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{{short description|Six black teenagers in Louisiana, convicted in a 2006 beating}}
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The '''Jena Six''' were six [[African Americans|black]] teenagers in [[Jena, Louisiana]], convicted in the 2006 beating of Justin Barker, a [[White Americans|white]] student at the local [[Jena High School]], which they also attended. Barker was injured on December 4, 2006, by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment at an emergency room. While the case was pending, it was often cited by some media commentators as an example of [[racial injustice in the United States]]. Some commentators believed that the defendants had been charged initially with too-serious offenses and had been treated unfairly.
A number of events had taken place in and around Jena in the months before the Barker assault, which the media have associated with an alleged escalation of local racial tensions. These events included: the hanging of rope [[noose]]s from a tree in the high school courtyard, two violent confrontations between white and black youths, and the destruction by fire of the main building of Jena High School. Extensive news coverage related to the Jena Six often reported these events as linked.<ref name="NPR" /> Federal and parish attorneys concluded from their investigations that assessment was inaccurate for some of the events; for instance, the burning of the high school was an attempt to destroy grade records.
Six students—Robert Bailey, then aged 17; Mychal Bell, then 16; Carwin Jones, then 18; Bryant Purvis, then 17; Jesse Ray Beard, then 14; and Theo Shaw, then 17—were [[arrest]]ed for the assault of Barker. Mychal Bell was initially convicted as an adult of [[aggravated battery]] and [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to commit aggravated battery. His convictions were overturned on the grounds that he should have been tried as a [[minor (law)|juvenile]]. Before a retrial in [[juvenile court]], Bell pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of [[battery (crime)|simple battery]]. The other five defendants later pleaded "[[no contest]]" to the same offense and were convicted.
The Jena Six case sparked protests by people who considered the arrests and subsequent charges, initially [[attempted second-degree murder]], as excessive and racially discriminatory. The protesters asserted that white Jena youths involved in similar incidents were treated more leniently. On September 20, 2007, between 15,000 and 20,000&nbsp;protesters marched on Jena in what was described as the "largest civil rights demonstration in years".<ref>{{cite news | first = Andy | last = Gallacher | title = Huge rally in small-town Louisiana | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7005866.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | location = Jena, Louisiana | date = September 21, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Maria | last = Newman | title = Jena, La. | url = http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/louisiana/jena/index.html | work = The New York Times | date = September 24, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref> Related protests were held in other US cities on the same day.<ref>{{cite news | first = Christine | last = Simmons | title = 'Jena 6' Protest at Justice Dept | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100202254.html | publisher = Associated Press via The Washington Post | location = Washington, D.C. | date = October 2, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref> Subsequent reactions included songs alluding to the Jena Six, numerous editorials and opinion columns, and congressional hearings.
== Background to the assault ==
[[File:Jena High School, Louisiana.gif|thumb|right|Jena High School]]
[[Jena High School]] is located in the town of [[Jena, Louisiana]], which has about 3,000&nbsp;people.<ref name="cdata">{{cite web | url = http://www.city-data.com/city/Jena-Louisiana.html | title = Jena, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile | access-date = August 25, 2008 |year=2007 | publisher = City-data.com }}</ref> Some early reporting indicated that students of different races seldom sat together, for instance in the cafeteria, although this has been disputed.<ref name="whitetree">{{cite news | first = Todd | last = Lewan | title = Black and White Becomes Gray in La. Town | url = https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2007/09/22/black-and-white-becomes-gray-in-la-town/61709467007/ | publisher = The Oklahoman | date = September 22, 2007 | access-date = September 7, 2024}}</ref>  According to early reports of the school environment, black students when outside typically sat on bleachers near the auditorium, while white students sat under a large tree in the center of the school courtyard, referred to as the "white tree" or "[[Preppy|prep]] tree".<ref name="NPR">{{cite news | first = Wade | last = Goodwyn |author-link=Wade Goodwyn| title = Beating Charges Split La. Town Along Racial Lines | url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12353776 | work = All Things Considered | publisher = National Public Radio | date = July 30, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref> According to some of the school's teachers and administrators, the tree in question was not a "white tree", and students of all races had sat under it at one time or another.<ref name="whitetree" />
At a school assembly held on August 31, 2006, a black male freshman asked the principal whether he could sit under the tree.<ref name="stealth">{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/6685441.stm | title = 'Stealth racism' stalks deep South | last = Mangold | first = Tom | work = BBC News | date = August 16, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 }}</ref> According to [[Donald W. Washington|Donald Washington]], [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana|Western District of Louisiana]], the principal said the question was posed in a "jocular fashion".<ref name="clearup">{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990004 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204060816/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990004 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |title=Official sought to clear up 'Jena Six' 'misinformation' |last=Brown |first=Abbey |newspaper=The Town Talk |location=Alexandria-Pineville, Louisiana |date=July 31, 2007 |access-date=August 23, 2008 }}</ref> The principal told the students they could "sit wherever they wanted".<ref name="stealth" /> CNN reported that the freshman and his friends sat under the tree.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/19/jackson.jena6/ | title = Jesse Jackson: Obama needs to bring more attention to Jena 6 | last = Mooney | first = Alexander | publisher = CNN | date = September 19, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 }}</ref>
=== Noose hanging ===
The following morning, students and staff discovered rope [[noose]]s hanging from the tree; reports differ as to whether there were two<ref name="whitetree" /> or three<ref name="NPR" /> nooses. A black teacher described seeing both white and black students "playing with [the nooses], pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them" that same day.<ref name="whitetree" /> Craig Franklin, assistant editor of ''The Jena Times'', said the nooses were hung as a prank by three students directed at white members of the school rodeo team. The school's investigating committee had concluded that "the three young teens had no knowledge that nooses symbolize the terrible legacy of the [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings]] of countless blacks in American history".<ref name="MediaMyths" /> The names of those who hung the nooses were not publicly disclosed.
