The case of Jena six sparked controversy because of the suspected unequal trial for the students who were involved in the beating of Justin Barker, a white student who attended Jena high school. Events leading up to the trial, from the six students sitting under the “white tree,” which was meant for white students, nooses found hanging on the tree and a building in the school being burned down among others not only reflected an array of racial fueled tensions within the school. Besides, for Mychal Bell, one of the accused, for all the proceedings related to his case, all the jury were all white, and witnesses were not called to testify(Alferi, 2008). Many, hence, suspected that the sentences passed were too harsh and were motivated by racial discrimination.
Based on the fact that one of the white students involved was charged with minor battery while the blacks were convicted and the white students who hung the nooses on the tree were not charged(Kennedy, 2009), it would be correct to conclude that Reed Walters overcharged the six African students. Besides, one of the convicts, Mychal Bell, was charged as an adult, mainly because of charges of battery that he initially faced. This situation would possibly have been different if the individuals in question had been whites. They were hence overcharged, mostly because of their race.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The white students who hung nooses on the tree should have been charged with hate crime. This is because the message was clear, and it was directed to the black students. This was not only a way of propagating racial related hate but also, it was a sign of possible criminal undertakings against the black students. Instead of prosecuting the students, the officials considered the occurrence as a prank, and the FBI officials did not charge the students involved.
References
Alfieri, A. V. (2007). Prosecuting the Jena Six. Cornell L. Rev. , 93 , 1285.
Alferi, A. V. (2008). Jim Crow Ethics and the Defense of the Jena Six. Iowa L. Rev. , 94 , 1651.
Kennedy, J. E. (2009). The Jena six, mass incarceration, and the remoralization of civil rights. Harv. CR-CLL Rev. , 44 , 477.
