Unless I am missing something, the Jena 6 protesters have it all wrong.

Perhaps I am not getting the whole story, but the people protesting the Jena 6 have it all wrong. From what I have heard in most media accounts, some white students hung some nooses from a tree at a high school. Some of the black students understandably took offense to this. Tempers flaired and fights broke out between white and black students. One group of black students beat up a white student, who may or may not have been involved with the hanging of the nooses. The black students were charged later charged with assault. From what I have heard, the protesters are demanding the black students who are charged with beating up the white student should go free and the white students who put up the nooses should face criminal charges.

I think the protesters demands, as I understand them, are not consistent with our laws. First of all if the black students really did beat up the white guy, assault would be an appropriate charge for them to face. Our laws do not allow people to attack other people just because they were provoked.

Second, even though putting up nooses is inappropriate, it is not criminal. The white students who put up nooses should have been punished by the school, but they should not face felony prosecution because at the most, they might be guilty of vandalism. In short, being a racist is not a crime.

I can understand if people felt the punishment the school gave the white students was not strict enough. I can also understand if the protesters were concerned that white students who were actively involved in any of the subsequent brawls were not being treated by the local prosecutors the same way as the Jena 6. I cannot support their plea that the white students be charged with a crime, when being a racist is not a crime. In short, the protesters are asking the district attorney to violate the US Constitution by enacting ex post facto laws and violating the first ammendment.

exactly but you konw the whole RACE thing comes into play. Im srry but the nooses honestly who cares. Granted yea it was wrong but they kicked the # outta the kid that did it. But since its a RACE issue of course why dont all the white people down there go protest back....haha

The worst part of this entire fiasco is the cutting down of the tree! Because the white boys committed their "crime" on school property they were punished by the school. They got suspension.
Because 6 people jumped 1 person a hornet's nest has been created! The attempted murder charge was a bit much. The only reason the last of the 6 wasn't released on bond is because he has a prior record! Duh! Protesters are angry because the boy wasn't bonded. He now has been. They've even spoken to Congressmen about this crap! Al Sharpton spoke with the governor of Louisiana.
The white boy didn't spend much time in the hospital and he went to a Ring Party that night. Guess it was his class ring party. Thank God that the kid's ok.
I think the school authorities should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago. Also, after the noose incident someone set fire to the school! Don't know who did that.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint

Forgive me for my ignorance, I agree, the black kids have broken a law and should be treat accordingly.
Is there no Louisiana State Law or Federal Law that is similar to the British Law of "Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred"?
If so then surely the white kid has broken this law and should be treat accordingly.

If there is no such law then....

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint

 

Forgive me for my ignorance, I agree, the black kids have broken a law and should be treat accordingly.
Is there no Louisiana State Law or Federal Law that is similar to the British Law of "Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred"?
If so then surely the white kid has broken this law and should be treat accordingly.

If there is no such law then....

There are no "incitement to ethnic or racial hatred" laws in the US. A person in the US is free to be a member of the Neo Nazis, KKK, Nation of Islam or any other group that espouses racial hatred. Racial slurs are not a crime in the US. If they were, Al Sharpton would be locked up for the rest of his life.

Originally posted by NellahB
The attempted murder charge was a bit much. .

The attempted murder charge was probably excessive, but this practice is common amongst prosecutors. Prosecutors will charge somebody with the severest charge that could *possibly* stick. It is possible, although not necessarily likely, that the black kids who beat up the white kid may have tried to kill the white kid. Since this possibility exists, the prosecutors will tack on charge of attempted murder.

This practice exists first of all because most criminal cases are settled with plea bargains and not trials. Plea bargains are negotiations between prosecutors and defense attorneys not much different than negotiations between businessmen or buyers and sellers of goods. The prosecutors' practice of placing a severe charge is very much like the buyer of a good putting in a low initial offer or a seller of a good quoting a high initial price. The prosecutor knows he is going to eventually come off his initial "bid."

The practice also exists because sometimes evidence may come forward later in the the trial which would justify the severe charge. By placing the severe charge in the beginning, the prosecutor keeps the door open for a conviction under the more severe charge.

Racial slurs are not a crime in the US. If they were, Al Sharpton would be locked up for the rest of his life.