=== Repercussions ===
The school disciplinary process that followed is unclear. It was reported that the principal, Scott Windham, learned that three white students were responsible and recommended [[Expulsion (academia)|expulsion]], that the [[board of education]] overruled his recommendation, and that school superintendent Roy Breithaupt agreed with the overruling. It was initially reported that the punishment was reduced to three days of in-school suspension.<ref name="NPR" /><ref name="wapo">{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080302098.html | title = La. Town Fells 'White Tree,' but Tension Runs Deep | last = Fears | first = Darryl | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = August 23, 2008 | date = August 4, 2007 }}</ref> Under the district's Crisis Management Policy Procedures, the three students were isolated at an alternative school "for about a month",<ref name="whitetree" /> spent two weeks on in-school suspension, served Saturday detentions, had to attend Discipline Court, were referred to Families in Need of Services, and had to have an evaluation before they were able to return to school.<ref name="whitetree" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Barr |first1=John |title='Jena Six' controversy swirls around football star |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/news/story?id=3030458 |website=ESPN |date=September 21, 2007 |access-date=August 1, 2020}}</ref>
The school superintendent was quoted as saying, "Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a threat against anybody".<ref name="tribune2">{{cite news | first = Howard | last = Witt | title = Racial demons rear heads | url =https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/05/20/racial-demons-rear-heads-3/ | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | location = Jena, Louisiana | date = May 20, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref> Black residents of Jena have said that this comment stoked racial tensions leading to subsequent events.<ref name="wapo" />
According to US Attorney Donald Washington, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) investigators found that the hanging of the nooses "had all the markings of a [[hate crime]]". But, it could not be prosecuted as such since juveniles are rarely prosecuted in the federal system, and this offense did not meet departmental standards for charges to be brought.<ref name="notrelated">{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six.link/index.html | title = U.S. Attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related | date = September 19, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | publisher = CNN }}</ref> [[La Salle Parish, Louisiana|La Salle Parish]] District Attorney [[J. Reed Walters]] stated that Washington had found no federal statute under which the teens could be prosecuted, just as he had found no applicable state statute.<ref name="daoped">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/opinion/26walters.html | title = Justice in Jena | date = September 26, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Walters | first = Reed | newspaper = The New York Times }}</ref> Walters opined: "The people that [hung the nooses] should be ashamed of what they unleashed on this town".<ref name="farwell">{{cite news|first=Scott |last=Farwell |title=North Texans marching behind 6 young men in Jena |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/092007dnmetjenasetup.3645e08.html |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |date=September 20, 2007 |access-date=February 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015073850/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/092007dnmetjenasetup.3645e08.html |archive-date=October 15, 2007 }}</ref>
The school called police to the school in the days after the noose incident.<ref name="whitlock" /> The principal called an assembly on September 6, 2006. The Jena Police Department asked Parish Attorney Walters to attend and speak at the assembly. Already pressed for time due to a case under preparation, Walters felt that the students were not paying proper attention to him. He warned them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. With the stroke of a pen I can make life miserable for you or ruin your life. So I want you to call me before you do something stupid".<ref name="whitlock">{{cite news | url = http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/296701.html | title = Jena 6 case caught up in whirlwind of distortion, opportunism | last = Whitlock | first = Jason | author-link = Jason Whitlock | date = September 29, 2007 | access-date = October 1, 2007 | newspaper = The Kansas City Star | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012042224/http://www.kansascity.com/sports/columnists/jason_whitlock/story/296701.html | archive-date = October 12, 2007|url-status=dead }}</ref> Though black students say Walters was looking at them when he made the comments, Walters and school board member Billy Fowler, also present, deny it.<ref name="NPR" /> Walters said that he was irritated at "two or three girls, white girls, [who] were chit-chatting on their cellphones or playing with their cellphones".<ref name="MediaMyths" />
=== School arson, fight, and confrontation ===
On November 30, 2006, the main building of the high school was destroyed by [[arson]]. Although it would be many months before the perpetrators were known, the news media later widely cited the fire as a racially charged event leading up to the assault on Barker.<ref name="NPR" /> On December 28, 2007, LaSalle Parish Sheriff-elect Scott Franklin announced that an investigation had shown that the fire was set in an effort to destroy grade records in the building and to close the school for a time. Six male suspects (three juveniles and three adults) had been arrested, and two more adult males were being sought. Franklin indicated that the fire was not racially motivated, and had no connection to the Jena Six.<ref name="face charges" />  Two of the arson defendants pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to ten years in prison, with restitution ordered in the amount of $10&nbsp;million.<ref name="hot">{{cite news | title = Three still awaiting trial in Jena High arson case | work = The Town Talk | date = December 13, 2008}} {</ref>
[[File:Gotta go.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Gotta Go'' convenience store outside Jena, Louisiana]]
On December 1, 2006, a private party was held at the Jena Fair Barn.<ref name="clearup" /> Bailey and four other black youths tried to enter the party at about 11:00&nbsp;p.m. According to U.S. Attorney Washington, they were told by a woman that no one was allowed inside without an invitation. The youths persisted, stating that some friends were already at the party. A white male, who was not a student, moved in front of the woman and a fight ensued. After the fight broke up, the woman told both the white male and the black students to leave the party. Once outside, the black students were involved in another fight with a group of white males who were not students.<ref name="clearup" /> Justin Sloan, a white male, was charged with [[battery (crime)|battery]] for his role in the fight and was put on probation. Bailey later said that one of the white males broke a beer bottle over his head,<ref name="wapo" /> but there are no records of Bailey receiving medical treatment.<ref name="clearup" />
The following day, an incident occurred at the ''Gotta Go'' convenience store, outside Jena in unincorporated LaSalle Parish, between Matt Windham and three black youths, including Bailey.<ref name="lasupct">{{cite court |litigants=State of Louisiana v. Robert Bailey |opinion=Johnson, J., dissenting from denial of certiorari |court = Louisiana Supreme Court | date = December 7, 2007 | url = http://www.lasc.org/opinions/2007/07KK1922.bjj.pdf|format=PDF }}</ref> Law enforcement reported that their accounts contradicted each other. Windham alleged that Bailey and his friends chased him, that he ran to get his gun, and that the students wrestled it away from him. According to the black students, as they left the convenience store, they were confronted by Windham with a shotgun. They said they wrestled the gun away from him and fled the scene. Bailey was charged with disturbing the peace, second-degree robbery, and theft of a firearm.<ref name="face charges">{{cite news | first = Elaine | last = McKewon | title = Jena Six timeline | url = http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Jena_Six_Timeline__4731.asp | work = The Bayou Buzz | date = September 21, 2007 | access-date = August 22, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011082448/http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Jena_Six_Timeline__4731.asp | archive-date = October 11, 2007|url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Attack on Barker ==
A group of black students punched, kicked, and stomped on a white 17-year-old Jena High School student, Justin Barker, on December 4, 2006. At first the black attackers claimed that they beat victim Justin Barker because he made a racist joke, but subsequently they advanced the explanation they beat him because they encountered three nooses.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna44275022| title = 5 years later, Jena 6 move on | date = August 25, 2011 | access-date = December 20, 2015 | publisher = NBC News | last = Foster | first = Mary}}</ref> Superintendent Breithaupt described the battery as a "premeditated ambush and attack by six students against one. The victim attacked was beaten and kicked into a state of bloody unconsciousness".<ref>{{cite news | publisher = CBS News | title = Jena Six teen to be freed on bail | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jena-6-teen-free-on-bail/ | date = September 27, 2007 | access-date = 2020-12-08}}</ref> Barker was released from a local emergency room after three hours of treatment and observation for a [[concussion]] and an eye that had swollen shut.<ref name="wapo" /> The emergency physician's record shows that he also had injuries to his face, ears, and hand.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70916045 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090717110417/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F99999999%2FNEWS%2F70916045 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2009 |title=Documents give details about fight |date=June 11, 2007 |access-date=August 23, 2008 |newspaper=The Town Talk |last=Brown |first=Abbey }}</ref> He attended his school's [[class ring]] ceremony and dance that evening. He later testified, "I waited 11&nbsp;years to go to it. I wasn't going to let that get in my way". He left the dance early due to pain.<ref name="testify">{{cite news | url = http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6719374 | title = Victim in Jena 6 case takes the stand | date = June 11, 2007 | access-date = September 20, 2007 |agency=Associated Press | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011143108/http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6719374 | archive-date = October 11, 2007|url-status=dead }}</ref> During the trial, Barker testified that his face was badly swollen after the attack and that he suffered a loss of vision in one eye for three weeks. He said that he had suffered recurring headaches and forgetfulness since the attack.<ref name="forget">{{cite news | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19488285 | title = Black teen convicted in beating of white student | date = July 2, 2007 | access-date = September 23, 2007 |agency=NBC News }}</ref>
