America's Six:The 6's Parents-Mychal Bell & The Jena Six

9-9-2007

JENA'S D-DAY
--The Injustice Resistance Movement WE WILL RESIST THIS INCURSIONIST REGIME UNTO THE FULL!! Resistance!Now!!

Remember Durban Sept 2001?!
In Jena, Louisiana September 9, 2007; 6 years to the date, [6 the number of man], Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. appeared at Goodpine.
Selma's Brown Chapel AME 7-19-07- ->


Is it possible to have not only a New South but also a New America.


The Six's parents are catching it. Can you really bury the past?

As the black students were being tormented with racial epithets, a group of boys suddenly turned and, went off. It may have not been the right response, but certainly the racially derogatory words were not appropriate either, coming from the lips of Justin Barker & others on that fateful day in December 2006. This day, is a day, which will live on in infamy in the minds of true Americans.

A Day that set the tone for the incorrigible society in which we live to be exposed, fully. We must repent; all of us, young and old, for our violent past. Stop the video games, the television programs, the movies and all such purveyance of violence as the rule of the day! So that means we must then STOP THE WAR.

There were at least 10 to 15 boys, involved in the melee at Jena High School. All things considered, whose foot actually inflicted the unconciounable blow! And why wasn't Justin Barker, dealt with appropriately about the firearm on Campus?
UNEQUAL JUSTICE!
What were the Fair Barn fighters charged with? UNEQUAL JUSTICE!

The public display of a weapon or brandishing a weapon, at the Gotta Go - Store!
UNEQUAL JUSTICE.

The teachers stating [in the initial situation] they wouldn't teach if the 6 were allowed back in school. And to this day, that theory is in existence as evidenced by the Judges own words.
Its unequal justice in education, when tax dollars are utilized to prostitute black boys athletic abilities to their own detriment, for the greater good of the school. All the while, the "system" [coaches, principals, assistant d a's & so forth] allow tendencies toward violence to to pervade unchecked, as long as the athlete performs.

That's called systematic racism & is capitalism at its best. Capitalism=extract the goods at any cost, reap the benefit no matter who gets hurt.

Its UNEQUAL JUSTICE, when the judicial system, try you as an adult; and deny you the Constitutional Right to an [un] excessive bond, on [sealed] juvenile charges, most likely, presumably for the greater good in their minds; why, because the person is a detriment or danger to society.

Well, it is now eight months hence, the legal authority that handles the indivdual in question; whose custody he's in, admits, submits and says, the boy has been affected by the now eight months of incarceration and is well changed. Not the same!
Well on the way to Rehabilitation!

Mos Def for Black August speaks to American Criminal Justice Systems in NY,NY.

'Jena Six' defendant's criminal history comes to light; bond denied
By Abbey Brown
abrown@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6387


JENA — In addition to Mychal Bell’s recent felony conviction, his criminal history was revealed today to include four other violent crimes.

Because of that, a LaSalle Parish judge denied the 17-year-old bond in his current scrape with the law.

Bell was convicted in June of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit that crime for his part in a Dec. 4 incident at Jena High School that left fellow student Justin Barker unconscious.

Bell is one of six black students, known as the “Jena Six,” who have been charged in connection with the attack on Barker, who is white.

According to court documents, someone hit Barker from behind, knocking him out, and then others began to kick and stomp his “lifeless” body. He spent about three hours in a local emergency room for treatment of injuries to his head and face.

Three months prior to that attack, Bell committed two violent crimes while on probation for a Christmas Day battery in 2005, according to testimony. Later that same week, he led the Jena Giants to a shutout victory in a football game against the Buckeye Panthers.

Bell was adjudicated – the juvenile equivalent to a conviction – of battery on Sept. 2 and criminal damage to property on Sept. 3, said Cynthia Bradford, LaSalle Parish deputy clerk.

A few days later, on Sept. 8, Bell rushed 12 times for 108 yards and scored three touchdowns – one of the best performances of the year for the standout athlete.

Mack Fowler, Jena High’s football coach at the time, said Friday he hadn’t heard about Bell’s specific criminal history.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of these,” Fowler said of the September incidents. “And in a small town like this, you would think I would have heard about it.”

