BREAKING: Justice in Jena!

This from AP: Appeals court tosses out teen's conviction in Jena, La. beating case

The aggravated battery conviction that could send a black teenager from Jena to prison for 15 years in the beating of a white classmate has been overturned by a state appeal court. The state third circuit court of appeal says Mychal Bell should not have been tried as an adult on the battery charge.

Short, I know, but it is nice to see justice served every once in a while!

A little more back story from MSNBC:

Bell, who was 16 at the time of the beating, and four others were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder. Those charges brought widespread criticism that blacks were being treated more harshly than whites following racial altercations involving Jena High.

And for even better background information, see this diary from blueintheface.

•  Is that the end of it then, weelzup?

  What about the other kids?

  by sherlyle on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:42:10 PM PDT

  •  Not the end I am affraid...

    but it is the beginning of something good.

    As for the others... no word yet.

    by weelzup on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:44:12 PM PDT

    •  Thanks. Hadn't heard anything lately. n/t

      by sherlyle on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:45:02 PM PDT

    •  Real Justice Will Come When They

      throw out the Prosecutor, who brought the case, in the first place.  Until then, no one in that jurisdiction can be comfortable that there is equal protection under the law.

      by leonard145b on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:46:19 PM PDT

•  Woo Hoo!

  I guess they couldn't stand to have the glaring light shined on them.

  by edwardssl on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:42:58 PM PDT

•  Thank God.

  by casperr on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:43:25 PM PDT

•  I hope the kid sues the prosecution.

  "Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Effort, Concentration, and Wisdom"

  by Dood Abides on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:45:32 PM PDT

  •  Will this prosecutor get the same treatment that

    the Duke prosecutor did?

    by PatsBard on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:51:59 PM PDT

    •  ha!

      Ain't likely to happy, not in Louisiana. Still, one can dream. I guess.

      by CocoaLove on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:24:34 PM PDT

      •  You're right

        But I imagine that this bastard and Mike Nifong might have some great conversations if they shared a cell...

        by TimCbrowne on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 04:29:58 PM PDT

    •  If You Hold

      Your breath on that one, you'll be dead.

      by shanikka on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 04:31:10 PM PDT

    •  good luck with THAT. nt

      by Micawber on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 05:11:43 PM PDT

•  Now, its time for the DA to resign.

  He helped to create this mess and he cannot be allowed to stay and create more.

  by Owllwoman on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:46:55 PM PDT

  •  He should be disbarred....

    for that coming about taking the kids' lives away with the stroke of a pen.

    by cometman on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:51:25 PM PDT

  •  As well noted in earlier diary

    My family affected by Jena's loss of innocence, by Bolgia7

    If there IS serious civil unrest, blame for it will lie at the feet of one person - District Attorney Reed Walters.  None of us can look inside his heart and know whether he's a racist.  But we can all look at his actions and conclude that he is exceedingly stupid, perhaps even more stupid than Mike Nifong in North Carolina.  From his threats to the students to "end your life with the stroke of a pen," to his egregious overcharging of the students, to his failure to similarly charge whites who committed similar crimes, to his failure or refusal to explain himself, he has created a vacuum of common sense that has allowed accusations of racism to take hold.

    by lgmcp on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:01:40 PM PDT

•  Great news!!!!!

  It's great to see there's still some grownups in charge somewhere in  the judicial system.

  Hopefully the rest of the pending cases get thrown out too.

  by cometman on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:50:17 PM PDT

•  Hopefully this is a sign of things to come

  but more has to happen for it to move beyond its getting a little better.

  by FerrisValyn on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:50:31 PM PDT

•  Excellent.

  One positive step in this case. Hopefully there will be many more coming. And soon.

  by shayera on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:52:33 PM PDT

•  Sanity

  at last..this is a good step

  by LibChicAZ on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:53:15 PM PDT

•  Thanks for the good news

  to start the weekend. Let's hope that the rest of the charges get disposed of in a fairer manner than they were brought.

  by sidnora on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:53:57 PM PDT

•  good

  a small step forward, but a necessary one.

  by wu ming on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 02:57:50 PM PDT

•  One Step

  toward justice.  Real good news.    

  by hilltopper on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:00:11 PM PDT

•  Great news - thanks!

  by annefrank on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:06:45 PM PDT

•  Can Bell now be tried in juvie?

  Or, is that double jeopardy?

  by willb48 on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:06:58 PM PDT

•  'bout time

  It's amazing how far this case got before anyone paid attention. God bless the few activists, sorority and fraternal groups, and bloggers who persisted until someone with some pull paid attention.

  by CocoaLove on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:23:29 PM PDT

  •  Amen to that. n/t

    by Albatross on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:33:24 PM PDT

•  Such wonderful news, weelzup!

  This is a victory for those who have been fighting for justice for these kids for so long. And for the independent media and blogosphere that just refused to give up on this issue.

  Alan Bean and Friends of Justice have been there for these boys every step of the way and have been working with the ACLU and the NAACP to organize the family. They are a small, family-run civil rights organization and can use every dime they get. If anyone has a couple of bucks, please show them some love here.

  Also, as pointed out already in the comments, these boys still all face charges. Luckily now at least they have competent legal representation. Color of Change, another great organization has been collecting signatures and petitions in support of these kids and donations for their legal defense here. They only need 3000 signatures to go before getting 200,000!

  And there is a scholarship fund for these boys set up by Fathers for the Future tgat we can donate to here.

  There's still a long way to go for justice in Jena. And plenty of things we can still do to help.

  Great diary, weelzup!

  by blueintheface on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 03:39:52 PM PDT

•  ACK!!!!

  I owe you an apology!

  I did not see your diary on the recommended list when I started writing mine.  My bad =(

  by shanikka on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 04:26:13 PM PDT

  •  Since when is joy for justice

    considered a sin? You both deserve praise for bringing this to our attention. Let's hope that more justice happens in Jena. Keep up the pressure and resist those who will try to muddy the facts in this case.

    by pwrmac5 on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 04:43:29 PM PDT

  •  so not a problem...

    It's the story that deserves the attention, not the diarist... Glad to see you made the rec list!

    by weelzup on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 05:09:01 PM PDT

•  My Friend Bob Noel

  is one of the members of Bells defense team. As of this afternoon the DA and Sheriff were planning on keeping Bell in the adult jail as there is no juvenile facility in that Parish. According to the news they said he might stay there until the DA's (state's) appeal is heard.

  I would expect the defense team will be back in court by Monday (if not before) for an emergency ruling to get him released or at least transferred to a juvenile facility.

  by gritsngumbo on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 06:57:46 PM PDT

•  Thanks for the great news!

  I had a feeling a bit more of spotlight should start turning things around on this story.

  by Assaf on Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 07:09:40 PM PDT