US Attorney Washington stated he did not believe the noose incident and the beatings were related. Walters likewise said that he believed there was no link between the noose incident and the beating. "When this case was brought to me and during our investigation and during the trial, there was no such linkage ever suggested. This compact storyline has only been suggested after the fact."<ref name="notrelated" /> Although Washington believed that both the noose hangings and the Barker battery were symptoms of racial tension, he has also said that there was no apparent lingering anger among students at the school after the nooses were found.<ref name="distort">{{cite news | title = U.S. Attorney: Critics in Jena Six case have distorted the facts | url = http://www.ktbs.com/story/22372203/us-attorney-critics-in-jena-six-case-have-distorted-the-facts | publisher = KTBS-3 | date = April 30, 2008 | access-date = May 24, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20141217190658/http://www.ktbs.com/story/22372203/us-attorney-critics-in-jena-six-case-have-distorted-the-facts | archive-date = December 17, 2014 }}</ref>
== Criminal cases ==
Law enforcement arrested six students, eventually dubbed the "Jena Six", who were accused in the attack on Barker.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/04/bell.jena.six/ | publisher = CNN | title = Residents: Nooses spark school violence, divide town | access-date = September 4, 2007 | date = September 5, 2007 |author=McLaughlin, Eliott C. & [[Susan Roesgen|Roesgen, Susan]] }}</ref> Five of them (Robert Bailey Jr., then 17; Mychal Bell, then 16; Carwin Jones, then 18; Bryant Purvis, then 17; and Theo Shaw, then 17) were charged with attempted murder.<ref name="lasupct" /> The sixth student, Jesse Ray Beard (also known as Jesse Rae Beard), was charged as a juvenile. Walters charged Mychal Bell as an adult,<ref name="overturn" /> although he was only 16, because of his previous [[criminal record]] and because Walters believed Bell initiated the attack.<ref name="releaseabc" />
=== Mychal Bell proceedings ===
District Judge J. P. Mauffray Jr. presided over Bell's trial. On the first day of trial, June 26, 2007, Walters reduced the charges to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,,-6738454,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025141828/http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0%2C%2C-6738454%2C00.html |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |title=Charges Reduced for Student in La. Fight |last=Foster |first=Mary |publisher=Associated Press via The Guardian |date=June 27, 2007 |location=London |url-status=dead }}</ref> The charge of aggravated battery requires the use of a "dangerous weapon",<ref name="abdef">{{cite news|first=Bill |last=Quigley |author-link=William P. Quigley |title=The Recent Lessons of Louisiana |url=https://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue3/0307p56.htm |work=UN Chronicle |publisher=United Nations |date=November 3, 2007 |access-date=February 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216162408/http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue3/0307p56.htm |archive-date=December 16, 2007 }}</ref> and Walters argued that the tennis shoes worn by Bell while allegedly kicking Barker were dangerous weapons.<ref name="tribune" /> A number of witnesses testified that they saw Bell strike Barker, while other witnesses were unsure Bell was involved at all.<ref name="tribune" />
Before the trial began, [[public defender]] Blane Williams had urged Bell to accept a [[plea bargain]]. At trial he rested the defense case without calling any witnesses or offering any evidence.<ref name="tribune">{{cite news | last = Witt | first = Howard | title = Louisiana teen guilty in school beating case; Witnesses provide conflicting testimony | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = June 29, 2007 | url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_witt.1jun29,1,1872156.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed | access-date = July 16, 2007 }}</ref> The six members of Bell's jury were [[all-white jury|all white]]. The 150-person [[Venire|jury pool]] included black citizens, who make up 10&nbsp;percent of the parish's population, but none of the 50&nbsp;potential jurors who showed up were black.<ref name="whitetree" /> Williams did not challenge the composition of the jury pool.<ref name="tribune" />
The jury found Bell guilty, and he faced the possibility of up to 22&nbsp;years in prison. The judge scheduled sentencing for September 20, 2007. Bell's new defense attorneys, Bob Noel, Walter Lee Perkins Jr., Peggy Sullivan, Louis Scott and Carol Powell-Lexing, requested a new trial on the grounds that Bell should not have been [[tried as an adult]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917194828/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990017 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |title=Defense attorney says Bell case should be in juvenile system |date=August 16, 2007 |access-date=August 23, 2008 |last=Brown |first=Abbey |newspaper=The Town Talk }}</ref> A request to lower Bell's $90,000&nbsp;bond was denied on August 24, 2007, due to his juvenile record. Bell had been put on probation for a battery that occurred December 25, 2005. While on probation, he was convicted of another battery charge and two charges of criminal damage to property.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS03/708250353 | title = 'Jena Six' defendant's criminal history comes to light; bond denied | date = August 25, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Brown | first = Abbey | publisher = The Town Talk via The Shreveport Times | archive-date = January 12, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150112004051/http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070825%2FNEWS03%2F708250353 | url-status = dead }}</ref> One of the battery charges was reportedly for punching a 17-year-old girl in the face.<ref>{{cite web | title = 'Jena Six' controversy swirls around football star | publisher = ESPN | url = https://www.espn.com/espn/news/story?id=3030458 | date = September 21, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 |author1=Barr, John  |author2=Noren, Nicole }}</ref> The media had initially reported that Bell had no prior criminal record.<ref name="wapo" /> On September 4, 2007,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/05/1422246 |title=Judge reduces charges in Jena 6 case but refuses to overturn Mychal Bell conviction |date=September 5, 2007 |access-date=August 23, 2008 |publisher=Democracy Now! |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114112430/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07%2F09%2F05%2F1422246 |archive-date=November 14, 2007 }}</ref> Judge Mauffray [[Vacated judgment|vacated]] the conspiracy conviction on the grounds that Bell should have been tried as a juvenile, but he let the battery conviction stand.<ref name="premature">{{cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six/ | title = Court: It's 'premature' to consider motion to release Jena 6 defendant | date = September 19, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | publisher = CNN }}</ref> Bell [[appeal]]ed his conviction, principally on the ground that he had been improperly tried as an adult. On September 14, 2007, Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Bell's battery conviction, agreeing that this remaining charge was not among those for which a juvenile may be tried as an adult.<ref name="overturn">{{cite news | title = Court overturns conviction in Jena beating | publisher = NBC News | date = September 14, 2007 | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20779755 | access-date = September 14, 2007 }}</ref>
Following the appellate ruling,<ref name="CNN1">{{cite news | title = Thousands 'march for justice' in Jena, court orders hearing on teen | publisher = CNN | url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/jena.six/index.html | date = September 20, 2007 | access-date = September 21, 2007 }}</ref> on September 21, 2007, Judge Mauffray denied the request for Bell to be eligible for bail pending possible further appeal.<ref>{{cite news | title = Bond hearing for Jena Six defendant | agency = Associated Press | url = http://www.ktbs.com/story/22331923/bond-hearing-for-jena-six-defendant | date = September 21, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20141217190604/http://www.ktbs.com/story/22331923/bond-hearing-for-jena-six-defendant | archive-date = December 17, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Bail denied for Jena suspect |website=NBC News | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna20909145 | date = September 20, 2007 | access-date = September 21, 2007 }}</ref> On September 26, Parish Attorney Walters announced that the prosecution would not appeal the appellate ruling, but would try Bell as a juvenile.<ref name="noappeal">{{cite news | title = Mychal Bell of 'Jena 6' released on bail | publisher = CNN | date = September 27, 2007 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/27/jena.six/?iref=mpstoryview/s/ap/20070927/ap_on_re_us/jena_six_7 | access-date = August 22, 2008 }}</ref> Bell was released on $45,000&nbsp;bond,<ref name="releaseabc">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21000774| title = Jena 6 Teen Released on $45,000 Bail |agency=Associated Press | date = September 27, 2007 }}</ref> subject to electronic monitoring and under the supervision of a probation officer.
