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Post by Liberator on Jul 5, 2009 2:21:33 GMT
JENA, La. (AP) — The Jena Six case, which once prompted a massive civil rights demonstration and drew international attention, saw the final chapter played out quietly. Five neatly dressed young men answered "Yes Sir," on Friday as state District Judge Tom Yeager asked them if they accepted the terms of a deal that included pleading no contest to misdemeanor simple battery. Sorry, I don't see why being 'black' should reduce attempted murder to mere 'assault'. These blokes tried to kick somebody to death. There's little doubt that had they been white and the victim black, they would have had to prove they intended less. As far as I am concerned, all crimes of violence should be considered attempted murder and up to the defence to show they can be explained away as less. The charges against the five — Carwin Jones, Jesse Ray Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw — had previously been reduced from attempted murder to aggravated second-degree battery after they were accused of beating and kicking schoolmate Justin Barker. Civil rights leaders railed against the harshness of the original charge, saying it was because the defendants were black and Barker was white. The severity of the original charges brought widespread criticism and eventually led more than 20,000 people to converge in September 2007 on the tiny town of Jena for a major civil rights march. Some $275,000 was raised to hire a large defense team for the six, said Beard's attorney, David Utter. www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-27-jena-pleadeal_N.htm?csp=34
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Post by Big Lin on Jul 17, 2009 23:14:46 GMT
There should be NO difference in treatment between offenders based on either ethnicity or gender.
This sentence is a disgrace!
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