Reed Walters, the prosecutor in the "Jena Six" cases announced that he will not challenge a Louisiana sate appeals court’s ruling that Mychal Bell, 17, could not be tried as an adult and that his second-degree battery conviction be set aside. Bell, who remains behind bars, is one of the six Jena, LA teens arrested after an attack on a white student in December.
Five of the teens initially faced attempted second-degree murder charges, but charges for four have been reduced. One teen has not been arraigned, and the case of the sixth teen, handled as a juvenile, is sealed.
Critics have accused local officials of prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites, reports the Associated Press. White students who allegedly hung nooses from a tree on the high school campus received only a few days suspension, despite accusations of a racially motivated hate crime. Their actions sparked fights between white and black students, including the attack that led to the Jena Six convictions.
The controversy has garnered national attention, drawing more than 20,000 protesters to the LA town last week. "This is the most blatant example of disparity in the justice system that we've seen," said Rev. Al Sharpton. "You can't have two standards of justice."
Media Resources: Feminist Daily Newswire 9/20/07; Associated Press 9/26/07, 9/27/07
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