On October 11, 2007, Mauffray found that Bell had violated the terms of his [[probation]] for previous convictions. The judge sentenced Bell to 18 months in a juvenile facility on two counts of simple battery and two counts of criminal destruction of property, and Bell was taken into custody. According to Walters, the matter was unrelated to the assault on Barker, and it had not been referred to during the Barker proceedings.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21259504| title = 'Jena Six' teen Mychal Bell back in jail |agency=NBC News | date = October 12, 2007 }}</ref> The defense filed a motion to dismiss the Barker charges on the ground that retrying Bell would amount to [[double jeopardy]]. On November 8, 2007, Mauffray denied the motion.<ref>{{cite news | title = Court rejects motion to dismiss juvenile charges in racial school attacks |agency=Associated Press | date = November 8, 2007 | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/08/america/NA-GEN-US-Racial-School-Attack.php | newspaper=International Herald Tribune |access-date = August 22, 2008 }}</ref>
Bell's retrial in the Barker assault was scheduled for December 6. Three days before the trial began, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of battery, and was sentenced to 18&nbsp;months in a juvenile facility, with credit for time served. He agreed to testify against any of the other assault defendants at trial. All appeals were dropped as part of the [[Plea bargain|plea agreement]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Bell admits role in attack |newspaper=The Town Talk |last=Brown |first=Abbey |date=December 4, 2007 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990133 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918224933/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990133 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |access-date=August 22, 2007 }}</ref>
=== Remaining defendants ===
On September 4, 2007, charges against Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw were reduced to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy,<ref>{{cite news | title = Charges Reduced in 'Jena 6' Attack | publisher = Associated Press via The Washington Post | date = September 4, 2007 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090401047.html | access-date = September 4, 2007 }}</ref> as were those of Robert Bailey Jr. on September 10.<ref>{{cite news | title = Another Charge Reduced in 'Jena 6' Case | publisher = KYW-TV | date = September 15, 2007 }}</ref> Bryant Purvis was arraigned on reduced charges of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery on November 7, 2007, and pleaded not guilty.<ref name="nov7towntalk">{{cite news|title=Final 'Jena Six' defendant, Purvis, pleads not guilty to reduced charges |newspaper=The Town Talk |date=November 8, 2007 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990122 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204080735/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990122 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=August 22, 2008 }}</ref> Because Louisiana law considers seventeen-year-olds to be adults for purposes of criminal culpability, the charges for these four were unaffected by the appellate ruling overturning Bell's conviction.<ref name="overturn" />
Proceedings were on hold for some time pending resolution of various motions to require Mauffray to [[Judicial disqualification#Recusal in the United States|recuse himself]]. On July 31, 2008, Mauffray was removed from the cases by Judge Thomas Yeager for making questionable comments about the defendants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2008/08/01/93196840/judge-removed-from-jena-six-case| title = Judge in Jena 6 case is removed |website=NPR | date = August 1, 2008 }}</ref>  The [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] assigned Judge Yeager to hear the five remaining cases by order signed August 4, 2008.<ref name="Yeager">{{cite news | title = Judge Yeager to hear 'Jena Six' cases | work = The Town Talk | date = August 5, 2008 }}</ref> Walters appealed the recusal order, but his appeal was dismissed on March 4, 2009, as moot, or no longer relevant, as Mauffray had left the bench at the end of 2008.<ref>{{cite news | title = Appeals court: "Jena Six" recusal issue moot point | work = The Town Talk | date = March 7, 2009 }}</ref>
On June 26, 2009, the remaining five defendants entered pleas of "no contest" to a charge of simple battery.<ref name="ttover">{{cite news|title='Jena Six' case ends: Remaining 5 defendants given 7 days probation, apologize |work=The Town Talk |date=June 27, 2009 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090627/NEWS01/906270304/-1/NEWSFRONT2/-Jena-Six--case-ends--Remaining-5-defendants-given-7-days-probation--apologize |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205014318/http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090627/NEWS01/906270304/-1/NEWSFRONT2/-Jena-Six--case-ends--Remaining-5-defendants-given-7-days-probation--apologize |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |access-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref>  The court found them guilty as charged, and sentenced each to a fine of $500 (waived in regards to Shaw due to the time he spent in jail), $500 to be paid as court costs, restitution to be paid to the Barker family (with whom the defendants were ordered to have no contact), and seven days of unsupervised probation.  The defendants' lawyers read a statement apologizing to the Barker family and to the town. Addressing the rumors that the attack had been provoked by Barker using a racial epithet, they said on behalf of the defendants:<ref name="over">{{cite news | last = Morgan | first = Robert | title = Five defendants plead no contest in 'Jena Six' case | work = CNN | date = June 26, 2009 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/26/louisiana.jena.6/ | access-date = June 26, 2009 }}</ref>
<blockquote>To be clear, not one of us heard Justin use any slur or say anything that justified Mychal Bell attacking Justin nor did any of us see Justin do anything that would cause Mychal to react.<ref name="ttover" />
</blockquote>
Yeager, who presided over the plea and sentencing, also ordered the youths to avoid criminal activity, and not to disavow the statement made on their behalf in court.<ref name="ttover" />  On June 26, it was announced that the civil case by Barker against the Jena Six members had been settled on undisclosed terms. His civil case against the school board was pending.<ref name="ttciv">{{cite news|last=Morgan |first=Robert |title=Secret settlement reached in 'Jena Six' civil suit |work=The Town Talk |date=June 27, 2009 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090627/NEWS01/906270303/-1/NEWSFRONT2/Secret-settlement-reached-in--Jena-Six--civil-suit |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419015344/http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090627/NEWS01/906270303/-1/NEWSFRONT2/Secret-settlement-reached-in--Jena-Six--civil-suit |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |access-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref>
== Media coverage ==
===News coverage===
Initially, the Jena Six were largely ignored by the United States national media, though covered locally and within Louisiana. Both ''The Jena Times''<ref name="MediaMyths"/> and ''The Town Talk'' (a regional newspaper published in [[Alexandria, Louisiana]])<ref>{{cite news|title=Jena Six|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030|work=The Town Talk|date=September 3, 2007|access-date=September 2, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204054648/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030|archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> covered the story from its inception. A number of African-American bloggers also covered the story before there was mainstream national press coverage.<ref name="blogs help drive" /> The first piece on the case to be published by an outside source ran on May 9, 2007, in ''[[Left Turn (magazine)|Left Turn]]'', a small [[alternative news]] magazine.<ref name="Leftturn">{{cite web|url=http://leftturn.mayfirst.org/?q=node/649 |title=Justice in Jena |access-date=October 20, 2007 |date=May 9, 2007 |last=Flaherty |first=Jordan |publisher=Left Turn Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011212346/http://leftturn.mayfirst.org/?q=node%2F649 |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The first mainstream US print media outlet to cover the matter was the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', whose Southwest Bureau Chief, Howard Witt, wrote a piece covering the story on May 20.