Prometheus 6

Teen in Louisiana Case Is Back in Jail

JENA, La.-- A teenager at the center of a civil rights controversy is back in jail after a judge revoked his probation because of an old drug charge that had never been tried, his father said. Mychal Bell, who, with five other black teenagers, has been accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to court expecting another routine hearing, Marcus Jones said. "He's locked up again," Jones said. "No bail has been set."

In a town of 3000, a high school of no more than 400, the boy was a star athlete...it's not like they didn't know where to find him.

So why had the old drug charge ever been tried? Here's part of the reason.

I can find no specifics about what happened between the beginning of the semester and Nov. 30; the NPR article just says “Fights began to break out at the high school. But that year, the football team was having an unusually good season and the black athletes were a major reason why. So while there were fights throughout the fall, nobody wanted to take any action that would hurt the team. “ All I know for certain is they bypassed a number of opportunities to resolve the issue during this time.

My father, who was born in 1928, told me about "Southern justice." It was too erratic to have any name at all, much less the name "justice." It goes beyond the unequal protection issues already discussed.

You already know schools, such as they were, shut down so Black children could be put to work. Southern justice also yielded to culture and economics. Basically, the fate of a Black person caught up in Southern justice depended on two things:

1. how close you were to harvest time
2. the cop's mood
3. in the case of crimes against persons, the race of that person

Black on black crime was laughed off. The penalty for other crimes depended on the usefulness of the Black person to some white person. It was not uncommon for a Black person to be released from the chain gang because a white landowner needed his nigger, else the cotton would rot.

This dynamic hasn't changed much.

But that year, the football team was having an unusually good season and the black athletes were a major reason why. So while there were fights throughout the fall, nobody wanted to take any action that would hurt the team. “

I would argue* this impresses on young minds that there is no justice beyond the whims of those in power. And note: I did not limit that in any way. All young folks who see it are shaped by it...it's why D.A. Reed said he could end someone's life with the stroke of a pen. And it's also why he's so damn determined to have his way. His power within his domain is supposed to be absolute.

Meanwhile, we have another Constitutional issue.

Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

The municipality CHOSE not to pursue those old drug charges. That's actually okay, it's an expression of local values. But as a matter of law, they should not be allowed to change their mind somewhere down the line in a fit of personal pique.

[LATER: dnA found an article on Newsday.com that says Bell was jailed because the judge decided "the fight that put him in the national spotlight violated terms of his probation for a previous conviction." It's not convincing; not when the Judge and D.A. involved have already decided how he is to be treated. My argument is Southern justice is arbitrary.]

* I like that phrase, "I would argue". Whenever you see it, someone is expecting you to assume they have, in fact, made the argument. In responding to, or challenging, what they would have argued, you accept their assertion as the default and must prove your case against an argument that was never made. The best response to an "I would" argument, is "Okay, Proceed with your argument. I yield the floor."