Fowler said that at one point he had a policy in place more severe than the school’s when it came to students with discipline problems. But he said he discovered that while he was punishing his players, the school “wasn’t doing anything” to them.

Fowler said he decided then that he was going to do the same thing the school did – nothing.

The issue of bail
According to Louisiana code, “bail may be allowed” after conviction but before sentencing if the maximum sentence is more than five years’ imprisonment. Bell faces as many as 22½ years.

The code gives an exception of “when the court has reason to believe, based on competent evidence, that the release of the person convicted will pose a danger to any other person or the community.”

LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters pointed out that Bell was placed on probation until his 18th birthday – Jan. 18, 2008 – after an incident of battery on Dec. 25, 2005. After being placed on probation, he was adjudicated of three other crimes, the two in September and another charge of criminal damage to property that occurred on July 25, 2006.

“Mr. Bell has proven he doesn’t deserve bail,” Walters said. “The state suggests that bail should not be allowed.”

Bell’s defense attorney, Louis Scott, pointed out that Bell’s father, Marcus Jones, and a number of area ministers have pledged their support to Bell to keep him on the right path.

Jones testified that he already had scheduled an interview for his son at Holy Savior Menard Central High School in Alexandria to see if Bell could attend there if released on bond. Jones testified that he didn’t move back to Jena until February – after all of the incidents involving his son – but that he was committed to staying here to exercise greater supervision over Bell.

Jones said he had been living in Dallas for the past seven years.

Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr., with the 28th Judicial District Court, went over the factors in Louisiana code used to determine bail, pointing out specifics in Bell’s case:

-- The seriousness of the offense: “It is a serious offense because it is a crime of violence,” he said.

-- The weight of the evidence against the defendant: Mauffray said it was “pretty weighty” considering the jury convicted Bell.

-- The previous criminal record of the defendant: He said a criminal record was obviously present considering that Bell had been adjudicated on three offenses that were committed while he was on probation and then convicted this year in adult court.

-- The nature and seriousness of the danger to any other person or the community that would be posed by the defendant’s release: Again, Mauffray pointed out that Bell now has either been adjudicated or convicted of five crimes of violence.
uWhether the defendant is currently out on bond on a previous felony arrest: He cited Bell’s presence on probation and the fact that there were three other cases – not including the case Bell is currently in jail for – awaiting disposition.

“Past behavior is the best prediction of future behavior,” Mauffray said.

Melissa Bell, Mychal’s mother, grabbed her son’s hand, squeezing hard and began to cry when court was dismissed. With denial of bail, Bell will remain behind bars until the completion of his still-undetermined sentence. He has been behind bars since his December arrest.

A motion hearing is scheduled for Sept. 4. Bell’s attorneys are hoping their client’s adult conviction will be voided and the case remanded to juvenile court. If that motion is denied, attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial based on insufficient defense counsel for Bell among other things.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Town Talk reporter Bob Tompkins contributed to this report.Mos Def for Black August

"Pressed out of measure"2Cor.1:8-------->
The Prophet & Bishop himself.Durban Sept 2001?!


Al Sharpton/sermon

Mychal Bell left Hanging

But Help was on the Way

dateline
August 7, 2007 - September 4th Court Date to consider Motions!!
Motions filed by Mychal Bell's Attorney Louis Scott; could result in the ending of the court battle concerning the Jena Six.

They tried to leave him hanging anyway. The entire little crew. The folks in charge of the system, both the Blacks and the Whites. Here we have the ACLU state person in Jena, Louisiana; attempting to tell the six parents how to handle the defense committee funds, put there for their children; held captive by this unjust politicised-judicial system. What the Jena 6's parents failed to realize, it is impossible to pacify the powers that be and get freedom at the same time.

Here you have organizations of white folks talking about; send us money, we're the ones who developed the grassroots effort in Jena, Louisiana. Here, you have a, so; subtily, subversive, tactic that the local NAACP branch president ALLEDGEDLY blew the state Vice President off because the Louisiana State Conference of the National Association of Colored People, didn't move fast enough. All the while a so-called civil liberties group, ostracizing a black baptist pastor for inviting the Jena Six Defense Committee folk to attend the Church service at least once, as a matter of respect.

