgement that a crime had been committed against Justin Barker. Then again the racial divide in this country is lined with anger and fear, only giving the stage to those who want further divide us. Excessive sentencing is a problem nationwide for ALL races. Justin Volpe committed a crime against Abner Louima, however his sentence of 30 years does not constitute justice but rather revenge. Excessive sentences obscure the original crime with a new one. One that will only fuel further resentment. Resentment, no matter how justified, that will only grow into future acts of injustice.  In both cases: NO JUSTIN,NO PEACE.

Racism is still VERY alive today. I was researching the New England states online just last weekend and learned that there are certain areas there where you just don’t go if you are black. A few articles refered to a place called Southie, don’t know if anyone’s heard of it, I hadn’t until then, but ethnic people definitely aren’t welcomed there. Also read there’s a local pub where monkeys are hung during Black History month. What’s this tell you? Also you gotta remember groups like Skinheads and such. Remember those twin girls that were being trained to be a white supremist singing duo? They had gained a pretty decent sized following in the town that they were from.

ROB, TRUE EXCESSIVE SENTENCING EXIST BUT LETS NOT TRY TO SAY THAT IT EQUALLY EXIST IN BOTH RACES. IT STARTS WITH POLICE AND I WILL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. MY WIFE WHO IS HISPANIC, BUT LOOKS WHITE, WAS DRIVING MY CAR WITH THE BREAK LIGHTS NOT WORKING AND SHE GOT STOPPED AND WAS TOLD I WAS JUST STOPPING YOU TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR BREAK LIGHTS AREN’T WORKING. I WAS DRIVING THE SAME CAR AND I GOT A TICKET CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? I CAN I WAS DRIVING WHILE BLACK (DWB). WHAT I AM SAYING IS SAME VIOLATION DIFFERENT RESULTS. SO PLEASE STOP WITH IT EXIST EVERYWHERE BECAUSE IT IS 10 TIMES WORSE FOR BLACKS THAN WHITES.

I am Mexican and I can see racisism all over. Jena 6 cases are undoublessly injust and may all go well on your journey. Stay faithful and remember to peacefully protest! but raise your voice nice and loud.
EM

I just saw the update online. The guy did not get out. WOW! Those people are really not budging unless higher powers that be MAKE them release him. UNREAL!

COMPLETELYME, NOT ONLY ARE THEY NOT BUDGING THEY ARE SOAKING UP ALL THE PUBLICITY. AT SOME POINT SOMETHING MORE THAN MARCHES IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE DONE. THESE RACIST DO NOT CARE THEY WANT US OFF THIS PLANET. YOU KNOW WHAT AMAZES ME THOUGH OTHER RACES DON’T GET TREATED LIKE THIS. THEY ONLY WANT TO GET RID OF US. NO INDIANS, CHINESE, JAPANESE, NOT EVEN MUSILUMS GET TREATED LIKE US.

myspace.com/chamchief

Chief 00 , I agree without a doubt that people of color (regardless of race) get harsher sentences and for that matter the darker the color the harsher the sentence. However I do submit that unless this issue includes EVERYONE
the greater issues will be lost. With a larger net more fish can be caught (or rather saved).
Regardless of the ratios (per race) there remains that the fact that the vast majority of this nations prison population is white. Why not actively court their support on the isssue of injustice.  Racism ,that is a whole other problem that this nation needs to address separately. Separately, beacause it is not only evident in the criminal justice system but in all life.  You know the powers that be gain strength from the racial divide . Unite , then fight. Racism will be defeated when injustice itself is defeated. Regardless of the fact that
African-Americans are most likely to be the recipients of injustice in this country does not preclude any of us from the hard work of forging a TRUE Rainbow Coalition in this country against injustice. By sheer demographics and practical logic that coalition should include a lot of (if not a majority of )whites. Whether free or behind bars all races have to come together for the protests to be truly heard in this unfortunately concrete-bound world. Include the “majority” and protect the greatest minority, the individual . Then we will have justice for All.

CHIEF 00, So true. I’m southern so I’ve well seen my share of it. It’s crazy that I have to always keep racisim in the back of my mind when my preteen children are in school or doing extra curriculars. I have a daughter on the competition dance circuit which is primarily white and some of the townships that these competitions are held in really make me nervous. Having to show your black face at an gas stop for directions in a town where you’re the only spot in the crowd can really make your heart thump! And having to constantly remind my son that no matter how much he may seem to be accepted in certain circles, ALWAYS remember you are black and the first nasty thing that goes down, you better be DAMN SURE you’re no where to be seen!

