[Peace-discuss] Fwd: A VICTORY IN JENA

[Barbara kessel]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: TERRY DAVIS <terrydavis at rcn.com>
Date: Dec 4, 2007 5:01 PM
Subject: A VICTORY IN JENA
To: TERRY DAVIS <terrydavis at rcn.com>


If you saw the news today you will already know that my client Mychal
Bell of the Jena 6 got a plea bargain for reduced charges, which means
he may be out of jail as early as next month and certainly in a few
months.  This will allow Mychal, who is not yet 18 and who has been
incarcerated almost all of the past year, to get on with his life.
Plea bargains are never as exciting as a total victory; but compared
to the 20 years he was looking at and considering how lengthy the
appeal process can be, this is a great outcome.  Without the
tremendous support the Jena 6 got from around the country, the
spotlight that the media shone on Judge Mauffrey's courtroom, and the
hard work done by Mychal's defense team, this would not have happened.
 Although the evidence I uncovered won't have to be used in court, I'm
confident that it made a big difference in how things unfolded.

My work in Jena has ended, except for sharing with the other boys'
legal teams information I collected, and also passing along what is
left of the money I raised.  I actually made three trips to Jena for a
total of over 5 weeks down there, and after paying for my expenses had
money left over, so thanks to all of you again!!  As a footnote I want
to share a few memories with you.

1.  The Mystery Disappearance Dept:  One high school boy was witnessed
by a teacher allegedly throwing the punch Mychal was later accused of
throwing.  He was arrested and released, then was told by the Jena
School Board (!!) that he should quit school and enroll in Boot Camp
45 miles away if he didn't want to be prosecuted.  So one boy is
spirited away, his life disrupted, while another is prosecuted, and
don't forget the DA just happens to be the attorney for the School
Board as well!!

2.  The We-have-ways-of-making-you-talk Dept.:   A girl who gave
unsigned statements to the school, which she later explained were not
actual witness testimony but hearsay, said she was pressured
repeatedly to sign the statements and testify in court that they were
true.  She was told by the DA that he wanted black as well as white
students to testify against Mychal.  This girl told me she suffered
tremendous anxiety over the whole thing and required medical
treatment.

3.  The What Were They Thinking Dept.:  One of Mychal's juvenile cases
involved a brief fight between Mychal and an adult man.  This was
tried last February shortly after the Jena 6 case came up.  Mychal was
convicted of simple battery after not being allowed to present any
witnesses (sound familiar?).  Later while imprisoned at the Jena jail,
Mychal was put in a cell with this very same man.

4.  The You Arrested WHO? Dept:  While the DA was trying the above
case, the complainants intentionally didn't come to court to testify
against Mychal.  The DA issued warrants for their arrest and actually
arrested one of them when he came to the courthouse to support the
Jena 6 at their arraignment last January.  After that, you can bet
they came to testify rather than be locked up.

5.  One of the things I came away with was how differently the black
and white communities saw events.  Whites said everything was fine
between the races until CNN came to town.  They were mortified at the
"shame" being brought down on their town.  In contrast, black
residents said the Jena justice system has always contained horrible
cases like this one, and told me many examples.  Whites eyed me warily
when I was in town, thinking I might be a reporter, while it seemed
everyone in the black community waved at me as I drove around, helping
me find people and even escorting me to their homes.   There were some
white people who were uncomfortable with the persecution of the Jena
6, and some were even brave enough to testify in court.  But the city
fathers (especially the newspaper editor) set a tone of bigotry and
self-righteousness that was, and is, hard for people to oppose.  It's
an atmosphere in which the DA can actually say with a straight face
that the rally Sept. 20 was peaceful only because of divine
intervention.

6.  Things in Jena are still very polarized and tense.  But although
Jena High doesn't allow kids to wear their "Free the Jena 6" t-shirts
to school, it seems every young black person in town wears those
t-shirts everywhere else.  This struggle has been a learning
experience for everyone, not least the judge and the DA, on the power
of organized resistance.

Thanks again for your financial and moral support.  Going to Jena was
an amazing experience, one I'll never forget.   I hope all the other
cases will be resolved favorably very soon.  There are unfortunately
so many Jena 6's around the country.

I'll be speaking at an NAARPR forum on Jena and the Criminalization of
Black & Latino Youth, on December 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Lutheran
School of Theology, 1100 E. 55th St. in Chicago.  You'd be welcome to
come if you would like more on this subject!!

Love and peace,  Terry