More On That Jena 6 Case...

I've been reading these articles by Jason Whitlock, and they are beginning to make me rethink this case.

Take this passage from the first Whitlock column:

There was no “schoolyard fight” as a result of nooses being hung on a whites-only tree.

Justin Barker, the white victim, was cold-cocked from behind, knocked unconscious and stomped by six black athletes. Barker, luckily, sustained no life-threatening injuries and was released from the hospital three hours after the attack.

A black U.S. attorney, Don Washington, investigated the “Jena Six” case and concluded that the attack on Barker had absolutely nothing to do with the noose-hanging incident three months before.

Now if this is true, it seems to me that some serious charges can indeed be levied against the black youths. And if the attack was broken up by third parties who prevented the white guy from sustaining further injuries, as some have claimed, then I'd say that attempted murder could well be a reasonable charge.

Whitlock also says:

Much has been written about Bell’s trial, the six-person all-white jury that convicted him of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and the clueless public defender who called no witnesses and offered no defense. It is rarely mentioned that no black people responded to the jury summonses and that Bell’s public defender was black.

It’s almost never mentioned that Bell’s absentee father returned from Dallas and re-entered his son’s life only after Bell faced attempted-murder charges. At a bond hearing in August, Bell’s father and a parade of local ministers promised a judge that they would supervise Bell if he was released from prison.

He concludes the second article:

Shame on the parents of the kids who hung the nooses for hiding behind a seemingly racist and insensitive school board when their kids were inexcusably wrong. Shame on the parents of the "Jena Six" for blaming white racism for the cowardice of a six-on-one attack.

And shame on the prosecutor, the media and Al Sharpton for not rising above the ignorance and distortions, and seeking a truth that will set everyone in Jena free, including the "Jena Six."

And before anyone says anything about further racism...Jason Whitlock, as you will see from the pictures beside the articles, is black himself.