ROB I COULDN’T HAVE SAID WHAT YOU JUST SAID ANY BETTER. HERE IS A QUESTION THOUGH . WHEN THE RALLY CAME WHERE WERE THE WHITE PEOPLE OF POWER? NO WHERE TO BE FOUND I’VE SAID THIS BEFORE THIS IS AN AMERICAN PROBLEM NOT JUST A BLACK PROBLEM BUT A LOT OF WHITE PEOPLE DON’T CARE BECAUSE IT’S NOT HAPPENING TO THEM. HAVING SAID THAT YOU ARE CORRECT THOUGH. COMPLETELY ME, I AM FROM THE NORTH EAST AND LET ME TELL YOU, YOU TOO ARE RIGHT. I WAS IN A TOWN WHERE MOSTLY WHITE PEOPLE LIVE LATE ONE MORNING AND STOPPED AT A GAS STATION FOR DIRECTIONS, A COP SAW ME THERE WAITED FOR ME TO LEAVE PULLED ME OVER BECAUSE IN HIS WORDS “HE THOUGHT I WAS CASING THE JOINT.” SO KEEP REMINDING YOU CHILDREN THAT THEY ARE BLACK BECAUSE I SEE NO END OF THIS RACISM ANYTIME SOON.

Making heroes out of thugs like Mychal Bell?

Is that what you really want to do?

Really?

Mychal Bell has already proved that he likes to beat and hurt people, and has at least two prior battery charges in his rap sheet to prove it, and, two criminal damage to property charges also. 

Why should HE receive any special treatment that any other REPEAT OFFENDER THUG wouldn’t? 

WHY?

Chief 00 , Eventually “it’s” going to happen to at least one person in everyones family. Keep Justin Volpe in your thoughts. It was good talking to you. All the Best.

LOUISIANA, YOU KNOW THAT NO ONE IS TRYING TO MAKE A HERO OUT OF BELL. THIS IS THE KIND IF THING THAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRY TO MAKE A CAES OUT OF NOTHING. WE WANT EQUAL TREATMENT, WE WANT WHAT HE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IF HE WAS A WHITE BOY. WE WANT EQUALITY THAT’S WHAT WE WANT. DON’T BE STUPID!!!

Chief, I don’t care if they’re white, blue, yellow, green, black, orange, or any other freaking color at all, ALL repeat offenders should be put in jail and kept there. As it is indeed very obvious they can’t play nice like the rest of us do.

BTW, Chief, typing in all caps…. You come across as quite angry and possibly full of hate. . . .

LOUISIANA, I TYPE EVERYTHING IN CAPS SO THAT IS REDICULOUS THAT YOU WOULD MAKE THAT OBSERVATION AND YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME. YOU ARE NO PSYCOLOGISTS SO STOP IT!!! I AGREE ALL REPEAT OFFENDERS SHOULD BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY BUT FAIRLY. WHAT I AM SAYING THERE ARE A LOT OF WHITES THAT COULD BE REPEAT OFFENDERS AND THE POLICE JUST TURN THE OTHER CHEEK. DO I THINK THAT HE SHOULD GET OFF FREE… NO, BUT THEY WERE TRYING TO CONVICT THESE YOUNG MEN OF ATTEMPTED MURDER. THAT IS WHAT BOTHERS ME. YOU KNOW JUST LIKE ME IF THESE WERE 6 WHITE BOYS BEATING UP A BLACK BOY THE CHARGES WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN AS SERIOUS. I JUST WANT EQUALITY, THAT’S ALL

Chief, Don’t take Louisana’s bait. He is giving you lessons on cyber penmenship while using the word “freaking” in his argument. Stay the course, just remember we are all in this together. Few people REALLY care about Justin Barker or Mychal Bell ; all they care about is making their point.
Lousiana, Listen to words and don’t react to the font. He is angry, maybe there IS a reason. YOU are angry , maybe there is an reason for that too. Some people need to go jail , but the level of punishment should fit the crime not the passions it may arouse.  Lock ‘em and through away the key is the philosophy of frightened men (or rather children)who do not want to solve problems but simply think they can erase them with a snap judgement. You can punish evil. You can not erase anyone’s humanity.