<ref name="tribune2"/> Witt had received a summary of the situation<ref name="foj">{{cite web|url=http://friendsofjustice.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/responding_to_the_crisis_in_jena1.doc|title=Responding to the crisis in Jena, Louisiana|access-date=October 22, 2007|publisher=Friends of Justice |format=DOC}}</ref> from [[Alan Bean (activist)|Alan Bean]], a Texas minister who had founded the advocacy group Friends of Justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/2007/10/02/howard-witt-responds-indirectly-to-jason-whitlock|title=Howard Witt Responds (indirectly) to Jason Whitlock|access-date=August 22, 2008|date=October 2, 2007|publisher=Friends of Justice}}</ref> The group sent its document to other reporters and bloggers. In it Bean demanded that outside authorities, not those in LaSalle Parish, deal with the case, and that no incarceration of the defendants occur.<ref name="foj"/> [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] ''[[The Observer]]'' also featured an article on the case on May 20.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Mangold|title=Racism goes on trial again in America's Deep South|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2083762,00.html|work=The Observer|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|location=Jena, Louisiana|date=May 20, 2007|access-date=February 2, 2008}}</ref>
A segment on a [[BBC]] program ''[[This World (television programme)|This World]]'' followed on May 24.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6677057.stm "Race Hate in Louisiana"], ''This World'', bbc.co.uk, May 23, 2007.</ref> The case began to receive more extensive national media coverage in July 2007, with [[CNN]] interviewing Jena residents and parents of those involved.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/07/01/roesgen.la.jena.6.update.affl?iref=videosearch CNN segment from Jena], CNN Newsroom video, July 1, 2007.</ref> Given the racial history of the Deep South, many news reports from Jena evoked the [[Civil Rights Movement]], referred to historic [[lynching]], or [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]].<ref name="pbs"/>
Some sources pointed to inaccurate reporting by the media. The [[Associated Press]] published an article noting the various reporting errors that have been made, including whether the tree was a "white tree", the number of nooses, and the discipline given to the noose-hanging students.<ref name="whitetree"/> Based on this, MTV posted a retraction for incorrect information that it had reported on the case from other news sources.<ref name="MTVerror">{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1570444/20070924/id_0.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105011247/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1570444/20070924/id_0.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 5, 2009|title=Jena Report Attempts To Sift Fact From Fiction; FBI Probes White-Supremacist Response|access-date=September 27, 2007|date=September 24, 2007|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|publisher=MTV}}</ref>
=== Columnists and editorials ===
Many major editorial pages and columnists have been sympathetic to the supporters of the Jena Six. They have used the case to discuss broader trends of racism in the US criminal justice system and to call for a renewed civil rights movement. Most editorials were published around the time of the Jena rally. ''[[The New York Post]]'', in a September 23, 2007, editorial, stated "it's impossible to examine the case of the so-called Jena Six without concluding that these black teens have been the victims of a miscarriage of justice, with a clearly racial double standard at work".<ref name="nyposted">{{cite news | url = https://nypost.com/2007/09/23/the-jena-six/ | title = The Jena Six | access-date = October 23, 2007 | date = September 23, 2007 | newspaper = New York Post }}</ref> Byron Williams, writing on the ''[[Huffington Post]]'', was one of several to cite the [[Urban League]]'s 2005 finding that the average black male convicted of aggravated assault serves 48&nbsp;months in prison, one-third longer than a comparable white man.<ref name="ByronWilliams">{{cite web | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/oldfashioned-southern-ju_b_65178.html | title = Old Fashioned Southern Justice in the Modern South | work = The Huffington Post | date = September 20, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Williams | first = Byron }}</ref> The 2005 report also found that a black male who is arrested is three times more likely to go to jail than a white male arrested for the same crime.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web | url = https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec07/jena_9-24.html | title = Jena Six Rally Highlights Racial Tensions | date = September 24, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Miller | first = Talea | publisher = PBS | archive-date = April 6, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130406094529/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec07/jena_9-24.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-09-21/jena-6-case-sparks-anti-racism-protest/677176 | title = Jena 6 case sparks anti-racism protest | access-date = September 27, 2007 | date = September 21, 2007 | last = Landers | first = Kim | publisher = ABC News }}</ref><ref name="younge">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/Columnists/Column/0,,2170644,00.html | title = Apart from the noose, this is an everyday story of modern America | date = September 17, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Younge | first = Gary | newspaper = The Guardian | location = London }}</ref> Writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'', Professor [[Orlando Patterson]] of [[Harvard University]] used the case to highlight the use of the prison system as a means of "controlling young black men", which is one factor in a broader "crisis in relations between men and women of all classes and, as a result, the catastrophic state of black family life".<ref name="harvard">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30patterson.html | title = Jena, O.J., and the jailing of Black America | date = September 30, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | last = Patterson | first = Orlando | author-link = Orlando Patterson | newspaper = The New York Times }}</ref>
Other columnists have argued that inaccuracies in the media coverage unfairly tarnish the town and have led to a national overreaction, part of the tendency in the 24-hour news cycle. ''[[Dallas Morning News]]'' columnist Heather MacDonald, while condemning the noose hangings as a "despicable provocation", said that "the media, the (race) advocates and pandering politicians have erupted in an outpouring of seeming joy at the alleged proof that America remains a racist country".<ref name="macdonald">{{cite news|last=Mac Donald |first=Heather |author-link=Heather Mac Donald |date=September 30, 2007 |title=Don't make Jena out to be more than it is |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-macdonald_30edi.ART.State.Edition1.4257c86.html |access-date=February 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315020726/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-macdonald_30edi.ART.State.Edition1.4257c86.html |archive-date=March 15, 2008 }}</ref> In a column in the ''[[Kansas City Star]]'', [[Jason Whitlock]] drew attention to what he called factual inaccuracies in reporting of the story. He focused on the piece circulated by Bean to news outlets, "Bean's story is framed—by his own admission—as an indictment of the criminal justice system and the people in power in Jena and, therefore, the story is unfairly biased".<ref name="whitlock" /> Craig Franklin, assistant editor of ''The Jena Times'', who says that he is the only writer to have covered this story from its inception, wrote in ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]],'' "I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts&nbsp;... the truth about Jena will eventually be known".<ref name="MediaMyths" />
== Public response ==
The case provoked reactions that the charges against the Jena Six were disproportionate and racially motivated. Supporters of the Jena Six circulated online petitions, raised money for legal defense, and held a demonstration in Jena on September 20, 2007. This event attracted thousands marching in protest.<ref>{{cite news | title = Thousands March to Decry Treatment of Jena Six | date = September 20, 2007 |agency=Associated Press }}</ref>
