This Is Not Justice

In a curious editorial in the Times today, Jena prosecutor Reed Walters wants the world to know that he had no choice but to follow his solemn duty and prosecute Mychal Bell and a half-dozen other African American teens for beating up a white fellow student. But as many readers will quickly notice, Mr. Walters conspicuously fails to detail whether the initial blow allegedly struck by Mychal Bell to Justin Barker was with a fist or a deadly weapon. Nor does he describe why Bell might have intended permanent harm or death. His use of subjective words like "vicious" merely inflame.

If every person who ever delivered a sucker punch were guilty of attempted murder, then there were at least a dozen such felons in my high school alone. While not a fight, the Jena incident was the result of an ongoing conflict among kids. No, not hardened adult criminals, but children. Doesn't every childhood prank have an instigator? Instigation should have no bearing on whether the perpetrator is given the status of an adult. I would wager that the mistakes of white teens are dismissed far more often than those of black teens, so I have to wonder, what principle other than bias led to that initial adult charge? Indeed, why were the severe charges of attempted murder initially brought? One could easily argue that hanging nooses on a tree is tantamount to conspiring to commit murder. What message does it send other than "we want to kill you!"? And yet, no charges could be found for this so-called prank?

Hiding behind "just doing my job" doesn't change the fact that Mr. Walters has discretion over the cases he chooses to prosecute, and how he chooses to prosecute them. Why were no African Americans on Mychal Bell's jury? So many questions persist, and given the checkered history of justice in Dixie, the system there remains guilty until proven innocent.

- JT Compton

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