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Jena 6: Is Mychal Bell's sentence justified?

Is Mychal Bell's sentence justified?

  • Absolutely, every last year of it.

    Votes: 4 30.8%
  • Give him 20 years.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Give him 10 years.

    Votes: 2 15.4%
  • Put him away, but give him some psychiatric treatment.

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Turn him loose.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Give him the death penalty.

    Votes: 3 23.1%
  • Other (specify).

    Votes: 3 23.1%

  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .

ronpaulvoter

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In Jena, LA, Mychal Bell and five other black students brutally beat and nearly killed a white student. Mychal slammed the student's head against a brick wall and then the six of them repeatedly beat him until he was nearly dead.

Mychal was charged with attempted murder and received a stiff sentence that many activists say was too severe. After all, they claim, Mychal was only 17 years old.

According to (black) Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who appeared on a radio talk show, the white student had NOTHING to do with the nooses hung on the tree at the school or any other racist remarks or actions. He was just picked out at random. In addition, Mychal had a violent criminal record as long as his arm. Most major news media have not mentioned this.

In short, if Mychal was turned loose, he would likely continue to be a dangerous criminal for many years to come. If Vick could receive an extremely severe sentence just for killing a dog or two, why should Mychal Bell receive anything less for his vicious attack on an innocent human being?
 
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I have a big problem with sentencing minors as if they were adults. There are extreme cases that justify doing so. This is not one of them.

That said, I find busing people in from across the country to defend 6 boys who savagely beat another boy unbelievable. This event was used to raise political consciousness, IMO. I think the most telling statistic in the whole trial is that 50 jurors showed up out of 100, and 0 were black.

Whatever the result, I will not find myself shedding a tear for Mychal Bell.
 
I think they should be tried as adults. When you ram someones head into a brick wall, your intentions are clear, so an attempted murder charge is warranted.

Even though this was a racially motivated crime ( 6 black kids targeting 1 white kid who had nothing to do with prior incidents ) I don't think hate crime laws should be used, a crime is a crime.

I would like to see all 6 black kids locked up for lengthy sentences.

Upon conviction, they can spend their first several years in a juvenile facility until they turn 18, then transfer them to an adult maximum security facility.

Animals like this should not be allowed to roam free in our society perpetrating crimes against the innocent.
 
Mychal Bell and his partners in crime need to do some time for the assault they committed against the kid they attacked.

However, all of the juviniles in the group need to serve thier sentence(s) in juvenile facilities. Mychal Bell needs to be given a suspended sentence of 15 years in prision, which is suspended as long as he does not commit another crime (minor traffic offenses excepted). Should Bell violate the law again, his sentence should be unsuspended and he should immediately be incarcerated for however many years remain at the time of his offense.

Furthermore, the DA assigned to this case knowingly violated Louisiana law when he tried Mychal Bell as an adult; therefore, the DA must be removed from his position and disbarred IMMEDIATELY.

:shock:
 
Mychal Bell and his partners in crime need to do some time for the assault they committed against the kid they attacked.

However, all of the juviniles in the group need to serve thier sentence(s) in juvenile facilities. Mychal Bell needs to be given a suspended sentence of 15 years in prision, which is suspended as long as he does not commit another crime (minor traffic offenses excepted). Should Bell violate the law again, his sentence should be unsuspended and he should immediately be incarcerated for however many years remain at the time of his offense.

Furthermore, the DA assigned to this case knowingly violated Louisiana law when he tried Mychal Bell as an adult; therefore, the DA must be removed from his position and disbarred IMMEDIATELY.

:shock:

You think the jail time for attempted murder should be suspended?
 
You think the jail time for attempted murder should be suspended?

1.) Bell served 7 months for what he did.
2.) The DA violated Louisiana statutory law when he charged Bell as an adult.
3.) Like it or not ... this case made national news.... and must face the scrutiny attached thereto.

:shock:

As a result of the DA's poor behavior and intentional violation of Louisiana laws regarding who can be charged as an adult; and because another group of kids did the same thing and were charged with a misdemeanor offense; there is no other viable option at this time.