ROB, I HEAR YOU, LOUISIANA CAN NEVER BREAK ME. I WILL STAY THE COURSE. THANKS FOR KEEPING MY HEAD UP.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/284511.html

Mychal Bell hasn’t committed a crime in 9 months. Sounds like the residents of Jena are safer already.

J6E6N6A, YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT NO WHITE PERSON IN JENA HAS A RECORD SIMILAR TO MYCHAL BELL. THEY PROBABLY DON’T CAUSE THE WHITE RACIST COPS JUST TURN AWAY WHEN A WHITE PERSON IS COMMITTING A CRIME. WE WANT EQUALITY FOR MYCHAL BELL.

So what’s changed from Thursday, except for the fact that Jena now looks and smells like a sewer backed up into a garbage dump. Bell is still in jail and not getting out.

Please forward to david bowie the following website info.  I think it’s something he needs to see.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8014636234721194518≺=goog-sl

This is outrageous.  Unbelievable treatment of these 6 young men.  Who are guilty of the assault, yes. 
However, attempted murder?  Come on!!! Those 3 young boys hung Nooses!!!  From a Tree!!! Did they NOT learn anything about our countries history?  That is a Hate Crime.  It is offensive to say the least.  I hate to say it but sometimes the actions of others warrent an ass kicking.  If you dude who was taunting these kids, had the balls to say it to their faces he had better have been prepared to face the repracutions.  Alot of people take justice into their own hands when the law dosent help them. 
I am an american first, white woman second, and I have seen the racism card cried before, but this is unfair treatment.  This beating could ruin these boys lives forever.  While these little noose slingers can continue with their education, and get slapped on the wrists?  I watched some special the other night on the Jena 6 and the march and I wished that I could have been there to support these boys and their familes, so much (but with 3 kids work and school,  I just couldn’t) but really I wanted them to know and the majority of African Americans to know that not ALL “whites” are as ignorant and pompus or racist as the South, and I support the Jena 6.

Good luck to all!!

Heather Vee
NYC, NY

HEATHER VEE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE AS BLACK PEOPLE KNOW THAT ALL WHITE PEOPLE ARE NOT RACIST. YOU DO SEE THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT RULES FOR BLACKS AND WHITES. THIS IS 2007, AND WE STILL HAVE TO FACE THIS. THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO STEP UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE PEOPLE. OUR GREAT PRESIDENT (LOL) WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING. I HAVEN’T HEARD ONE COMMENT FROM HIM ON THIS MATTER. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE READ ALL THE COMMENTS UP HERE BUT IF YOU HAVE YOU HAVE SEEN SOME OF THEM COME ON THIS SITE AND SPEW RACIST. ONCE AGAIN THANKS AND I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN.

I just finished reading a book called White Like Me by Tim Wise and he came to speak to my class he’s got some powerful words and thoughts about white privileges. Check it out….and if you do embark on it…be sure to read through it.

Sigh, I feel the pain of the Jena six. Sometimes,I am simply thankful for not being part of the American culture.

The kids at the school would hang nooses in that tree all the time. Know what the hell you’re talking about before you go spouting off. The tree had nooses hung it from time to time, even when a rival football time was coming to play against Jena. Also, if you will take the time to find all of this out for yourselves, instead of speculating so much, ALSO they would put nooses in the tree and the kids would swing from them during their lunch breaks and such. And as far as the tree goes, EVERYBODY sat under it, not just whites, everybody sat there. If you’re interested in what got the fight started in the first place, listen up. The white boys had being fighting with the black boys long before the one boy got his head kicked in. These fights had been going on for some time.  Finally, the blacks had enough, and they singled out the one boy and beat the crap out of him.

_The so-called “white tree” at Jena High, often reported to be the domain of only white students, was nothing of the sort, according to teachers and school administrators; students of all races, they say, congregated under it at one time or another.

_Two nooses ? not three ? were found dangling from the tree. Beyond being offensive to blacks, the nooses were cut down because black and white students “were playing with them, pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them,” according to a black teacher who witnessed the scene.

_There was no connection between the September noose incident and December attack, according to Donald Washington, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department in western Louisiana, who investigated claims that these events might be race-related hate crimes.