Plus, a few weeks ago, Bill Quigley purportedly sent by Tory Pegram, through [she said] state Senator Charles D. Jones; to file motions to fire indigent defender Blane Williams, among other motions; and yet, no certificate of service was filed, meaning the opposing attorneys; the D. A. & Blane Williams weren't notified; rendering the motions of none effect. All the while, Bill Quigley the accomplished civil rights attorney, leaves the country for three weeks. And his second in command, Ms. Fernandez; whom his voicemail said was the next contact person had left the country also, leaving only an administrative assistant to handle the matters at hand.

Needless to say no satisfaction was obtained in the Bill Quigley Fiasco.

In the meantime, up pops Blane Williams and accosted the boy Mychal Bell at LaSalle Correctional Center, and told him; "You can't fire me", as if to further intimidate and threaten a young black boy locked down in a state-side repressive prison system.

And now, today, 30 July 2007, the subversion by the system is still in place. The effects of a systematic approach to dis-embow any black move owned by black folks: the ACLU's Tory Pegram along with King Downing' will attempt to further destroy any semblance of a unified black front.

The article below appeared in the News-Star & The Town Talk this morning. But by 3:26pm the articles were gone, off both sites. HMMMMMMMM.

Convicted Jena student gets beefed up appellate team
July 30, 2007

The Associated Press

MONROE — A group of Monroe defense lawyers has taken on the appeal of a black high school student convicted last month of beating a white student in Jena.

The lawyers will take up the case of Mychal Bell, one of six black high school students known as the Jena six.

Louis Scott, one of the Monroe lawyers, said Bell’s case and trial were fraught with errors.

“Almost always when you have an unfair result, somewhere down the line you had an unfair process,” Scott said.

A six-person, all-white jury found Bell, 17, guilty of second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit second-degree aggravated battery on June 28 for the Dec. 4 assault on Justin Barker.

Bell had been charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit attempted second-degree murder, but prosecutors reduced the charges.

The other five defendants are Theo Shaw, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis and an unnamed juvenile. They are still facing the more serious charges.

Scott said had Bell been charged with battery in the beginning the case never would have been transferred from the juvenile system.

“The juvenile court system was designed to handle such things as school fights and problems and differences that arise in the school system,” Scott said. “It’s based on the realization that many times immature people take immature actions or react in immature ways.”

He also said the trial should have been moved away from Jena because of pretrial publicity.

Bell is scheduled for sentencing in September. JFAL

So, all the while; the help was on the way! And it is still on the Way. More help. Dr. King kinda help, black & white TOGETHER!! And with no shenanigans.hlr

NAACP Issues Emergency National Resolution on Jena Six

In Its Detroit,Michigan national meeting the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP], promulgated an Emergency National Resolution in the case of the Jena Six Trials, of six black students in Jena, Louisiana. The Regional six State Conferences also issued a Resolution in the Jena Situation.

The National Resolution signed, by Chairman Julian Bond and Interim President Dennis Courtland Hayes, demand an immediate United States Department of Justice investigation into the high bond incarcerations, the charges and the recent suspect trial and conviction of Mychal Bell, who is scheduled for sentencing July 31, 2007.

In other developments:
Concerning Reed Walters. It has been learned that the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled against LaSalle Parish D. A. J. Reed Walters in a suit involving use of his office as a prosecutor inferrring he misused the prosecutorial discretionary authority of his office.

The Resolution from the National Office also states that it would be impossible not to take a stand against the present legal actions in LaSalle Courts, to do so would set a national precedent for such incidents to occur in other courts in the nation's cities. This recognises the Jena Six trials as a significant major occurence in th nation's history. It has also been decided that Harvard Law students will be deployed to assist attorneys with their work. The NAACP will request each defendant's attorney response to the Law Students participation in the trials and legal proceedings. Pertinent Supreme Court Case "State Of Louisiana v. Jason Helou"


The Collateral Episode

The Jena Six


Shotgun Justice


1 Clear Example

Mass Movement Against Wrongful Convictions:Initiated through-Jena Six!