The DA's failure to do his job has cost the victim in Bell's case any shot at justice.

:doh
 
I have a big problem with sentencing minors as if they were adults. There are extreme cases that justify doing so. This is not one of them.

He was already on juvenile probation, 2 of them, for previous assults. Charging him as an adult was perfecting reasonable and should not have been reversed.
 
Mychal Bell needs to be given a suspended sentence of 15 years in prision, which is suspended as long as he does not commit another crime (minor traffic offenses excepted).

He was already on probation for previous assaults.

Should Bell violate the law again, his sentence should be unsuspended and he should immediately be incarcerated for however many years remain at the time of his offense.

That's what should be happening now, but due to the protest the court reversed that.

Furthermore, the DA assigned to this case knowingly violated Louisiana law when he tried Mychal Bell as an adult; therefore, the DA must be removed from his position and disbarred IMMEDIATELY.

He did exactly as he should have done.
 
He was already on juvenile probation, 2 of them, for previous assults. Charging him as an adult was perfecting reasonable and should not have been reversed.

Stinger,

Louisana statute prohibited charging Bell as an adult; however, a corrupt DA ignored that statute and charged Bell as an adult anyway. Therefore, the DA is a criminal and the charges had to be dropped as a matter of law.
 
He did exactly as he should have done.

The DA violated Louisana Statutory law when he tried Bell as an adult. Therfore, the DA MUST be removed from office and immediately disbarred.

:doh
 
Louisiana has specific laws on what SPECIFIC crimes can have a juvenile charged as an adult.

Attempted murder is one of those crimes. That is the REAL reason why he was charged with attempted murder initially is to get him charged as an adult.
Assault is NOT one of those crimes.

When they dropped the charges from "attempted murder" to "assault", they should have dropped the attempt to charge him as an adult.
It's like selling a BMW and a used Ford, where the BMW comes with a coupon for five free oil changes.
If the customer changes his mind from the BMW to the used Ford, he can't still claim the coupon.
Likewise, when they dropped the attempted murder charges, they could not BY LOUISIANA LAW charge him as an adult.

You don't like it?
Change the law.
;)


As for "attempted murder", the victim was in an out of the hospital within a few hours.
He was ganged up against by a ratio of 6 to 1, and he was OUT OF THE HOSPITAL in a matter of hours.
He was KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS, which demonstrates to me that if they had wanted to kill him, they very well could have easily killed him.

Again, BY LAW, to charge a person with "attempted murder" you have to show that the assailant INTENDED MURDER.
Not just that the beating was very severe, but rather the MOTIVE was for MURDER.

They had no grounds for charging attempted murder because there is no evidence that murder was intended.


Now, as for this kid's sentence, lock him up.
He should serve the time he got on the assault charge.
The crime was heinous, and none of the above is intended to detract from that fact.
I really don't get this "Free the Jena 6" crap, even from the basis of their arguments.
If OTHER WHITE PEOPLE were guilty, then they should go to jail.
The idea that somebody should go free just because another person deserved jail and didn't go to jail is insane.
 
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Stinger,

Louisana statute prohibited charging Bell as an adult; however, a corrupt DA ignored that statute and charged Bell as an adult anyway.

Yes and as I said he was already on probation he SHOULD be tried as an adult, he won't because of a legal technicality. Of course the irony is he will probably serve more time now than had he kept the adult conviction, he just won't have a felony on his record as an adult, which he should.

Therefore, the DA is a criminal and the charges had to be dropped as a matter of law.
Oh cease the hyperbole.
 
In Jena, LA, Mychal Bell and five other black students brutally beat and nearly killed a white student. Mychal slammed the student's head against a brick wall and then the six of them repeatedly beat him until he was nearly dead.

Mychal was charged with attempted murder and received a stiff sentence that many activists say was too severe. After all, they claim, Mychal was only 17 years old.

According to (black) Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who appeared on a radio talk show, the white student had NOTHING to do with the nooses hung on the tree at the school or any other racist remarks or actions. He was just picked out at random. In addition, Mychal had a violent criminal record as long as his arm. Most major news media have not mentioned this.