_The three youths accused of hanging the nooses were not suspended for just three days ? they were isolated at an alternative school for about a month, and then given an in-school suspension for two weeks.

_The six-member jury that convicted Bell was, indeed, all white. However, only one in 10 people in LaSalle Parish is African American, and though black residents were selected randomly by computer and summoned for jury selection, none showed up.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_re_us/a_place_called_jena;_ylt=AtyK8.R9wsKIOmHb1J8z2TNH2ocA

“Black and white, they say that in its repeated retelling ? enhanced by omissions and alterations of fact ? the story has taken on a life of its own. It has transformed a school-yard stomping into an international cause celebre, and those accused of participating in it into what one major Southern daily came to describe as “latter-day Scottsboro Boys.”

And they say that while their town’s race relations are not unblemished, this is not the cauldron of bigotry that has been depicted.

To Ben Reid, 61, who set down roots in Jena in 1957 and lived here throughout the civil rights era, “this whole thing ain’t no downright, racial affair.”

Reid, who is black, presently serves on the LaSalle Parish council. He reads the papers. He hears the talk outside of church on Sundays about how the Jena Six business is dividing his hometown down racial lines.

He doesn’t buy it.

“You have good people here and bad people here, on both sides. This thing has been blown out of proportion. What we ought to do is sit down and talk this thing out, ‘cause once all is said and done and you media folks leave, we’re the ones who’re going to have to live here.”

Hey Chief00, thanx, really.

I just have to also add, Everywhere you go in society, every color has a handful or two of there bad share, Bell had a wrap sheet be it long or not it existed, but he is totally being taken advantage of because of his skin color.  And that is injustice.

LaSalle Superintendent Speaks Publicly About Alleged Tensions at Jena High School

http://www.knoe.com/

click on the video button in the website above.

THANK YOU DAVID BOWIE. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU. FAIR IS FAIR, BUT THIS IS NOT. TREAT THESE KIDS LIKE YOU WOULD TREAT THEM AS IF THEY WERE WHITE. YOU ARE BEING WATCHED JENA!!!!!!! BLACKS ARE PEOPLE TOO.

By REED WALTERS
Published: September 26, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com

Jena, La.

THE case of the so-called Jena Six has fired the imaginations of thousands, notably young African-Americans who, according to many of their comments, believe they will be in the vanguard of a new civil rights movement. Whether America needs a new civil rights movement I leave to social activists, politicians and the people who must give life to such a cause.

I am a small-town lawyer and prosecutor. For 16 years, it has been my job as the district attorney to review each criminal case brought to me by the police department or the sheriff, match the facts to any applicable laws and seek justice for those who have been harmed. The work is often rewarding, but not always.

I do not question the sincerity or motivation of the 10,000 or more protesters who descended on Jena last week, after riding hundreds of miles on buses. But long before reaching our town of 3,000 people, they had decided that a miscarriage of justice was taking place here. Their anger at me was summed up by a woman who said, ?If you can figure out how to make a schoolyard fight into an attempted murder charge, I?m sure you can figure out how to make stringing nooses into a hate crime.?

That could be a compelling statement to someone trying to motivate listeners on a radio show, but as I am a lawyer obligated to enforce the laws of my state, it does not work for me.

I cannot overemphasize how abhorrent and stupid I find the placing of the nooses on the schoolyard tree in late August 2006. If those who committed that act considered it a prank, their sense of humor is seriously distorted. It was mean-spirited and deserves the condemnation of all decent people.

But it broke no law. I searched the Louisiana criminal code for a crime that I could prosecute. There is none.

Similarly, the United States attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, who is African-American, found no federal law against what was done.

A district attorney cannot take people to trial for acts not covered in the statutes. Imagine the trampling of individual rights that would occur if prosecutors were allowed to pursue every person whose behavior they disapproved of.

The ?hate crime? the protesters wish me to prosecute does not exist as a stand-alone offense in Louisiana law. It?s not that our Legislature has turned a blind eye to crimes motivated by race or other personal characteristics, but it has addressed the problem in a way that does not cover what happened in Jena. The hate crime statute is used to enhance the sentences of defendants found guilty of specific crimes, like murder or rape, who chose their victims based on race, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.

Last week, a reporter asked me whether, if I had it to do over, I would do anything differently. I didn?t think of it at the time, but the answer is yes. I would have done a better job of explaining that the offenses of Dec. 4, 2006, did not stem from a ?schoolyard fight? as it has been commonly described in the news media and by critics.

