Plea Agreements May End Jena Six Cases

According to the Chicago Tribune, not only has Mychal Bell taken the plea deal offered, but Walters is likely to offer similar deals to the rest of the Jena Six in order to avoid taking their cases to trial.

HOUSTON - The district attorney in the racially-charged Jena 6 case in Louisiana agreed to a plea bargain Monday that sharply reduced the charges against the first of the six black teenagers who was facing trial, while attorneys for other defendants said the prosecutor appeared eager to avoid taking their cases to court as well.

LaSalle Parish District Atty. Reed Walters, whose initial decision to charge the black teenagers with attempted murder for beating a white youth was condemned as excessive by civil rights leaders, dropped a conspiracy charge against Mychal Bell, 17, and agreed to let him plead guilty to a juvenile charge of second-degree battery, with a sentence of 18 months and credit for time he has served in jail over the last year.

It looks like the media may have played an inadvertent but crucial role in making this outcome possible. Walters offered the deal after several media companies won a verdict granting them access to the trial, which would have any attempt by Walters to railroad the Six again visible to a national audience.

District Judge J.P. Mauffray approved the plea agreement Monday afternoon, just three days before Bell's trial in juvenile court was to have begun. Bell's attorneys said Walters offered them the plea agreement last Thursday, a week after a coalition of U.S. media companies successfully sued Mauffray to force him to open the trial to the public and the press.

"This case has been a very difficult chapter in the town's life and for the individuals involved," said David Utter, an attorney for another of the Jena 6 defendants who was charged as a juvenile. "My sense is that the district attorney would like to close this chapter now."

Utter and attorneys for several other Jena 6 defendants confirmed that they were engaged in plea negotiations with the district attorney, heralding a potential conclusion to the controversial case that drew more than 20,000 civil rights protesters to Jena in September and earned the town a portrayal in the national media as a racist backwater.

Of course there are other possibilities. An Op-Ed by Richard Cohen and John Tyre of the Southern Poverty Law Center had already revealed Walters' record as a hothead, having been previously removed from a case by the Louisiana Supreme Court for threatening a defendant. Defense lawyers said that the evidence they had gathered in order to force Walters and Judge Muffray, (whose verdict against Mychal Bell was overturned as unconstitutional) to recuse themselves would have "embarrassed both men."

Before Walters made his plea bargain offer, Bell's attorneys said they had been preparing pre-trial motions seeking to recuse both the prosecutor and Mauffray from the case. The attorneys said evidence contained in those motions would have embarrassed both men.

"A trial would be very bad for the town, very bad for Reed Walters, very bad for anybody in Jena associated with the process, and it could turn out very bad for the defendants as well," said Alan Bean, head of a small civil rights group called Friends of Justice who was the first activist to call attention to the Jena case. "It had the potential for being a perfect storm in which everybody lost."

As a result of the plea agreement, Bell could be released as early as June.

There should be no doubt about what has happened here. The people who gathered in Jena on September 20th changed the lives of the Jena Six. This case could have ended like most others do, with six young black men's lives being tossed away like so much litter, but it didn't. It didn't because people were willing to fight for them. The Jena Six aren't heroes, and that's actually the point. This could have happened to any one of us. Those of us who spoke up, we spoke up because we recognized that if their rights could be violated, ours could too.

Plea Deal Reached for 'Jena 6' Teen

Hat Tip:Skeptical Brotha

Plea Deal Reached for 'Jena 6' Teen
Mychal Bell Pleaded Guilty to Second-Degree Battery; He Could Be Released in 8 Months

A black teenager may get out of a juvenile facility in about eight months after a deal was struck Monday with prosecutors in the beating of a white classmate that sparked a major civil rights demonstration amid cries that his treatment was unduly harsh.

Mychal Bell, now 17, originally was charged as an adult with attempted murder in the beating of Justin Barker in December 2006. That charge was reduced before a jury convicted him in June of aggravated second-degree battery. In September, that verdict was thrown out by an appeals court that said Bell should be tried as a juvenile.

Under the deal, Bell pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge of second-degree battery in return for an 18-month sentence with credit for the 10 months he already has served. Without a deal, Bell faced being placed in a juvenile facility until his 21st birthday.

Bell also must pay court costs plus $935 to the Barker family and he must testify truthfully in court if any other of his co-defendants in the Barker beating go to trial.

"This was a way to put a close to an event at a time when everyone had reasons to want it settled," said Louis Scott, one of Bell's lawyers.

Bell is one of a group of teens who came to be known as the "Jena Six" as word spread of their arrests on attempted second-degree murder charges, which could have landed them in prison for decades.

"We were prepared to go forward with the trial, but you have to do what's best for the client," said Carol Powell Lexing, one of Bell's attorneys. A juvenile court trial was to begin later this week.

As part of the deal, Bell will undergo counseling and begin to be reintegrated into the school system, his lawyers said.

Rest of article here.

Just reporting. I'm too mad to really comment.