Mychal Bell's father Marcus Jones leaves the LaSalle Parish Courthouse after his son's Conviction!Thursday June 28th 2007





The Jena Six can breathe a sigh of relief, The Reverend Al Sharpton and the New York city based National Action Network is coming to Jena, Louisiana. Just a few moments ago, Rev. Al, interviewing, Marcus Jones on Sharptontalk.net announced that he and his organization is coming to Louisiana. Sharpton was shocked absolutely, at what has occurred in Jena, Louisiana.

Sharpton, asked if there had been any appeals yet, and Jones said; they were seeking for an attorney now to help in the situation. Rev. Al, said as soon as the attorneys' offices open tomorrow, the attorney would be contacted. He [Sharpton] also, on the air stated, the National Action Network would help with defraying attorney costs.

Rev. Sharpton, told Mr. Jones, that he would be obtaining attorney aid, for Mychal Bell, in response to an appeal Jones made stating that his son needs an attorney.

Mr. Jones, brought out about the lack of defense by the court-appointed lawyer. He also brought out, the defense attorney had placed he and Mychal Bell's mother, Melissa Bell on the witness list, which Judge J. P. Mauffray of the 28th Judicial District enforced a gag order, baring the mother and father of Mychal Bell from the court room; they were never called as witnesses.

The Rev. Raymond Brown Chapter Chairman of the New Orleans Branch of the National Action Network, also took part in the interview, and announced a "mass gathering of national proportions" in Jena. Lafayette activist Khadijah Rashad, spoke also of how individuals were tear gassed after a rally on Friday June 29th, after the latest rally in Jena. She stated a plane flew over and gassed people after the rally. Rashad also cited about the, New Iberia incident where citizens were teargassed last autumn by law enforcement.

We should understand that those in charge of the Judicial process in Louisiana are as much responsible for this travesty as any; especially DA Reed Walters, Judge Mauffray. Blane Williams is a pawn in this injustice. Ultimately, all of these individuals are subject to the Louisiana Supreme Court's various entities. We should understand that lawyers are dis-barred by the La. Supreme Court. Judges are investigated by the La. Supreme Court's Judiciary Commission. - - Would it not be the Louisiana Attorney General's duty to deal with a prosecutor's & District Attorneys.
Bell's parents
So, the Mass Movement Against Wrongful Convictions has begun. Others in Louisiana, such as Michael Jarvis Cobb are caught up in this web of judicatory prowess against the poor and blacks specifically. Now, that national attention has focused on the Louisiana Justice System, it is time to bring to task to the full, the mechanisms that destroy us, in this judicial process. Cobb was convicted of rapes of three white women and sentenced to 349 years in February 2005. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Baton Rouge denied Cobbs appeal June 26th 2006. The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear a writ earlier this year. Cobb is a prisoner in Angola State Prison. There was not a DNA match. Cobb confessed, under duress. That family has continued to secure his release. The "Jena Six" Trials, have given new life to the push against Wrongful Convictions in Louisiana and America.

For the families of persons with similar occurences of like manner, this is the time to come together. We have asked for a convening in Jena, Louisiana to deal with these issues in Louisiana. The boys of Jena are; Mychal Bell, Bryant Purvis, Carwin Jones, Theodore Shaw and the "so-called" un-named juvenile; plus another black 18 year old only charged with the shotgun incident at the Gotta Go Convenience store. Mychal Bell's sentencing is scheduled for July 31st. It's in the peoples' hands now! hlr


The Jena 6 - Six Students Facing 20 Years In Prison

A "Plea" for Justice!?:The Infamy Continues

It must be said, that Jena has become a "flashpoint" for the upheavel in American society. Eventhough a klansman has been convicted in Jackson, Ms., this MONTH, the vestiges of racism are ripe, as the nooses in the school's tree attest. These same vestiges were announced from the Supreme Court this MONTH. At this very moment the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP is marching from the Governor's mansion to the Louisiana Capitol [the Dept of Education] on BESE[Board of Elementary & Secondary Education].

