Blanco: No Challenge of 'Jena 6' Ruling (AP)

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Blanco: No Challenge of 'Jena 6' Ruling

Thursday September 27, 2007 1:46 AM

By DOUG SIMPSON

Associated Press Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen
Blanco said Wednesday that the prosecutor in one of
the so-called “Jena 6” cases has decided not to
challenge an appellate ruling that sends the case to
juvenile court.

LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters had
earlier said he would appeal the state appeals court's
decision that 17-year-old Mychal Bell's second-degree
battery conviction be set aside. The court ruled that
Bell could not be tried as an adult.

Blanco said she had spoken with Walters and asked
him to reconsider pushing to keep the case in the
adult courts system. She said Walters contacted her
Wednesday to say he had decided not to appeal the
ruling.

“I want to thank him for this decision he has made,”
Blanco said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6952042,00.html

[flashl]

1. Appeal based on what?

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls for the immediate release of Mychal Bell, one of the six high school students who have come to be known as the “Jena 6.” The Guild also calls for all charges against the Jena 6 to be dropped, and for the investigation and disbarment of Judge J.P. Mauffray and District Attorney Reed Walters.

Judge J.P. Mauffray and DA Reed Walters have engaged in a string of egregious actions, the most recent of which was the denial of bail for Bell on Friday. The NLG urges that: 1) The United States Department of Justice convene an immediate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecutions of the Jena 6; 2) Judge Mauffray be recused from presiding over Bell’s juvenile court hearings or other proceedings; 3) The Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigate Reed Walters for unethical and possibly illegal conduct; 4) The Louisiana Judiciary Commission investigate Judge Mauffray for unethical conduct; and 5) The Jena school district superintendent be removed from office.

“Contrary to what Reed Walters and J.P. Mauffray may think, Jena is subject to the same Constitution that the rest of the United States is,” remarked Kerry McLean, member of the executive board of the NLG.

“There have been numerous, brazen violations of the constitutional rights of the Jena 6.” McLean continued, “In addition to the constitutional violations, Walters and Mauffray have breached the ethical requirements of their offices. They should be made to answer for all of this.”

"The double standard of justice in Jena, one for black students and another for whites, is emblematic of the racism that still permeates many towns throughout the South and the country as a whole. There must be an immediate and full investigation of judicial and prosecutorial malfeasance in Jena, Louisiana," said Marjorie Cohn, President of the NLG.

There is an unequal justice system in Jena, where blacks are routinely the victims of discriminatory and oppressive treatment by officials.

Read more ...