[Peace-discuss] Re: A VICTORY IN JENA

[Barbara kessel]

Terry Davis was here and spoke at the Urban League on October 13, met
with a few AWARE folk, and marched in the Unity march. She was the
only investigator for the Mychal Bell lawyers and a volunteer from
Chicago where she does mitigation work for the Public Defender's
Office. This is her final report from Jena.

On 12/5/07, Barbara kessel <barkes at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------- 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
>