Real victim in Jena 6 case sues the six suspects who assaulted him, there parents, and the school board

**Terminator** · 12-06-07, 12:45 PM

JENA, La. — The family of a white student allegedly beaten by six black classmates in rural Louisiana has filed a civil lawsuit against the teens' parents, the adult teens, an additional student and the local school board.
One teen, Mychal Bell, pleaded guilty to battery in juvenile court on Monday in the attack. Five other teens face criminal charges in the case and are awaiting court appearances.
Justin Barker, 18, and his parents, David and Kelli, allege in the suit that seven Jena High School students attacked Justin on Dec. 4, 2006, as he left the school gym.
The suit names the attackers as the "Jena Six" students — Bell, Bryant Purvis, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Theo Shaw and a juvenile — as well as a second juvenile.
Law enforcement officials have not named the second juvenile as one of the attackers.
"Petitioners show that Justin was singled out by Mychal, Bryant, Robert, Carwin, Theodore (and the two juveniles), and that the malicious and willful attack of Justin was of such extreme nature so as to require emergency medical care and treatment for the harm inflicted by the attack, and resulting in extensive and permanently disabling injuries," the lawsuit states.
Barker was hit by Bell, knocked unconscious and then repeatedly kicked and stomped by a group of students, according to testimony and court documents.
The beating was preceded by racial incidents, including three white students hanging nooses from a tree.
The civil suit was filed Thursday. The lawsuit alleges that the LaSalle Parish School Board, through its employees, was not adequately supervising students or maintaining discipline.
Lawyers for the Barkers and the defendants couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Bell, who pleaded guilty in juvenile court to second-degree battery, was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Office of Youth Development.
Bell and the other students were initially charged with attempted murder. In May, Bell was convicted as an adult of aggravated assault, but the conviction was overturned. The conviction led to a protest in September by at least 20,000 demonstrators.

**countybear** · 12-06-07, 03:23 PM

They left out Sharpton, Jackson, and the protesters.

Otherwise, good job.

**Twan007** · 12-07-07, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Terminator

Bell, who pleaded guilty in juvenile court to second-degree battery, was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Office of Youth Development.

Well CB - we know how much that's gonna rehabilitate him... can't stand Louisiana's Juvenile Justice System - it's a joke =/

I hope the victim wins every last cent he's going for...

and he should think about throwing the media into the mix as well... after all, they slandered his name by focusing on all the "racist" actions leading up to the event and not justifying him as a true victim...

**Probation13-901** · 12-07-07, 12:35 PM

[QUOTE=countybear;294400]They left out Sharpton, Jackson, and the protesters.

I'll agree to that

**TheeBadOne** · 12-07-07, 12:52 PM

+2

**depusm12** · 12-07-07, 01:58 PM

I hope they win but if they do I doubt they will ever get anything from the defendants, except maybe the school board.

**lewisipso** · 12-07-07, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by depusm12

I hope they win but if they do I doubt they will ever get anything from the defendants, except maybe the school board.

Which is probably the only reason the school board was named.

**BEK** · 12-07-07, 06:10 PM

wheres the enhancement charges of a hate crime. Wheres the ACLU

**ex401mp** · 12-07-07, 07:36 PM

Hate crimes dont apply to white male victims. Didn't you get the memo? We are the anti-christ to everyone else.

**countybear** · 12-07-07, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by BEK

wheres the enhancement charges of a hate crime. Wheres the ACLU

I'm sure quite a few members showed up for the protests...

(demanding that the offenders go free).

**Pedro56** · 12-07-07, 10:58 PM

Good for him.

**TheeBadOne** · 12-07-07, 11:24 PM

Baltimore Bus Beating Being Probed as Hate Crime

BALTIMORE —
A white woman beaten by a group of black students on a bus has prompted a hate-crime investigation, attempts by transit officials to reassure riders of the safety of the system, and radio talk-show chatter over comparisons with the Jena Six case. The uproar prompted two leading black politicians to issue statements decrying the attack.
Sarah Kreager, 26, suffered broken facial bones and other injuries after she was punched, kicked and dragged off the bus Tuesday afternoon. Kreager's companion, Troy Ellis, was also attacked, but not beaten as severely. Kreager has an unlisted phone number and attempts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful.
MTA police said evidence has not been found to support claims by the students' parents that the children were provoked.
"We are at this point investigating it as a hate crime," MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said.
The attack immediately drew comparisons on talk radio and Internet blogs to the Jena, La. case in which a white student was attacked by a group of black students, leading to demontrations by black activists who alleged local authorities were prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites. Many callers and web site posters questioned what they considered a lack of outrage over the latest attacks.
But Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and Rep. Elijah Cummings, both black, issued statements condemning the attack.
"The physical assault of any human being, regardless of motivation, is conduct that is unacceptable. As police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime, we must rise together as a community to take a stand against violence toward any of our neighbors," Cummings said in statement issued Friday.
Dixon said after the attack that she was extremely concerned about the beating, which she described as "deplorable."
"I will not tolerate intimidation or violence anywhere in our city," the mayor said. "I have offered the MTA whatever assistance they need to investigate this incident and to do our part to ensure the public transportation system is safe for everyone."
MTA Northern District Capt. David Marzola said the middle school students, three females and six males 14 to 15 years old, are also accused of menacing an elderly white passenger and assaulting the bus operator, a black male who defended his passenger.
"He probably saved this gentleman's life," Marzola said.
The driver was not identified because he is considered a witness to a crime, the MTA said.
Video from a surveillance camera on the bus is also being analyzed as part of the investigation, the MTA said.
The students, who ride the bus to Robert Poole Middle School, have been released into the custody of their parents, Greene said.
Col. John Gavrilis, deputy chief of the MTA Police, said MTA Police have stationed an officer on the line since Tuesday and the city school police force has assigned extra officers to the Hampden school.
Greene said the nine students have had their bus privileges revoked.
"Riding the bus is a privilege," she said. "Public safety is our primary concern."
MTA officials noted the system is safe with a total of 381 crimes this year on the transit system, which carries 250,000 riders a day, with property crimes accounting for the vast majority.
However, the attack was the latest in a string of high-profile crimes to have taken place on or near MTA facilities.
Nicole Edwards, 17, was fatally stabbed near a Baltimore light rail station in November, 2006, during an armed robbery of Edwards and her brother. Lataye S. King, 17, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday in the case, and a 15-year-old co-defendant is to be sentenced in February for robbery conspiracy and aggravated assault.
In October, a twice-convicted rapist was accused of attacking a woman at a light rail station in Linthicum. And an MTA officer shot and killed a robbery suspect late last year at a Reisterstown Metro station after police said he pulled a gun.

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