It is however, ironic that as LEAP is protested in Baton Rouge, the US Supreme Court in D. C., has begun its attempt to dismantle Brown v. Board of Education. Before Brown, their had been no "law" or legal standing against seperate facilities enforced. That, coupled with Plessy v. Ferguson's undoing, by the billy clubs and klan killings from immediately before "Bloody Sunday" to Memphis 1968; the "moral depravity of overt racism was buried, but not dead." And so, the lunch counters and the retail establishments opened up; housing and voting and, 1970's consent decrees; and private schools and "white flight", and the breeding ground for a covert festering suspicious racism. A morally corrupt "stealth racism" based in the South and propagated by The American Judicial Process.

This process, nationwide emanates from 400 Royal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the Louisiana Supreme Court sits. The place[400 Royal] where Louis A. Martinet & a select New Orlean's group planned the Plessy rail car protest, evolving into a suit, that went to the US Supreme Court; is [Louisiana Supreme Court]practicing judicial voodoo.-hlr
- - - -
[reader comment thetowntalk.com]
Race! I don't care whether this is about race or not, this has gone to far and the punishment is way too harsh. These are children, YES, they need to learn to treat each other better but not by sending them to jail for the next 20 years or longer. I'm white, my son is white, he was jumped by 4 white boys, they broke his jaw, plus some other injuries. The justice? Those children didn't end up in prision, they paid all the hospital bills. I just don't undertsand sending these children to jail where their lives will be forever ruined by this. My heart and prayers and with all those involved!

Posted by: Dawn on Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:12 am
thetowntalk.com comment forum on "Jena Six"


Crowd of 30 in Jena says conviction was a ‘miscarriage of justice’
By Abbey Brown
abrown@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6387

JENA -- The mood Friday morning on the lawn of the LaSalle Parish Courthouse was far from somber as a group of close to 30 shouted "No justice, no peace."

Less than 24 hours after the conviction of Mychal Bell, the first of the "Jena Six" to face trial, supporters of the six black students said they aren't giving up

"You have to confront injustice," said the Rev. Raymond Brown, with the National Action Network. "This was a total and complete miscarriage of justice."

Throughout the rally, speakers gestured toward the courthouse using such words as "distressing," "unethical" and "battle." This was the same courthouse where an all-white jury convicted Bell, 17, of crimes that could put him in jail until he is almost 40.
District Attorney Reed Walters initially charged Bell and the others with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit that crime in connection with a Dec. 4 attack at Jena High School on white student Justin Barker that left him unconscious. Only Bell's charges were reduced, and that happened without explanation Monday.

The attack and subsequent arrests of the teens have made headlines from Chicago to China and have been held up as the culmination of racial unrest in Jena.

"I've seen a lot of trials in my time," said Alan Bean, with the Texas-based Friends of Justice. "... And I have never seen a more distressing miscarriage of justice than what happened in LaSalle Parish yesterday."

Local supporters stressed they aren't done trying to get the charges dropped against all of the students and get Bell's conviction overturned.

"We're going to do whatever it takes from this day forward to fight... not just for these six," said Catrina Wallace, secretary of the LaSalle Parish chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "There's six more coming after this. And six more coming after that. They keep coming."

She said race doesn't matter -- black or white, "everybody knows right from wrong" and needs to stick together.

Caseptla Bailey, mother of Robert Bailey Jr., sent a plea out to national organizations and agencies such as the NAACP, U.S. and Louisiana Attorney General's offices, Gov. Kathleen Blanco and President George W. Bush to right the wrong that she said was done in allowing an all-white jury to convict Bell.

"We're not surprised, but we're highly upset about the outcome of the trial on yesterday," she said.

Included on the list of demands Bailey read during the rally were: that all of the charges be dropped against the students; that the six students receive their credits back from the school; that nothing from the incident be included in juvenile crime records; that an investigation be made into the nooses found hanging at the school in September; and that an investigation be made of Walters and alleged unethical behavior.

Herbert McCoy pleaded with those present to help raise the money to bail out his cousin, Theo Shaw, who is still jailed in lieu of $90,000 bond. He also was scheduled to face trial last week, but his case was continued without a date set.

McCoy said he and those with the Jena Six Defense Committee have raised about $49,000 in property so far for the bond.

"We want this child out of jail today," he said in his plea. "We want him out of there now."