In short, if Mychal was turned loose, he would likely continue to be a dangerous criminal for many years to come. If Vick could receive an extremely severe sentence just for killing a dog or two, why should Mychal Bell receive anything less for his vicious attack on an innocent human being?

if, as rev peterson says, the white student was picked at random and was not responsible for the noose, then it is more racist as he had no connection to the nose
 
1.) Bell served 7 months for what he did.
2.) The DA violated Louisiana statutory law when he charged Bell as an adult.
3.) Like it or not ... this case made national news.... and must face the scrutiny attached thereto.

:shock:

As a result of the DA's poor behavior and intentional violation of Louisiana laws regarding who can be charged as an adult; and because another group of kids did the same thing and were charged with a misdemeanor offense; there is no other viable option at this time.

The DA's failure to do his job has cost the victim in Bell's case any shot at justice.

:doh

im a little late, so maybe this was already covered, but did the DA violate the law when he/she charged the minor as an adult? the minor was 17 and if i am not too much mistaken 16 year olds have been charged as adults in murder cases before. so, whats different this time?
 
I have a big problem with sentencing minors as if they were adults. There are extreme cases that justify doing so. This is not one of them.

That said, I find busing people in from across the country to defend 6 boys who savagely beat another boy unbelievable. This event was used to raise political consciousness, IMO. I think the most telling statistic in the whole trial is that 50 jurors showed up out of 100, and 0 were black.

Whatever the result, I will not find myself shedding a tear for Mychal Bell.

In MANY states, you are charged as an adult at 16 years old by statute.

My state is one of them.

If you can be responsible enough to be trusted to drive a motor vehicle on the public streets, you can be deemed as responsible as an adult for your own actions.

Therefore, I have no problem with him being tried as an adult.
Thats what would happen in North Carolina regardless.
 
In MANY states, you are charged as an adult at 16 years old by statute.

My state is one of them.

If you can be responsible enough to be trusted to drive a motor vehicle on the public streets, you can be deemed as responsible as an adult for your own actions.

Therefore, I have no problem with him being tried as an adult.
Thats what would happen in North Carolina regardless.

Especially with his prior record, that's why it is so absurd that they are putting him on a pedestal with all the Rosa Parks comparison. Imagine what he must be thinking. But the irony is he may do more time because of it.
 
Especially with his prior record, that's why it is so absurd that they are putting him on a pedestal with all the Rosa Parks comparison. Imagine what he must be thinking. But the irony is he may do more time because of it.

Good.
I have no sympathy for the little shithead.
 
I have a big problem with sentencing minors as if they were adults. There are extreme cases that justify doing so. This is not one of them.

This isn't one of them? I don't know ... attempted murder is pretty extreme, if you ask me. :confused:

He was already on juvenile probation, 2 of them, for previous assults. Charging him as an adult was perfect[ly] reasonable and should not have been reversed.



Absolutely! :agree
 
In Jena, LA, Mychal Bell and five other black students brutally beat and nearly killed a white student. Mychal slammed the student's head against a brick wall and then the six of them repeatedly beat him until he was nearly dead.

Do you have a link for the brick wall info, because this is the first time I've heard anything about that. How was the victim nearly beaten to death if he only spent 2 hours in the hospital and was able to attend a school function that same evening?
 
He was already on juvenile probation, 2 of them, for previous assults. Charging him as an adult was perfecting reasonable and should not have been reversed.

I know this, and I can understand the reasoning, I just don't agree with it. Apparently, neither does Louisiana law. I am certainly not defending this kid's actions, or any of his thug friends' actions. My post was not meant as a protest against this kid's unjust treatment, because I see unjust treatment as happening to the victim of their actions. I do not, however, condone trying to punish a minor as if he were an adult when there is a legal distinction made between the two. There are cases where I find that appropriate (premeditated murder, generally). This is not one of them.
 
Promise him a free entertainment center if he accepts a penalty of death and this problem will be over.
 
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