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FinalCall.com News
National News
The Jena 6 Report
By Jesse Muhammad
Staff Writer
Updated Sep 26, 2007 - 11:25:00 AM
Mychal Bell’s conviction overturned
Tens of thousands still attend rally in Jena, La.
Note: Additional reporting on the September 20th rally and updates are upcoming.
JENA, La. (FinalCall.com) - On September 14, the Louisiana Federal Court overturned the adult conviction of Mychal Bell in the case of the “Jena 6,” stemming from a school fight that took place December 4, 2006 at Jena High School. Judge J.P. Mauffray dropped the adult conspiracy charges against him, but District Attorney Reed Walters is now charging Mr. Bell with conspiracy as a juvenile level. Hence, Mr. Bell still remains behind bars awaiting a new trial date to be set. His legal defense team continues to fight to free their client, while tens of thousands were galvanized by the massive rally in Jena on September 20.
“They should have released my son already, but this District Attorney won’t let up,” said Marcus Jones, Mychal’s father, to The Final Call.” I appreciate The Final Call, the Nation of Islam and the Millions More Movement for everything you all have been doing.” Mr. Jones along with Mychal’s mother, Melissa Bell, were special guests of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Mosque Maryam on Sept. 16 during a special national webcast message.
“Our people do not have to be registered members of the Nation of Islam for us to help them. We will continue to support and fight for them,” stated Minister Farrakhan, as he brought them on stage. “We must fight for justice for all of our people.”
“The work is not over. Mychal Bell was tried and convicted as an adult when he should have been tried as a juvenile due to the fact that he was 16 years old at the time. Now that the adult charges have been overturned, the DA has 14 days to appeal the decision,” stated lead Attorney Lewis Scott to The Final Call. “Our sole objective right now is to get Mychal’s feet on the grounds outside of the jail. We are working to get a new judge for the juvenile charge so he can be eligible for bond.”
Two more of the “Jena 6,” Carwyn Jones and Theo Shaw, have now been arraigned, and like Mr. Bell, their charges have been reduced to attempted aggravated battery. Their parents await the trial dates. Robert Bailey, Bryant Purvis and Jessie Beard are still facing charges of second degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit the same crime. All of the “Jena 6” families maintain that their sons are innocent and supporters agree.
“It was not the courts that overturned the conviction, it was the power of the people. But Mychal Bell is still not free so we will not let up,” stated Bro. Deric Muhammad of the Houston MMM Ministry of Justice. “Black youth need to stand up for something is what we say. Well, in Jena, Louisiana, Black youth have stood up against generations of racism, bigotry and White supremacy. The Jena Six stood for something. Now the question is what are you going to do?”
The Millions More Movement has continued to work with the families, organizations and colleges as they prepared for the National Protest and Rally that took place in Jena on September 20. Through email blasts, newsletters, blogs, conference calls, radio shows, demonstrations, and television interviews—the word spread rapidly throughout the country. The Houston MMM is calling on all college students to start a letter writing campaign to send strong messages to the judge, the district attorney, and to send words of encouragement to Mychal Bell. Students at Spellman College, North Carolina A&T, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta have already started their letter writing mobilization.
“The Jena Six must become the Houston Six, the Chicago Six, the New York Six, and the Los Angeles Six. Meaning that Black America must adopt these young brothers and their families as their own, because they are our own,” stated Bro. Deric.
The Hip-Hop community is showing support and calling for justice as well. “The case of the Jena 6 is another glaring example of how too many young African American males are being unjustly incarcerated across America. We add our voice to demand equal justice and basic fairness in this case,” said hip hop mogul Russell Simmons to The Final Call. “The Jena 6 represents what the hip hop generation cries out for everyday: an end to poverty and injustice. The Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) calls for immediate freedom and justice for the Jena 6.”
“The case of the Jena 6 is a vivid reminder that racial oppression of Black people in America remains a living reality. This is not a case about a simple, isolated unique event and circumstance of racial injustice,” stated Dr. Benjamin C. Muhammad to The Final Call. He serves as the co-chair of the HSAN and is looking to lead the charge on the “HipHop4Jena” campaign suggested by the Houston MMM-LOC. “This case exposes the deep seated racism and oppression of Black Americans that have been systemically institutionalized in the so-called American criminal justice system. Freedom for the Jena 6 necessitates the building of an effective movement for societal and institutional change: The Millions More Movement.”
“I appreciate everything that you all are doing,” stated Mychal’s mother, Ms. Bell, on a recent national conference call headed by the Houston MMM-LOC. “I love you all and please continue to pray for us.”
Since appearing on the cover of The Final Call newspaper (“The Jena 6: A clear case of racial hatred, FCN Vol. 26, No. 42, July 24, 2007), the “Jena 6” case has been seen and heard nationally on The Roland Martin Show, The Stevie Wonder Radio Show, CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, Fox News, Harlem 411 Radio, Into the Black, Philly MMM Radio show, NBC Nightly News, Lou Dobbs, NNPA, The Cliff Kelly Show, The Urban Journal, the Michael Baisden Show, Pan African Journal, Rev. Jesse Jackson Show, and a host of international newswires.
Additional reporting on the September 20th rally and updates are upcoming.
