Jena Trials Begin: Is the fix in?
See Photos of Jena Trial – WhileSeated – Flickr
UPDATE: Mychal Bell has been found guilty of aggravated second degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second degree battery. His lawyer declined to call a single defense witness because “a white jury would question the veracity of a black high school student.”
From the Friends of Justice site:
Mykal Bell has just been found guilty of aggravated second degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second degree battery. This verdict became a foregone conclusion the moment defense attorney Blane Williams wrapped up his closing arguments. “Mr. Williams made a lot of comments,” DA Reed Walters told the all-white jury, “but none of them were directed at the evidence.” Unfortunately, Mr. Walters’ assessment was bang on target.
There was no indication that Blane Williams gave any meaningful thought to his closing. Mr. Walters has been honing his closing arguments for months now, and it showed. Williams has done nothing but angle for a plea bargain, and, tragically, that also showed.
Everything hinged on whether the three witnesses who identified Mykal Bell as the student who firsdt struck Justin Barker were more credible than the witnesses who saw it differently. When you have one group of witnesses saying Mykal was the hitman, a second group saying he wasn’t, and a third group saying they witnessed the altercation but can’t say for sure who threw the first punch, the case for reasonable doubt should be a no-brainer. You don’t have to argue that the “Mykal-done-it” witnesses are lying. You merely suggest that there is no empirical way to determine who threw the first punch. Since witnesses on both sides of the issue are equally credible, and since many eyewitnesses came away confused, no final verdict is possible. Sometimes you simply have to say, “I don’t know,” and walk away. In the legal system that should translate into a not guilty verdict.
Mr. Williams could have compared the conflicting testimony to the contradictory reports parents often receive from two feuding children. If there is no way of determining the truth, and if both children are equally credible (or lacking in credibility) practical agnosticism is the only sane policy. To take sides in such a situation would be sheer folly.
The jury in Jena would have understood that argument. Unfortunately, it was never made. Even worse, Mr. Williams defended his decision to call no defense witnesses by arguing (in casual conversation) that the white jury would have questioned the veracity of black school kids. This may have been true; but, hey, let’s give these folks a chance.
I do not blame the jurors for this gross miscarriage of justice. Mykal Bell was done in by a conspiracy perpetrated by an unholy Trinity of legal professionals: a judge, a district attorney, and a conveniently incompetent defense attorney. It was in the best professional interests of Mr. Mauffray, Mr. Walters and Mr. Williams to dispense with this case outside the courtroom. Mykal Bell spoiled their plans and has now paid dearly for his insolence. Alan Bean, Friends of Justice
It is time to get involved.
The trials for the young men accused of attempted second degree murder for their part in a high school fight, in which no one was seriously injured, have started. An all white jury has been seated in the the case of the first defendant. This is troubling because this is a racially charged case in a racially polarized Louisiana town. The precipitating incident? White students hung three nooses in a tree to discourage black students from sitting in a previously all white area of the schoolyard. The district attorney has already publicly stated his bias:
Nine days later, with the case technically sub judice, the District Attorney made the following public statement to the local paper: ‘I will not tolerate this type of behaviour. To those who act in this manner I tell you that you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and with the harshest crimes that the facts justify. When you are convicted I will seek the maximum penalty allowed by law. I will see to it that you never again menace the students at any school in this parish.’ Racism goes on Trial again in America’s Deep South, Tom Mangold, The Observer
We cannot let this stand. It is time to remind District Attorney Reed Walters that he will not ride roughshod over the rights of these young black men while hiding beneath the bigoted shadows of a small town.
Read more and get involved.
Sign the Petition asking that Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice review this case. (and pass it on!)
Make a donation to Friends of Justice. I have. This case has attracted worldwide attention, in large part due to the work of Friends of Justice.
Thanks to the Anti-Essentialist Conundrum for keeping us posted!
