IN THE NEWS: Mychal Bell is Back in Jail Today!

So-called “Jena 6” defendant, Mychal Bell, was ordered back to jail for 18 months. The judge, who ordered Bell to a juvenile facility, said that Mychal Bell’s participation in a school-yard fight was a violation of his parole on a previous juvenile conviction.

This 18-month sentence has nothing to do with the pending legal matter of Bell and 5 other youths being accused of jumping a White classmate, following nooses being hung in a school yard by White students. Any conviction/sentence in that case would be in addition to this penalty.

There seems to be strong determination—in the face of a major protest and a nationwide call for equality in the Jena judicial system—to keep Mychal Bell incarcerated for as long as humanly possible. The signal being sent is that Mychal Bell will have to kiss his teenage years goodbye.

All people are asking for is equality. This issue is going to demand more action and a larger spotlight being shined on Jena, Louisiana and its criminal justice system.