While speaking to the gathered crowd, McCoy became emotional, raising his fist toward the courthouse.

"Reed Walters, the battle is on," he shouted. "... My brothers and sisters in Jena, you better get out of your houses. You better come out and defend your children ... because they are incarcerating them by the thousands. Jena's not the beginning, but Jena has crossed the line."

Khadijah Rashad of Lafayette described what happened to Bell on Thursday as a "modern-day lynching."

"We've got to fight force with force," Rashad said.

The Rev. Brown said the families of the Jena Six need to continue to stay strong.

"I'm afraid after the outcome of this trial that some of the defendants are planning on agreeing to a plea bargain," he said. "That would harm the struggle. They would leave themselves open to great harm with appeals and post-conviction relief."

Brown is hopeful the next case will be handled differently.

"What happened was a slap in the face to the civil rights movement," he said. "It proves that racism and jury fixing is alive and well in the Southern states, especially Louisiana."

But many in the community were quick to point out that although it was an all-white jury, there were minorities that were called to serve but weren't in court that day.

Because the database that creates the jury pool doesn't have a record of race, the number of each race called for jury duty isn't known.

"It was a fair trial," Harold Stevens said. "I think if you done the crime, you should be paying for it. I think the others involved should be punished too."

Stevens, who has lived in Jena his entire 87 years, said the incident at the high school and subsequent attention garnered is the "worst thing to happen in Jena in a long time."

"There's been a real good relationship between the blacks and whites for many, many years," he said. "I think it is still going to be that way once things get back to normal."

But that's what McCoy is afraid of. He said normal for the Jena justice system is to convict on "trumped-up charges."

"Justice is not right when you put on the wrong charges and then convict," he said. "... I believe in justice. I believe in the point of the law. I believe in accepting of the punishment. If I'm guilty, convict me and punish me, but if I'm innocent, no justice."

"No peace!" the crowd shouted.

Mass Movement needed against Wrongful Convictions

Nina Morrison, James Waller Dallas, Tx exoneree & Barry C. Scheck of Innocence Project and Jeff Blackburn

Video Jena Trial Conviction June 28, 2007

"What prisoner would want their brother, sister, cousin, nephew or neice, or friend behind bars?" And what if the person was incarcerated wrongly? What if that close relationed person were WRONGFULLY CONVICTED? Yet, untold many are in prisons across America. Wrongly. The quotes is the quesition, that is posed to prisoners, they know who belongs & who sticks out as being in the wrong place.

The Innocence Project counts 200 plus citizens have been exonerated, from a wrongly convicted sentence.

We [the Nation] need a national movement to affect the personal consciouses of Americans for the Wrongfully Convicted. A national movement to stop wrongful arrests and incarcerations. Why? It is immoral.

Therefore, we are asking the Innocence Project of New York and The Innocence Network, the Center on Wrongful Convictions and The Louisiana Capital Assistance Center to intervene in American history with your resources and contacts in academia to begin a "mass movement" in the United States Prison System and the Judicial process.

In addition, a request is being made to The Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama in Montgomery, because of the History associated with Montgomery. This is a HUMAN RIGHTS issue. It is immoral.

We ask interested parties to begin to prepare for " a mass prison contact ". The belief is, that if prisoners themselves, would on behalf of the wrongfully convicted; write the U. S. Justice Department, first; to solicit its inquiry into this situation it [DoJ] would have to act. Secondly, after this is completed in all 50 states prisons, the prison population write the United States House & Senate Judiciary Committees to implore their immediate investigation of wrongful convictions, incarcerations and arrests.

The organizations mentioned are being asked to make the initial prison contacts, to open the channels in the prison hierarchy, such that the correspondence would flow undeterred. From every prison in the United States, the prisoners themselves know who does and does not belong in the system.