Media To Be Let In On Bell's Trial

Mauffrey capitulated to the media's demand that they be let in on Michael Bell's trial even though he is being tried as a juvenile.

HOUSTON - Replying to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of U.S. media companies, the judge overseeing the trial of Mychal Bell, one of the teenage defendants in the racially charged Jena 6 case in Louisiana, reversed course Thursday and agreed to open Bell's upcoming juvenile trial to the public.

But LaSalle Parish District Judge J.P. Mauffray, in a court filing, maintained that he is not required to open pre-trial hearings in Bell's case to the news media or the public, and he argued that the media lawsuit seeking full access to Bell's case should be dismissed.

The lawsuit, initiated by the Chicago Tribune and joined by the Associated Press, The New York Times Co., CNN and other major media organizations, asserts that Mauffray's earlier decision to close all the proceedings in Bell's case runs counter to Louisiana juvenile laws and provisions of both the Louisiana and U.S. Constitutions.

After all the shady things perpetuated by the authorities in Jena, it's a relief to know they won't be able to take similar actions behind closed doors in the Bell trial. I still don't really understand how he hasn't been recused given his connection to Bell's previous, and overturned, conviction as an adult.

Update: Michael Baisden Attacks Color of Change and Jena 6 families

A quick update:

Michael Baisden, DJ, apologizes to Color of Change (sort of). At least he acknowledges that he didn't quite have his facts straight and credits CoC for their work. Hmph.

An excerpt:

The Michael Baisden show and staff were given inaccurate information regarding donations made by the public and David Bowie. We apologize to our listeners and to ColorofChange for not seeking more reliable sources. According to documentation provided by the organization through their web site, all the funds collected by ColorofChange have been distributed to the families as promised.

We do, however, respect the right of four of the Jena 6 families who have insisted that ColorofChange discontinue collection of any monies on their behalf. But this should not reflect on the integrity of this organization which has collected and distributed over $200,000 to their legal defense.

The problems with his "apology":

a) it's buried deep within his listener forums and there's no link on his main website that I can find.
b) clearing Color of Change's name merits an on air apology as loud as his false accusations against them (and those of us who supported them)
c) when will Color of Change have the opportunity to share their side on Baisden's show?
d) while Baisden is pointing fingers, it would be interesting to hear an accounting of where his fundraising for the Jena 6 families has gone.

I've heard that James Rucker of CoC is on the Tom Joyner Morning Show this am which is great. I have a lot of respect for both parties and am looking forward to hearing the recording. The TJMS has a wider reach than Michael Baisden so this is good news.

Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune set the record straight:

Michael Baisden, a nationally syndicated black radio host who is leading a major fundraising drive on behalf of the Jena 6, has declined to reveal how much he has collected. Attorneys for the first defendant to go to trial, Mychal Bell, say they have yet to receive any money from him.
[...]
Only one national civil rights group, Color of Change, has fully disclosed how the $212,000 it collected for the Jena 6 via a massive Internet campaign has been distributed. The grassroots group, which has nearly 400,000 members, has posted images of cancelled checks and other signed documents on its website showing that all but $1,230 was paid out in October in roughly equal amounts to attorneys for the Jena youths.
[...]
On the eve of the Sept. 20 civil rights march, Baisden advertised a book-signing and solicited cash donations for the Jena 6 families at a rally in Alexandria, La., but his business manager, Pamela Exum, declined to specify how much was collected or how the money was distributed.

Color of Change officials call Baisden's broadcast comments slanderous and say they are contemplating legal action.

"We are trying to clear our good name," said Mervyn Marcano, the group's spokesman. "It's distressing that right now the conversation around the Jena 6 is on a 'Jenagate' that doesn't exist, not the actual issues of how justice is administered in that town."

On Friday, after several prominent African American bloggers criticized Baisden for his comments, the radio host issued a statement apologizing to Color of Change "for not seeking more reliable sources."

Civil rights groups report that donations to the Jena 6 defendants had already slowed to a trickle in recent weeks, as the story fell out of the national headlines and the complicated legal cases slowly made their way through the courts.

A spokesman for the NAACP, which collected nearly $20,000, including a $10,000 check from musician David Bowie, said it is winding down its Jena 6 fund and preparing to distribute the remaining cash to the attorneys for the six youths after deducting some of its own organizing expenses.

Black bloggers -- this story is proof that we CAN make a difference even up against the seemingly overpowering voices on the air (with a little help from our friends). And dig:

NAACP: 500,000 members, almost $20,000 raised for Jena 6, 0% of funds disbursed to families and lawyers to date

Color of Change: 400,000 members, over $200,000 raised for Jena 6, 100% of funds disbursed to date

As African American Political Pundit points out, which of these organizations looks more competent, effective and credible in terms of black leadership to you?

The Black blogs helped to spread the word about Jena 6, keeping the story alive and encouraging folks to donate to Color of Change which has been in the trenches in Jena. Between black blogs and CoC -- looks like there are some new leaders in the African American community. Ya betta recognize...