British rock musician [[David Bowie]] donated money.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-363-1343011|title=David Bowie donates $10000 to defend US accused|website=NME|date=September 19, 2007|access-date=September 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7004151.stm|title=Bowie supports US race row teens|website=BBC|date=September 20, 2007|access-date=September 7, 2024}}</ref>
=== Rallies ===
[[File:Jena Six march in Cleveland, Ohio.jpg|thumb|left|Marchers supporting the Jena Six in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]]]
Rallies in support of the Jena Six were held in Jena on September 20, 2007, the date upon which Bell was scheduled for sentencing.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16885997 | title = 'Jena 6' protestors rally at Louisiana town | access-date = May 26, 2013 | date = September 20, 2007 | publisher = NBCnews.com }}</ref> An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 demonstrators attended the rally that day, severely overtaxing the facilities of the small town. Protesters took buses from such distant cities as Los Angeles and Washington, DC.<ref name="CNN1" /> Because of the congestion on the roads leading to Jena, many protesters left their vehicles and continued into town on foot.<ref name="CNN1" /> Attendees included civil rights activists [[Jesse Jackson]], [[Al Sharpton]], and [[Martin Luther King III]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14556993 | title=Protesters March in Support of Jena Six | access-date = September 25, 2007 | date = September 20, 2007 | publisher = NPR }}</ref> and [[rapper]]s [[Mos Def]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/mos%20def%20leads%20jena%20six%20protest_1044295 | title = Mos Def Leads 'Jena Six' Protest | access-date = September 25, 2007 | date = September 20, 2007 | publisher = Contact Music | archive-date = January 13, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090113004330/http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/mos%20def%20leads%20jena%20six%20protest_1044295 | url-status = dead }}</ref> and [[Salt-n-Pepa]]. Rapper-actor [[Ice Cube]] attended and financially supported the rally.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/04/arts/NA-A-E-MUS-US-Racial-School-Fight-Hip-Hop.php | title = Jena Six case brings out activism among hip-hop stars | access-date = August 22, 2008 | date = October 4, 2007 |agency=Associated Press }}</ref> [[Darryl Hunt]], an African American who was [[Miscarriage of justice|wrongfully convicted]] of the rape and murder of a young white newspaper reporter in 1984, was scheduled as a keynote speaker.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4395432&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011090613/http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4395432&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 11, 2007 | title = Darryl Hunt Asked to Speak at 'Jena Six' Rally | access-date = September 19, 2007 | date = September 18, 2007 | last = Tucker | first = Chad | publisher = FOX8 News }}</ref> The demonstrators were addressed by Darryl Matthews, General President of [[Alpha Phi Alpha]] fraternity, who said, "It is sobering to know that in 2007 [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Martin Luther King's]] dream of equal treatment, respect, fairness and opportunity is still not realized".<ref name="jena6">{{cite press release | first = Darryl R. | last = Matthews, Sr.  | title = We Demand Justice for the Jena 6! | publisher = Monica Woods Public Relations | date = September 20, 2007 |quote=The members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated have historically engaged in the struggle to uplift the downtrodden in their efforts to achieve the promise of social and economic parity described and prescribed in the pledge of allegiance to this great republic that declares liberty and justice for all.}}</ref>
=== Artistic tributes ===
Several songs have been produced in response to the Jena Six case. [[John Mellencamp]] released a song and video called "Jena", with lyrics such as "Jena, take your nooses down" which gained considerable media attention, and which Mellencamp described as a "condemnation of racism".<ref name="mellencamp">{{cite news | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299824,00.html | title = Louisiana mayor balks at Mellencamp 'Jena 6' protest song and video | access-date = September 2, 2008 | date = October 6, 2007 | publisher = Associated Press via Foxnews | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090125153714/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299824,00.html | archive-date = January 25, 2009 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The video juxtaposes images of Jena, the high school, and the tree with video from the 1960s, including civil rights marchers and police beatings, video of [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] speaking, and an image of a black man in shackles.<ref name="mellencamp" /> The song and video led to Jena's mayor, Murphy R. McMillan, issuing a statement rebutting the accusations he believed were expressed and implied in the video.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/06/jena.six.mellencamp.ap/index.html | title = Mellencamp song about 'Jena Six' upsets mayor | access-date = October 12, 2007 | date = October 6, 2007 | publisher = Associated Press via CNN | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071215134030/http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/06/jena.six.mellencamp.ap/index.html | archive-date = December 15, 2007|url-status=dead }}</ref> An episode of the ''[[Salt-N-Pepa]] Show'' on [[VH1]] was filmed at the Jena rally.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lang | first = Derrik J. | title = VH1's 'Salt-N-Pepa Show' tackles Jena 6 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-11-26-salt-n-pepa_N.htm | publisher = Associated Press via USA Today | date = November 27, 2007 | access-date = August 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320004532/https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-11-26-salt-n-pepa_N.htm|archive-date=March 20, 2009 }}</ref> [[Bomani Armah]] released a song called "Jena 6".<ref>{{cite news | title = Hip-Hop Fridays: Bomani Armah Releases 'Jena 6' Song To Continue Movement | url = http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=1997 | work = BlackElectorate.com | date = September 28, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref>
''[[Blood at the Root (play)|Blood at the Root]]'' is a play written by Dominique Morisseau about the Jena 6. ''Blood at the Root'' premiered on March 28, 2014 at Penn State Center Stage. The story is told through the lens of one of the Jena 6's sister, who also attended the high school. The audience is able to experience the series of events that led up to the convictions from multiple students' unique perspective. It has toured internationally and has been described as "catalyzing conversations on difficult and essential questions of race and justice".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brantley|first1=Ben|title='Blood at the Root' Draws Inspiration From the Jena Six Case in Louisiana|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/theater/blood-at-the-root-draws-inspiration-from-the-jena-six-case-in-louisiana.html?mcubz=3&_r=0|access-date=September 1, 2017|work=The New York Times |date=April 13, 2016}}</ref>
=== Other reactions ===
[[File:Jena Six petition.JPG|thumb|upright|An activist for [[A.N.S.W.E.R.]] gathers petition signatures at a [[Los Angeles]] rally in October 2007]]
Many online petitions circulated calling for various actions in response to the Jena Six case. Online advocacy group [[Color of Change]], which had previously advocated for victims of [[Hurricane Katrina]], called for District Attorney Walters to drop all charges and for Governor [[Kathleen Blanco]] to investigate his conduct.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html |title=Justice for the Jena 6 |access-date=October 18, 2007 |author=Color of Change |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011001120/http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/main.html |archive-date=October 11, 2007 }}</ref>  Color of Change raised more than $212,000 for the Jena Six legal defense, largely through online donations.<ref>{{cite news | first = Joe | last = Garofoli | title = Louisiana's Jena Six beating case galvanizes S.F.'s 'black MoveOn' | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/22/MNEISAVOE.DTL | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle | date = September 22, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.colorofchange.org/jena_fund/info.html |title=How funds are managed |author=Color of Change |access-date=February 8, 2008 |publisher=Color of Change }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> While the NAACP provided a link to the fund through its website, initially, the donation link on the NAACP Jena Six support page steered potential donors to the generic NAACP donation page, with no way to designate funds for the Jena Six. Black bloggers objected, and several days later, the link was altered to reach the defense fund.<ref name="blogs help drive">{{cite news | first = Howard | last = Witt | title = Blogs help drive Jena protest | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/09/18/blogs-help-drive-jena-protest/ | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | location = Jena, Louisiana | date = September 18, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref>