Conjure the image of schoolboys fighting: they exchange words, clench fists, throw punches, wrestle in the dirt until classmates or teachers pull them apart. Of course that would not be aggravated second-degree battery, which is what the attackers are now charged with. (Five of the defendants were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder.) But that?s not what happened at Jena High School.

The victim in this crime, who has been all but forgotten amid the focus on the defendants, was a young man named Justin Barker, who was not involved in the nooses incident three months earlier. According to all the credible evidence I am aware of, after lunch, he walked to his next class. As he passed through the gymnasium door to the outside, he was blindsided and knocked unconscious by a vicious blow to the head thrown by Mychal Bell. While lying on the ground unaware of what was happening to him, he was brutally kicked by at least six people.

Imagine you were walking down a city street, and someone leapt from behind a tree and hit you so hard that you fell to the sidewalk unconscious. Would you later describe that as a fight?

Only the intervention of an uninvolved student protected Mr. Barker from severe injury or death. There was serious bodily harm inflicted with a dangerous weapon ? the definition of aggravated second-degree battery. Mr. Bell?s conviction on that charge as an adult has been overturned, but I considered adult status appropriate because of his role as the instigator of the attack, the seriousness of the charge and his prior criminal record.

I can understand the emotions generated by the juxtaposition of the noose incident with the attack on Mr. Barker and the outcomes for the perpetrators of each. In the final analysis, though, I am bound to enforce the laws of Louisiana as they exist today, not as they might in someone?s vision of a perfect world.

That is what I have done. And that is what I must continue to do.

Reed Walters is the district attorney of LaSalle Parish.

TO REED WALTERS, THE NOOSE HANGING MIGHT NOT BE A CRIME IN YOUR TOWN BUT IT SHOULD BE. YOU SHOULD STAND UP AND GET THAT LAW PASSED BUT YOU WILL NOT BECAUSE IT DOSEN’T EFFECT YOUR RACE. YOU SAY THAT WE WERE RIDING THE BUSSES WITH OUR MINDS MADE UP THAT THEIR WAS A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE, THAT IS BECAUSE THERE WAS INJUSTICE GOING ON IN YOUR TOWN. THE WOMAN THAT SAID THAT YOU CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE A NOOSE HANGING INTO A HATE CRIME WAS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. BUT ONCE AGAIN IT DOSEN’T EFFECT YOUR RACE SO YOU WILL DO NOTHING. YOU SAY THAT THE NOOSE HANGERS SINCE OF HUMOR IS DISTORTED, WELL I SAY THAT YOUR TOWN IS DISTORTED FOR APPLAUDING YOU WHEN YOU WALKED INTO THAT COURTROOM TO GIVE THAT RACIST INTERVIEW. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU SEARCHED ANY LAWS TO SEE IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THESE WHITE BOYS DID BECAUSE YOU DO NOT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. YOU SAY IMAGINE THE RIGHTS THAT WOULD BE TRAMPLED, WELL IMAGINE THAT YOUNG MANS RIGHTS THAT WERE TRAMPLED WHEN YOU TRIED TO CHARGE HIM WITH 2ND DEGREE MURDER. NOBODY HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE VICTIM IN THIS CRIME YOU JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM WAS WRONG AND THERE SHOULD BE JUSTIFIED PUNISHMENT NOT TRYING THEM FOR 2ND DEGREE MURDER. IN A PERFECT WORLD YOU WOULDN’T BE A PROSECUTOR BECAUSE YOU ARE A RACIST. YOU MADE THAT CLEAR WHEN YOU SAID THAT IF IT WEREN’T FOR GOD THAT SOMETHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED AT THE RALLY AS IF TO SAY THAT IF IT WEREN’T FOR GOD THE BLACK ANIMALS WOULD HAVE RUN WILD. YOU SAY THAT THE POLICE DID A GREAT JOB OF KEEPING PIECE. WHAT DID THEY DO BESIDES STAND AROUND? EVERYONE CAME AND CAUSED NO PROBLEM. YOU GIVE EVERYONE CREDIT EXCEPT THE PEOPLE THAT CAME THERE CIVILY. YOU SHOULDN’T BE A PROSECUTOR BECAUSE OF THOSE STATEMENTS ALONE. YOU COULD NEVER PROSECUTE BLACKS AND WHITES EVENLY BECAUSE YOU ARE A RACIST AND YOUR COMMENTS BACK THAT UP….......WHOM EVER CAN PLEASE GET THIS PRINTED IN THE PAPER THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TOWN AND IT’S RACIST COURT SYSTEM.

