Rev. Al Sharpton Visits La. Town Where 6 Black Teens Are Accused Of Beating White Schoolmate

Sunday, August 5th 2007, 2:20 pm

By: News On 6

JENA, La. (AP) _ The Rev. Al Sharpton criticized officials in this racially tense Louisiana town on Sunday, saying the attempted murder charges leveled against six black teens show ``one rule for white kids and one for black kids.''

Sharpton and an entourage of three dozen religious and civil rights leaders met and prayed privately with one of the teens, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, for about 15 minutes at the LaSalle Parish courthouse.

Bell faces up to 22 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second-degree battery. He had initially faced attempted murder charges. Four 18-year-olds and a juvenile _ who round out the group dubbed the Jena Six _ are awaiting trial on attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

``I did not come to Jena to start trouble,'' Sharpton said while preaching at a local church service after the meeting. ``I came to Jena to stop trouble.''

Bell and five other teens were charged in the December 2006 beating of a white schoolmate, 18-year-old Justin Barker. Barker was treated for a swollen and cut face and released the same day, but said he took pain medication for a week.

Black community leaders across the country were outraged, protesting that the attempted murder charges were too harsh.

In comments directed at District Attorney Reed Walters, who is prosecuting the Jena Six, Sharpton said, ``You can't sit in the courthouse and have one rule for white kids and one for black kids.''

Jena, a town of 3,000, is mostly white with about 350 black residents. Residents said race relations have escalated because of events at Jena High School.

Last year, the morning after a black student sat under a tree on campus where white students traditionally congregated, three nooses _ unmistakable lynching symbols in the old South _ were hung in the tree.

Students accused of placing them were suspended from the school for a short period, and tensions increased.

Then on Dec. 4, six black students were accused of jumping Barker and beating and kicking him. A motive for the attack was never established.

``You cannot have two levels of justice,'' Sharpton said Sunday. ``Some boys assault people and are charged with nothing. Some boys hang nooses and finish the school year. And some boys are charged with attempted murder.''