The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] represented Beard, hired local defense counsel to represent Bailey, and helped coordinate the overall defense strategy.<ref>{{cite news | first = Scott | last = Michels | title = Civil Rights Leaders Urge Action in Racially Charged La. Beating Case | url = https://abcnews.go.com/thelaw/story?id=3582189&page=1 | work = ABC News | publisher = ABC | location = Jena, Louisiana | date = September 11, 2007 | access-date = June 29, 2009 }}</ref>
In the months following the Jena Six rally, controversy arose about accounting and dispersal of the legal defense funds. Questions about the money were first sparked by photos posted on Robert Bailey's former [[MySpace]] account, which show him with quantities of hundred dollar bills stuffed in his mouth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990074 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204053218/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990074 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |title='Jena Six' notebook |access-date=November 10, 2007 |date=September 28, 2007 |newspaper=The Town Talk }}</ref> The controversy expanded when radio host [[Michael Baisden]] accused Color of Change of being "shady" with their use of the funds. Color of Change responded to the accusations by posting links to canceled checks on their website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/baisden/ |title=False allegations on the Michael Baisden Show |access-date=February 8, 2008 |publisher=Color of Change |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302202444/http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/baisden/ |archive-date=March 2, 2008 }}</ref> In his November 10 report, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' correspondent Howard Witt noted that Color of Change was the only national civil rights group to be fully transparent with their use of the funds.<ref name="funds controversy">{{cite news | first = Howard | last = Witt | url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_bdnov11,1,5899685.story | title = Controversy over the Jena 6 funds | date = November 11, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 | newspaper = Chicago Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101012904/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jena_bdnov11,1,5899685.story|archive-date=January 1, 2008 }}</ref> But Witt raised broader questions about the funds, which totaled more than half a million dollars. He reported that attorneys for Bell claimed that they have yet to receive any money from him, and that the six families had refused to publicly account for the donations.<ref name="funds controversy" />
On September 22, 2007, the [[FBI]] opened an investigation of a [[white supremacist]] website that listed the addresses of five of the Jena Six and the telephone numbers of some of their families "in case anyone wants to deliver justice". An FBI spokeswoman said the agency believed that the website "essentially called for their [[lynching]]".<ref name="FBIprobe" /> Civil rights advocate [[Al Sharpton]] has said that some of the families have continually received threatening and harassing phone calls.<ref name="FBIprobe">{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201404.html?nav=rss_technology | title = FBI probes anti-Jena 6 Web page | access-date = September 25, 2007 | date = September 22, 2007 | last = Bohrer | first = Becky | agency = Associated Press | newspaper = The Washington Post | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121106135112/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/22/AR2007092201404.html?nav=rss_technology | archive-date = November 6, 2012 }}</ref>
== Later developments ==
On September 25, 2007, Representative [[John Conyers]] (D), Chairman of the [[House Judiciary Committee]], announced that he would hold congressional hearings on what he described as "the miscarriages of justice that have occurred in Jena, Louisiana", with the goal of pressuring the [[United States Department of Justice]] into taking action.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR2007092501666.html | title = Lawmakers Seek Jena 6 Teen's Release | date = September 25, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | publisher = Associated Press via The Washington Post | last = Barrett | first = Devlin }}</ref> The hearing took place on October 16, 2007; Washington and Sharpton, among others, testified. Walters was invited to testify but declined. Most Republican members of the committee declined to attend. Representative [[Sheila Jackson Lee]] (D-Texas) said to Washington and other Justice Department officials, "Shame on you. ... As a parent, I'm on the verge of tears,"<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-16-650507891_x.htm | title = Lawmakers seek US action in Jena 6 case |agency=Associated Press | newspaper = USA Today | access-date = August 23, 2008 | date = October 16, 2007 | last = Barrett | first = Devlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125104129/https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-16-650507891_x.htm |archive-date= Jan 25, 2009 }}</ref> and said, "I want to know what you're going to do to get Mychal Bell out of jail!"<!--emphasis was in original--><ref name="darryl">{{cite news | first = Darryl | last = Fears | title = U.S. Attorney Calls Noose Display 'Hate Crime,' Explains Lack of Charges | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101600200.html | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = October 17, 2007 | access-date = February 2, 2008 }}</ref> US Attorney Washington responded that the federal government had a limited role to play in the matter.<ref name="darryl" />
Representative Lee and other members of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]] called upon outgoing Louisiana Governor Blanco to [[pardon]] the Jena Six on December 19, 2007, stating that "we believe Mychal Bell and the Jena 6 have paid a sufficient debt to society for any transgressions they may have committed".<ref name="pardonme" /> Blanco's office responded that she cannot grant pardons without a recommendation from the state Pardon Board, and no meeting of that body was scheduled during her remaining term of office. Walters commented that Representative Lee's "passion for racial equality is admirable, but her grasp of the facts is not".<ref name="pardonme" /> He indicated that the attack on Barker was not just a schoolyard fight "but rather an unprovoked, unforeseen assault on a young man who had nothing to do with the hanging of the nooses".<ref name="pardonme">{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/12/22/black-caucus-seeks-pardon-of-jena-6/| title =
Black Caucus seeks pardon of Jena 6  |newspaper=Chicago Tribune | date = December 24, 2007 }}</ref> Governor Blanco's term of office ended without any pardons being granted.
On July 31, 2007, the school had the controversial tree cut down.<ref name="wapo" /> School Board member Fowler said, "There's nothing positive about that old tree. It's all negative. And I'm serving on the new School Board, and we're wanting to start fresh on some things".<ref name="cutdown">{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990005 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090717105743/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F99999999%2FNEWS%2F399990005 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2009 |title=Jena High 'noose' tree cut down |date=July 31, 2008 |newspaper=The Town Talk |access-date=August 22, 2008 }}</ref> According to Fowler, the tree would have had to have been cut down to make way for the rebuilding of the school after the fire. Others thought that taking down the tree was not an effective way to address any problems of racism in Jena. "Cutting down that beautiful tree won't solve the problem at hand," said Caseptla Bailey, Robert Bailey's mother. "It still happened".<ref name="cutdown" />  The remains of the building have been cleared, and a bid accepted for the reconstruction.