In all of this there are a number of injustices. NEVER should it be okay that there is a “whites only” tree, NEVER should it be okay to hang nooses from any tree and it not be considered a hate crime, Never should it be okay to put your hands on another person, NEVER should it be okay that you jail someone… for ATTEMPTED MURDER…for a typical schoolyard brawl..IF it had been attempted murder…Justin would not have been released from the hospital and at a school funtion the same evening, NEVER should it be okay to treat ANY race of people any differently one from the other. The Bible says that God made man in his own image…and for those of you who don’t believe in God Lincoln said..“Four score and 7 years ago our fathers bought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
Get a grip…there is a SERIOUS miscarriage of justice going on here and some of you are either to blind or too ignorant to admit to it. Racism is still VERY alive and well in this country. Racism by any race of people is a learned behavior. Children are born into this world and they love unconditionally, that is until they are taught…read the poem “children learn what they live” If we don’t stop teaching our children racism it will continue for MANY generations beyond this one. I intend to break ANY generational curse related to any type of “hate or dislike” for anyone who is different fome me, my children, or my grandchildren.

And just in case it matters..I am a 50 year old black female…I have white friends whose children call me auntie, I even have a Hispanic child who calls me Grandma. It doesn’t even matter to me because it says I must be a special person and there are no racial barriers. I love them and they love me.

America…how about we grow up? How about treating ANY AND ALL RACES AND CLASSES of people the same?????

And america tries to portray itself as so noble and friendly- great job liberating Iraq, you all should deal with your shit country first. This case and many other things shows how unjust and depraved America really is, and mad it is to belive that the same america went to iraq to nobly “liberate” I doubt you all will find any use for your murderously plundered oil when I, and most of the world cheers when Iran rains nuclear warheads and wipes your despicable country from the map.

DIVA B, ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW, VERY POWERFUL. EVERYONE BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC, AND ANY OTHER RACE SHOULD READ AT LEAST TWICE. I APPLAUD YOU. PETR, YOU HAD A POINT WHEN YOU SAID WE SHOULD DEAL WITH OUR COUNTRY FIRST. THAT IS TRUE BUT THEN YOU CAME WITH YOUR F*CKED UP COMMENT ABOUT IRAN. TO THAT I SAY GET OFF THIS SITE YOU TERRORIST.

Your right with your rebuke CHIEF 00, though is hate america for your rampant hypocrisy, theres still many americans who don’t support such shit under the guise of “patriotism”, i just got crazy irrational and spewed out words that were wrong. though i won’t appologize for wanting to iran to nuke all the hypocrites who support the ongoing murder of over 1million innocent iraqi people and act like american lives worth more than anyone elses, but alas that is impossible to do without harming the americans who are not lumped in this category, so i shouldn’t make such statements that are as evil as what the americans are doing, and shouldn’t spur out shit on the net in an emotional rage,
                          Terrorist.

PETR, WHAT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE AGAINST WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAQ. THE PROBLEM IS OUR GOVERNMENT. I AM A DEMOCRAT AND I THOUGHT ONCE THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER THE HOUSE THAT THINGS WOULD CHANGE. THEY (DEMOCRATS) DID A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT CHANGE TO GET VOTES BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. I PERSONALLY DO NOT THINK THAT ANY ONE PERSONS LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN ANOTHER BUT I THINK THAT OUR GOVERNMENT DOES. IT’S NOT THE CIVILIANS IT’S THE GOVERNMENT.

So what’s the deal. There is NO parole in the Federal system. Protest that. Support the Illinois Congressman Danny K. Davis’s (D) Bill
HR 3072.

ARI VEE, WHAT POINT ARE YOU MAKING?

Chief OO, It’s been a long time. Even longer for those languishing in prison without parole in the federal system. Call Illinois Congressman Danny K. Davis (D) have you gotten the point yet.
Ari Vee

Where did all of the money generated go?

This wasn’t a school yard fight, it was a brutal assault by six cowards on one innocent victim.