Support for the Jena, Louisiana 6

Floor Speech

SUPPORT FOR THE JENA, LOUISIANA 6 -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 24, 2007)

SPEECH OF HON. KEITH ELLISON OF MINNESOTA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

* Mr. ELLISON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a pressing issue that plagues our Nation, the injustice that is experienced by African-Americans in our criminal justice system. On September 20, 2007, rallies were held across the Nation in honor of what we have come to know as the ``Jena 6.'' The Jena 6 is a group of young African-American men who were charged with attempted murder for a school yard fight with a Caucasian male in Jena, Louisiana.

* Before the school yard fight that put the 6 African American students in jail, 3 Caucasian students hung nooses from a tree on in the school. These students were suspended from school but never were charged with any crime. Another Caucasian student involved in a different school yard fight was charged with battery and was placed on probation.

* Yet, when the Jena 6 were involved in a fight injuring one of the Caucasian students, the 6 high school students were charged with attempted second-degree murder and other serious assault charges.

* Prior to the incident, LaSalle Parish Attorney Reed Walter was quoted as telling students who protested the displays of nooses at their school that they should stop complaining about ``innocent pranks'' and that he could ``end their lives with the stroke of a pen.'' It appears he has attempted to do just this in the case of these 6 students.

* The inflated charges against the Jena 6 could lead to years in prison and a lifetime of trying to rebuild their lives after they are finally released.

* Let me be clear, I do not condone the actions of the Jena 6 in any way; I believe that they should be punished. However, the punishment should fit the actual crime. It is clear that these 6 students were treated differently from their Caucasian counterparts. I can only conclude that the harsher sentences for the Jena 6 appear to be based on the color of their skin and that is why they have become a symbol of the gross racial inequality that exists in our criminal justice system.

* The Jena 6 have brought to light an issue that is of grave concern, people should not be charged with crimes based on the color of their skin, rather, they should be charged based on action and action alone.

* In closing, Madam Speaker, I ask that this Congress not turn a blind eye to the Jena 6. Rather, this Congress should take immediate action to ensure that justice is being equally applied to all Americans and correct the racial disparities that haunt our courtrooms and prisons.

Source