And would that be such a bad thing?
Racism is racism, regardless.

the thang that is the problem is that what the white kids did was directly aimed at those black students making it a hate crime they could have hung nooses anywhere but sense they can trace it to being directly aimed at the kids who sat at the "whites only" tree it was a hate crime and wasnt treated as such then those kids are charged with attempted murder assault with a deadly weapon when in normal circumstances they would have been charged with propably assault and battery MAYBE assault with a deadly weapon but normally your shoes arent seen as deadly weapons but today those protesters acctually had a huge victory there going to charge michael as a juvenile instead of hitting him with a youthful offender charge and trying him as a adult which is good enough for me as far as justice goes cause they should be charged but since they didnt charge those white kids with anything when they were obviously making a VERY serious threat by hanging NOOSES and no there is no law against being a neo nazi or anything like that but a racially motivated crime is a hate crime...the thing that gets me the most is that the white kid that got jumped was in the hospital for less then a day i saw pictures of him there was no way any of his injuries were life threatening ive been beaten up pretty bad and even though my injuries werent life threatening i was still in the hospital for several days

Since when was 6 on 1 a ''fight''. Maybe if you were fighting Chuck Norris....

The deal with the Jena 6 is that the prosecutor was going to try them in adult court, instead of juvenile court. That along with the noose incident is what incited all the protests.

Now the prosecutor is going to try them as juveniles for the assault on the white student. The one kid, Michael Bell who had been tried as an adult and was in jail, was released on bail, and will be tried as a juvenile.

That's how i understood how things went.

The deal with the Jena 6 is that the prosecutor was going to try them in adult court, instead of juvenile court. That along with the noose incident is what incited all the protests.

Now the prosecutor is going to try them as juveniles for the assault on the white student. The one kid, Michael Bell who had been tried as an adult and was in jail, was released on bail, and will be tried as a juvenile.

That's how i understood how things went.

Originally posted by justanothergangster
the thang that is the problem is that what the white kids did was directly aimed at those black students making it a hate crime they could have hung nooses anywhere but sense they can trace it to being directly aimed at the kids who sat at the "whites only" tree it was a hate crime and wasnt treated as such then those kids are charged with attempted murder assault with a deadly weapon when in normal circumstances they would have been charged with propably assault and battery MAYBE assault with a deadly weapon but normally your shoes arent seen as deadly weapons but today those protesters acctually had a huge victory there going to charge michael as a juvenile instead of hitting him with a youthful offender charge and trying him as a adult which is good enough for me as far as justice goes cause they should be charged but since they didnt charge those white kids with anything when they were obviously making a VERY serious threat by hanging NOOSES and no there is no law against being a neo nazi or anything like that but a racially motivated crime is a hate crime...the thing that gets me the most is that the white kid that got jumped was in the hospital for less then a day i saw pictures of him there was no way any of his injuries were life threatening ive been beaten up pretty bad and even though my injuries werent life threatening i was still in the hospital for several days

A few points

1. All reasonable people concede that the noose hanging was a gesture intended to send a message to the Black kids at the school and that it was wholly inappropriate. Sending nasty messages aimed directly at people is not a crime. The Supreme Court has ruled it is unconstitutional to pass laws which outlaw specifically outlaw the display of hateful symbols. (See RAV v. City of St. Paul, a Supreme court case in which the Supreme Court ruled a local ordinance banning burning crosses was unconstitutional under First Ammendment grounds)

2. While we do not ordinarily think of fists and shoes as "deadly weapons" there is plenty of case law to the contrary ruling that fists and shoes can be deadly weapons.

3. While it is unlikely that the Black kids that beat up the White kid committed attempted murder, it is possible. Attempted murder can still occurr if the victim has minor injuries or no injuries. For example, if somebody tries to shoot someone else with a gun and misses, an attempted murder occurs and the victim suffers no injury. It is possible, perhaps not likely, the Black kids tried to beat the white kid to death, but could not do so because the White kid was able to escape or the Black kids stopped their beating because they thought the cops were coming.

Originally posted by bg_socalif
The deal with the Jena 6 is that the prosecutor was going to try them in adult court, instead of juvenile court. That along with the noose incident is what incited all the protests.

Now the prosecutor is going to try them as juveniles for the assault on the white student. The one kid, Michael Bell who had been tried as an adult and was in jail, was released on bail, and will be tried as a juvenile.

That's how i understood how things went.

Even though it is common to try offenders in their late teens as adults, I can see this argument as being more reasonable.

i wonder if black students spraypainted "crackers" on the tree and 6 white kids jumped 1 black kid what would happen. i could almost gaurantee that there would be no outcry in defense of the white students.

the bottom line is the black kids assaulted the white kid. if the tables were turned the prosecutor would be seeking hate crime charges for 6 white kids.

heres a story that was recent. 5 blacks beat up 1 white..
charge = misdemeanor
content.hamptonroads.com...
i got in more trouble skateboarding in a public park.


i thought this was interesting, more black on white violence with no hate crime charges. arclightzero.wordpress.com...