Jones and Purvis attended the [[BET Hip Hop Awards]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] on October 13, 2007, and were invited to present the award for [[BET Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]].<ref>{{cite press release | url = http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-15-2007/0004682354 | title = Kanye West, Nelly, Common, Dr. Cornel West, MC Lyte, David Banner, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Lil' Wayne, Soulja Boy and Hurricane Chris, Among Others, Brought Style, Substance and Swagger to the BET HIP HOP AWARDS 2007 | access-date = October 18, 2007 | publisher = PR Newswire/BET Networks }}</ref> When the two defendants came out on stage, they were greeted by a standing ovation. Emcee [[Katt Williams]] joked, "They don't look so tough, do they?"<ref name="bet" /> The two members delivered speeches thanking family, friends, the "Hip-Hop Nation",<ref name="bet" /> and those who came to Jena.<ref name="bet">{{cite news |author=Chicago Tribune | title = Jena 6 face donation questions | url = http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7429395? | publisher = Chicago Tribune via The Denver Post | location = Houston, Texas | date = November 11, 2007 | access-date = February 8, 2008 }}</ref>
Justin Barker and his parents filed a civil suit on November 29, 2007,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/04/national/main3575112.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._3575112 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071206123343/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/04/national/main3575112.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._3575112 | url-status = dead | archive-date = December 6, 2007 | title = Victim in Jena Six case files suit | publisher = Associated Press via CBS News | date = December 4, 2007 | access-date = April 7, 2007 }}</ref> against the parents of those accused of beating him, the adult members of the Jena Six (as of the time of the attack), an additional student named Malcolm Shaw, and the LaSalle Parish School Board.<ref name="USA Today">{{cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-04-jena-six_N.htm?csp=34 | title = Beating victim's family sues in 'Jena Six' case | date = December 4, 2007 | access-date = August 23, 2008 | work = USA Today }}</ref> Barker's medical bills from his emergency room visit totaled more than $5,000.<ref name="USA Today" /> The lawsuit alleges that the LaSalle Parish School Board inadequately supervised students and failed to maintain discipline.<ref name="USA Today" /> The Barkers also allege that the school board did not implement a plan to "discourage the dangerous activity of threatening and attacking other students while in possession of actual knowledge of said threats and prior attacks while the students are on school grounds".<ref name="USA Today" />
The case was on hold pending resolution of the criminal cases. When the Barkers' attorney learned that Jesse Ray Beard was using defense funds (which might be garnished under a civil suit) to pay for private school, he decided to push ahead with the case. Following a motion by Bell's civil attorney to recuse Mauffray in the civil case, proceedings were put on hold again pending appointment of a judge to hear that recusal motion.<ref name="on hold">{{cite news |author=Abbey Brown | title = Jena Six cases linger more than a year later |date = September 20, 2008 }}</ref>  Mauffray subsequently retired. On March 16, 2009, Judge Ronald Lewellyan was assigned to hear the civil case.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090320/NEWS01/903200322 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205045537/http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090320/NEWS01/903200322 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |title=Plea agreements possible in remaining 'Jena Six' cases |newspaper=The Town Talk |date=March 20, 2009 |access-date=March 21, 2009 }}</ref>  On June 26, 2009, Judge Lewellyan approved a settlement of Barker's claims against the Jena Six, though the claim against the school board remained pending.<ref name="ttciv" />
==Jena Six's subsequent activities==
[[File:Baisden-and-Sharpton.jpg|thumb|Talk show host [[Michael Baisden]] and [[Al Sharpton]], at the front of the September 20, 2007, march in Jena, Louisiana]]
[[File:Richard barrett.jpg|thumb|Self-avowed [[white supremacist]] [[Richard Barrett (lawyer)|Richard Barrett]] at the September 20, 2007, Jena Six Rally]]
On August 6, Judge Yeager terminated Beard's probation (he remained under the conditions of his bail release in the Barker incident) so he could attend the [[Canterbury School (Connecticut)|Canterbury School]] in [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Jena Six' member Beard to attend school in Connecticut |work=The Town Talk |date=August 13, 2008 |url=http://archive.thetowntalk.com/article/99999999/NEWS/399990227/August-13-2008-Jena-Six-member-Beard-attend-school-Connecticut |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141217190534/http://archive.thetowntalk.com/article/99999999/NEWS/399990227/August-13-2008-Jena-Six-member-Beard-attend-school-Connecticut |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |access-date=August 13, 2008 }}</ref> Half of the $39,900&nbsp;annual tuition was paid for with Jena Six defense fund money.<ref name="whatnow">{{cite news|title=The Jena 6 and Barker: Where are they now?|work=The Town Talk|date=September 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Beard using 'Jena Six' defense funds for schooling|work=The Town Talk|date=August 15, 2008}}</ref> At Canterbury, Beard played on the basketball, baseball, and football teams and graduated in 2010.<ref name= newlife>{{cite news|title=Attorney gives Jena 6 teen counsel, chance at new life|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/25/jena.to.new.york/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=August 25, 2009|access-date=May 5, 2012}}</ref>
On May 10, Bell was stopped in [[Olla, Louisiana]], for speeding and not having proper vehicle insurance while on a weekend pass from his sentence.<ref name="subsequent">{{cite news|title=May 30, 2008: Some 'Jena Six' defendants have recent legal problems |work=The Town Talk |date=May 30, 2008 |url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990252 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204083425/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/399990252 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=July 22, 2008 }}</ref> In an interview televised on CNN on August 24, 2008, Bell admitted to having struck Barker in 2006 and described Jena as "a real racist town".<ref>[http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/99999999/NEWS/399990247/August-25-2008-Bell-to-CNN-Jena-a-real-racist-town- "Bell to CNN: Jena 'a real racist town'"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120912040058/http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/99999999/NEWS/399990247/August-25-2008-Bell-to-CNN-Jena-a-real-racist-town- |date=September 12, 2012 }}, ''The Town Talk'', August 25, 2008.</ref> On August 27, 2008, the [[Louisiana High School Athletic Association]] turned down Bell's request for an extra year of athletic eligibility.<ref>{{cite news|title='Jena 6' defendant denied to play football|work=Shreveport Times|date=August 28, 2008}}</ref> Marcus Jones, Bell's father, blamed Bell's attorney at the time of the plea agreement for the denial. "If it weren't for his attorney, Mychal would be able to play football", Jones said. "They coerced him into taking that plea agreement. If he wouldn't have taken that plea, he wouldn't be in the position he's in now".<ref>{{cite news|title=Mychal Bell of 'Jena Six' denied fifth year of high school football eligibility|work=The Town Talk|date=August 28, 2008}}</ref> In 2014, Bell was attending [[Southern University]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ALJAZAM_20140701_010000_America_Tonight/start/1020/end/1080 Jena 6], ''[[Al Jazeera America]]'', June 17, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2017.</ref>
Robert Bailey attended high school at Shaw High School in [[Columbus, Georgia]], where he was granted an extra year's eligibility to play football.<ref name="whatnow"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Jena 6 student will play football for Shaw|work=Shreveport Times|date=August 25, 2008 | url = https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article29014960.html | access-date = 2020-12-08}}</ref>
Theo Shaw was able to attend classes at another high school and have his credits transferred to Jena. He received a Jena High School diploma although he took part in the graduation ceremony at the other school.<ref name="whatnow"/> On June 3, 2018, he graduated from  the [[University of Washington School of Law]], having received a full [[scholarship]] as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar.<ref>{{cite news |last1=DeBerry |first1=Jarvis |title='This is us': Jena 6 defendant Theo Shaw delivers law school commencement address |url=https://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2018/06/jena_6_law_school.html |access-date=December 4, 2019 |work=[[The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate]] |date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608193856/https://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2018/06/jena_6_law_school.html |archive-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.washington.edu/GatesScholar/Scholars.aspx?YR=2015 |title=Gates Public Service Law Scholars |website=School of Law|publisher=University of Washington|access-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007171856/http://www.law.washington.edu/GatesScholar/Scholars.aspx?YR=2015|archive-date=October 7, 2016}}</ref>
{{clear}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em
| refs =
<ref name="MediaMyths">
{{cite news
| last = Franklin
| first = Craig
| date = October 24, 2007
| title = Media myths about the Jena 6
| newspaper =The Christian Science Monitor
| pages = 1–3
| url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html
| access-date = February 20, 2012
}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Jena Six}}
{{Wikinews|Al Sharpton speaks out on race, rights and what bothers him about his critics}}
* [https://archive.today/20130204054648/http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030 FAQ of the case and local coverage from ''The Town Talk'' (Alexandria, Louisiana)]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2007/10/02/LI2007100200702.html ''The Washington Post'' page on the Jena Six controversy]
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14533821 NPR coverage of the Jena Six]
* [[Gabriel J. Chin]], [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1596153 ''The Jena Six and the History of Racially Compromised Justice in Louisiana''], 44 [[Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review]] 361 (2009).
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