National Movement Against Wrongful ConvictionsJena Trial Conviction

Louisiana:Reeling-"In the Undertow" as the Infamy Reigns

House moves to Oust Jefferson, the first black Louisiana Congressman since Reconstruction. Committee Votes Overwhelming on two seperate actions! A precedent may be set if the Congressman's removal is voted for by the full House before guilt is adjudicated.
Barack Obama in Hampton, Virginia warns of "Quiet Riots"
Emancipation Oak
As Congressman William Jefferson is indicted in Alexandria, Virginia; fate would have it that Senator Barack Obama would be speaking at Hampton University in Virgina in the shadows of the Emancipation Oak. That, he [Obama] would reference New Orleans and the Bush Administration failures is no coincidence, however. Partisanship is on the attack! In May, as Alberto Gonzales was being grilled by House & Senate Committees Republican Senator John Sensenbrenner unleashed a partisan ployed demand for the Attorney General to expedite the Jefferson indictment.hlr

updated 10 June 2007 hlr
Jefferson says he’s innocent of charges 'Did I sell my office or trade official acts for money? Absolutely not.'
Congressman fighting allegations of bribery

By GERARD SHIELDS
Advocate Washington bureau
Published: Jun 9, 2007 - Page: 1a

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Speaking to reporters Friday for the first time since his indictment on public corruption charges, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson maintained his innocence after pleading not guilty to 16 counts, including bribery, racketeering and money laundering.

“We are going to fight our hearts out to clear my name,” Jefferson said in a news conference outside the federal courthouse here.

Prosecutors accuse Jefferson of using his influence as co-chairman of the congressional Africa Investment and Trade Caucus to broker deals in various African nations, and of demanding kickbacks for himself and for family members.

The indictment, issued Monday, says Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions of dollars more between 2000 and 2005.

After his formal arraignment before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, the New Orleans Democrat made a statement before a horde of media and a bank of cameras. Standing under a statue of Lady Justice, Jefferson accused the federal government of persecuting him and his family.

The Harvard-educated attorney also hinted at his likely defense: that he was acting as a private businessman in representing American companies referred to in his 94-page indictment that were trying to do business in Africa.

In return, the companies allegedly paid money to companies led by Jefferson family members. Jefferson was also accused of demanding shares of stock from the companies. Prosecutors accused Jefferson of failing to disclose any income he received from the business deals, as required by House rules.

The tall and lanky Jefferson appeared at court and at the news conference in his trademark gray suit with a light blue shirt and red tie.

“I know what congressmen can do to help someone: passing legislation that would help a certain industry, securing earmarks and amending tax and trade bills,” Jefferson said at the news conference. “I did none of that.”

Jefferson was freed on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond. He will not have to pay any money but would forfeit the bond should he violate pre-trial requirements that include surrendering his passport to his defense attorney.

Ellis set a trial date of Jan. 16, 2008, after Jefferson’s attorney, Robert Trout, said he will need that much time to prepare for the case, in which Jefferson is accused of collaborating in 11 complex business schemes involving African telecommunications, oil drilling and waste recycling deals.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle said the prosecution will need about four weeks to present its evidence, which includes eight file cabinets of documents and extensive tape recordings.

The judge said he is not likely to grant the government that much time to present its case.

Ellis gave Jefferson permission to travel between Washington and his district, but any international or other national travel must be approved in advance by the judge.

Ellis also ordered Jefferson and his attorney to work out arrangements so Jefferson will not have access to shotguns and rifles in his home. Jefferson told the judge the firearms are used for hunting.

“I’ve been hunting since I was 10-years-old,” Jefferson told Ellis.

Jefferson appeared outside the courtroom holding hands with his wife of 37 years, Andrea, and flanked by his youngest daughter, Akila.

“Did I make mistakes in judgment along the way that I deeply regret? Yes,” Jefferson said. “But did I sell my office or trade official acts for money? Absolutely not.”

Jefferson would not answer a question shouted by a reporter on what he considered mistakes.

Jefferson called the federal charges “contrived” and “misleading.” He painted himself as the victim of a government sting.

According to court records, FBI agents videotaped Jefferson picking up a $100,000 cash bribe in 2005 from an informant in a hotel parking garage. Two days later, FBI agents raided Jefferson’s Washington home and found $90,000 in marked bills in a box in his freezer. Jefferson allegedly was to give the cash to a high-ranking Nigerian official.

Having the money was not illegal, Jefferson said Friday, since he never delivered the alleged bribe.

