Thousands demonstrate in support of "Jena Six"

The demonstrations were initially timed to coincide with the sentencing of Mychal Bell, who was found guilty by an all-white jury of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to do the same. His conviction was dismissed earlier this month, however, when a higher court ruled that Bell, who has been in prison since January, should not have been tried as an adult. Bell was 16 at the time of the attack.

District Attorney Reed Walters has pledged to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court the decision requiring that Bell be tried as a juvenile. If this appeal fails, Bell’s case will be returned to a juvenile court, along with that of another of the “Jena Six,” Jesse Ray Beard. The other four—Robert Bailey, Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, and Theo Shaw—still face adult charges of second-degree battery and conspiracy.

As the large demonstration in Jena and more than two dozen smaller rallies across the country demonstrate, the case of the Jena Six has become the focus of outrage in the US and internationally over the patently unjust treatment of the young men. The protest is another sign—following mass demonstrations last year for immigrant rights and alongside broad popular opposition to the war in Iraq—of growing disquiet and discontent, which are barely registered in the media and can find no outlet in the parties and institutions of the political establishment.