Which is to my shame- the controversy around the Jena 6 has been getting more press these days, but nowhere near what it should have been getting. I don't know that I have anything I can add that hasn't been said by someone else, and said more eloquently or with greater force, but that's a poor excuse for saying nothing.
The latest update on the Jena 6 case is that the DA has decided not to appeal a ruling that set aside Mychal Bell's conviction on the grounds that he shouldn't have been tried as an adult.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco, after learning that DA Reed Walters wasn't going to pursue and appeal, said "I want to thank him for this decision he has made" while Al Sharpton said "I want to congratulate the district attorney for good judgment".
I say: Bullshit.
When you mishandle a case like this and write an op-ed piece for the NYT that basically says "I haven't done anything wrong and this is being handled perfectly well" after you charged six black students with attempted murder while ignoring the attacks by white students... you don't deserve praise when you finally give in. You don't deserve thanks for moving a step closer to what you ought to have done in the first place.
From what I can see, Walters is doing the absolutely minimum he can. He's not giving up on the appeal because he thinks it's the right thing to do- he's caving to political and social pressure. Which, you know, I'm glad for- it's better than making the appeal- but it still means that he's a shitbag, and I'm not about to praise him for finally doing something sort of right for the completely wrong reasons.
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