“The $90,000 was the FBI’s money,” Jefferson said. “The FBI gave it to me as part of their plan that I would give it to the Nigerian vice president, but I did not do that.”

Jefferson family members have been implicated in the dealings. His wife headed a consulting company that allegedly received money from companies Jefferson tried to help, prosecutors said. His wife has not been charged with a crime in this case.

Jefferson spelled out the extensive education background of his wife and five daughters.

“Incredibly, we are the same family that the Department of Justice and the FBI would have you believe is a family made up of bribers, racketeers and conspirators,” Jefferson said. “This is not who we are; this is not who I am.”

Earlier in the week, the House voted to send the Jefferson matter to the House Ethics Committee for a formal review. If Jefferson is found guilty of ethics violations, he could be expelled from the chamber.

Ellis also froze $470,000 of Jefferson’s assets on Thursday.

Jefferson acknowledged he faces an uphill challenge against the federal government, which has unlimited resources to prosecute him.

“But I have no doubt that in the most important sense, we have the advantage,” Jefferson said. “The advantage of having right and truth on our side.”
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'I am absolutely innocent'
Jefferson pleads not guilty to 16 charges
Gannett News Service

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — U.S. Rep. William J. Jefferson declared his innocence Friday, pledging he and his family would "sell every stick of furniture in our home" and anything else they own to prove he did not take payoffs to broker business deals in Africa.
"I am absolutely innocent of the charges leveled against me," the Louisiana Democrat said, standing next to his wife and attorneys outside the federal courthouse. "We are going to fight my heart out to clear my name."
Inside a courtroom minutes earlier, Jefferson's lawyer entered a not guilty plea to 16 counts of racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Federal prosecutor Mark Lytle said the government had collected eight file cabinets worth of evidence, as well as extensive tape recordings, in more than two years of investigative work. He estimated the government would need about four weeks to present its case.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III scoffed at the notion, saying that much time would put an unnecessary burden on jurors.

"It's ludicrous. No trial should last that long," he said.

Ellis set a jury trial date for Jan. 16. He then ordered Jefferson, who has a law degree from Harvard and a master's degree in law from Georgetown, to surrender his passport and post a $100,000 bond.

Jefferson was granted unrestricted travel privileges between the Washington area and Louisiana, but he must advise the court when traveling elsewhere. Ellis said he expects most of Jefferson's travel requests will be granted.

Jefferson must also surrender the shotguns and rifles he uses for hunting and keeps in his Louisiana home.

Jefferson is charged with paying bribes to a Nigerian official as well as soliciting bribes for himself and his family. He was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury in a case that included the discovery of $90,000 in the freezer of the congressman's Washington home during FBI raids on his New Orleans and Washington homes Aug. 2, 2005.

Jefferson referred to that cash Friday outside the courthouse.

"The $90,000 was the FBI's money. The FBI gave it to me as part of its plan — part of their plan — that I would give it to the Nigerian vice president, but I did not do that," he said. "When all the facts are understood, I expect to be fully vindicated."

Jefferson said his constituents in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District know he has served them for 17 years "honestly and professionally." That was why he easily won re-election last fall despite a "virtual indictment" in the press, he said.

"I will not be deterred from my duty to serve my constituents back home, in Orleans parish and Jefferson parish, who have faithfully elected me," he said.

But Jefferson, who did not take any questions, also said he made unspecified mistakes in judgments he now deeply regrets.

"Did I sell my office or trade official acts for money? Absolutely not. This case involved purely private business activities and not official acts by me," he said.

Jefferson spoke in detail about his wife and their five daughters, noting their education from Ivy League and other top tier schools. He spoke about the family's pursuit to public service, as well as its patriotism.

"I implore you, the press and the public, to keep an open mind until all the facts are on the table," he said.

If convicted on all counts, Jefferson faces a maximum sentence of 235 years in prison.

Jefferson is the first U.S. official to be charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

On Thursday, the House ethics committee voted to expand its investigation of Jefferson and a federal judge froze his assets.
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The Shackles in the Shadows of History: Slavery Entangled in US Roots! Washington Post Essay published May 29 2007, contains oral history quotes from Louisiana Slave Mary Reynolds.