Charges Reduced Against One of "Jena 6" Teens


 

JENA La.

The last of six Black teens to be arraigned in the beating of a White
high school student pleaded not guilty Wednesday to reduced charges.

 

Bryant Purvis, 18, who had initially been charged with attempted
second-degree murder, was charged with second-degree aggravated battery
and conspiracy in a court hearing that lasted just minutes.

Purvis is set to stand trial as an adult in March 2008. If convicted, he
could be imprisoned for up to 22 years.

 

The six teens, known as the Jena Six, were arrested after a December
2006 attack on a White student, Justin Barker, at Jena High School.
Tensions between Black and White students had been running high for
weeks, with one incident involving placement of a hangman's noose in a
tree on campus. A noose is a hated symbol among Southern Blacks who view
it as a harassing reminder of lynchings in the past.

 

The case drew national attention, with civil rights leaders decrying the
severity of the charges against the teens. The injuries to the White
student were not considered life-threatening.

 

In September, the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson led one of the
largest civil rights demonstrations in years as an estimated 20,000
people marched through the streets of this northeast Louisiana town of
about 3,000 residents.

 

So far, Mychal Bell is the only one of the Jena Six to stand trial. He
was convicted in June of aggravated second-degree battery and
conspiracy. The convictions were later overturned and the case sent to
juvenile court.

 

Bell, now 17, was ordered to jail last month for a probation violation
in an unrelated juvenile court case.

 

Purvis' lawyer, Darrell Hickman, said Purvis was "30 feet away from the
melee when it took place" and that the charges against Purvis should be
dismissed. If they aren't, Hickman said he will seek a change of venue
because of the intense emotions and attention tied to the case in Jena.

 

Now a senior attending classes in Texas, Purvis said he's concentrating
on his studies and basketball, and hopes to attend college.

 

--Associated Press

 

 

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