[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPPORT FOR THE JENA, LOUISIANA 6

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 24, 2007

  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.

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