
Atticus Chaos
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Tuesday 03 July 2007 All white jury sitting before white judge agrees with white prosecutor and all white witnesses and convicts black youth in racially charged high school criminal case. In a small, still mostly segregated, section of rural Louisiana, an all white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial of a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by black students. The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to black students sitting under the "white tree" at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree. The white jury and white prosecutor and all white supporters of the white victim were all on one side of the courtroom. The black defendant, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, and his supporters were on the other. The jury quickly convicted Mychal Bell of two felonies - aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bell, who was a 16-year-old sophomore football star at the time he was arrested, faces up to 22 years in prison. Five other black youths await similar trials on second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy charges. Yes, you read that correctly. The rest of the story, which is being reported across the world in papers in China, France and England, is just as chilling. The trouble started under "the white tree" in front of Jena High School. The "white tree" is where the white students, 80 percent of the student body, would always sit during school breaks. In September 2006, a black student at Jena high school asked permission from school administrators to sit under the "white tree." School officials advised them to sit wherever they wanted. They did. The next day, three nooses, in the school colors, were hanging from the "white tree." The message was clear. "Those nooses meant the KKK, they meant 'Niggers, we're going to kill you, we're going to hang you till you die,'" Casteptla Bailey, a mother of one of the students, told the London Observer. The Jena high school principal found that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The white superintendent of schools over-ruled the principal and gave the students a three-day suspension saying the nooses were just a youthful stunt. "Adolescents play pranks," the superintendent told the Chicago Tribune, "I don't think it was a threat against anybody." The African-American community was hurt and upset. "Hanging those nooses was a hate crime, plain and simple," according to Tracy Bowens, a mother of students at Jena High. But blacks in this area of Louisiana have little political power. The ten-person, all-male government of the parish has one African-American member. The nine-member, all-male school board has one African-American member. (A person called the local school board trying to find out the racial makeup of the school board, and was told there was one "colored" member of the board). There is one black police officer in Jena and two black public school teachers. Jena, with a population of less than 3000, is the largest town in and parish (county) seat of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. There are about 350 African-Americans in the town. LaSalle has a population of just over 14,000 people - 12 percent African-American. This is solid Bush and David Duke Country - GWB won LaSalle Parish 4 to 1 in the last two elections; Duke carried a majority of the white vote when he ran for Governor of Louisiana. Families earn about 60 percent of the national average. The Census Bureau reports that less than 10 percent of the businesses in LaSalle Parish are black owned. Jena is the site of the infamous Juvenile Correctional Center for Youth that was forced to close its doors in 2000, only two years after opening, due to widespread brutality and racism including the choking of juveniles by guards after a youth met with a lawyer. The US Department of Justice sued the private prison amid complaints that guards paid inmates to fight each other and laughed when teens tried to commit suicide. Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the "white tree" at the school to protest the light suspensions given to the noose-hanging white students. The white district attorney then came to Jena High with law-enforcement officers to address a school assembly. According to testimony in a later motion in court, the DA reportedly threatened the black protesting students saying that if they didn't stop making a fuss about this "innocent prank", "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen." The school was put on lockdown for the rest of the week. Racial tensions remained high throughout the fall. On the night of Thursday November 30, 2006, a still-unsolved fire burned down the main academic building of Jena High School. On Friday night, December 1, a black student who showed up at a white party was beaten by whites. On Saturday, December 2, a young white man pulled out a shotgun in a confrontation with young black men at the Gotta Go convenience store outside Jena before the men wrestled it away from him. The black men who took the shotgun away were later arrested; no charges were filed against the white man. On Monday, December 4, at Jena High, a white student - who allegedly had been making racial taunts, including calling African-American students "niggers" while supporting the students who hung the nooses and who beat up the black student at the off-campus party - was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. The white victim was taken to the hospital treated and released. He attended a social function that evening. Six black Jena students were arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. All six were expelled from school. The six charged were: 17-year-old Robert Bailey Junior whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones - bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis - bail $70,000; 16-year-old Mychal Bell, a sophomore in high school who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified minor. Many of the young men, who came to be known as the Jena Six, stayed in jail for months. Few families could afford bond or private attorneys. Mychal Bell remained in jail from December 2006 until his trial because his family was unable to post the $90,000 bond. Theo Shaw has also remained in jail. Several of the other defendants remained in jail for months until their families could raise sufficient money to put up bonds. The Chicago Tribune wrote a powerful story headlined "Racial Demons Rear Heads." The London Observer wrote: "Jena is gaining national notoriety as an example of the new 'stealth' racism, showing how lightly sleep the demons of racial prejudice in America's Deep South, even in the year that a black man, Barak Obama, is a serious candidate for the White House." The British Broadcasting Company aired a TV special report titled "Race Hate in Louisiana 2007." The Jena Six and their families were put under substantial pressure to plead guilty. Mychal Bell was reported to have been leaning towards pleading guilty right up until his trial when he decided he would not plead guilty to a felony. When it finally came, the trial of Mychal Bell was swift. Bell was represented by an appointed public defender. On the morning of the trial, the DA reduced the charges from second-degree attempted murder to second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy. Aggravated battery in Louisiana law demands the attack be with a dangerous weapon. The dangerous weapon? The prosecutor was allowed to argue to the jury that the tennis shoes worn by Bell could be considered a dangerous weapon used by "the gang of black boys" who beat the white victim. Most shocking of all, when the pool of potential jurors was summoned, fifty people appeared - every single one white. The LaSalle Parish clerk defended the all white group to the Alexandria Louisiana Town Talk newspaper saying that the jury pool was selected by computer. "The venire [panel of prospective jurors] is color-blind. The idea is for the list to truly reflect the racial makeup of the community, but the system does not take race into factor." Officials said they had summoned 150 people, but these were the only people who showed up. The all-white jury which was finally chosen included two people friendly with the district attorney, a relative of one of the witnesses and several others who were friends of prosecution witnesses. Bell's parents, Melissa Bell and Marcus Jones, were not even allowed to attend the trial despite their objections, because they were listed as potential witnesses. The white victim, though a witness, was allowed to stay in the courtroom. The parents, who had been widely quoted in the media as critics of the process, were also told they could no longer speak to the media as long as the trial was in session. Marcus Jones had told the media, "It's all about those nooses" and declared the charges racially motivated. Other supporters who planned a demonstration in support of Bell were ordered by the court not to do go near the courthouse or anywhere the judge would see them. The prosecutor called 17 witnesses - 11 white students, three white teachers and two white nurses. Some said they saw Bell kick the victim, others said they did not see him do anything. The white victim testified that he did not know if Bell hit him or not. The Chicago Tribune reported the public defender did not challenge the all-white jury pool, put on no evidence and called no witnesses. The public defender told the Alexandria Town Talk, after resting his case without calling any witnesses, he knew he would be second-guessed by many, but was confident that the jury would return a verdict of not guilty. "I don't believe race is an issue in this trial. I think I have a fair and impartial jury" The jury deliberated for less than three hours and found Mychal Bell guilty on the maximum possible charges of second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy. He faces up to a maximum of 22 years in prison. The public defender told the press afterwards, "I feel I put on the best defense that I could." Responding to criticism of not putting on any witnesses, the attorney said "why open the door for further accusations? I did the best I could for my client, Mychal Bell." At a rally in front of the courthouse the next day, Alan Bean, a Texas minister and leader of the Friends of Justice, said: "I have seen a lot of trials in my time. And I have never seen a more distressing miscarriage of justice than what happened in LaSalle Parish yesterday." Khadijah Rashad of Lafayette Louisiana described the trial as a "modern day lynching." Tory Pegram with the Louisiana ACLU has been working with the parents for months. "People know if they don't demand equal treatment now, they will never get it. People's jobs and livelihoods have been threatened for attending Jena Six Defense meetings, but people are willing to risk that. One person told me: 'We have to convince more people to come rally with us ... What's the worst that could happen? They fire us from our jobs? We have the worst jobs in the town anyway. They burn a cross on our lawns or burn down my house? All of that has happened to us before. We have to keep speaking out to make sure it doesn't happen to us again, or our children will never be safe.'" Whites in the community were adamant that there is no racism. "We don't have a problem," according to one. Other locals told the media, "We all get along," and "most blacks are happy with the way things are." One person even said, "We don't have many problems with our blacks." Melvin Worthington, the lone African-American school board member in LaSalle Parish, said it all could have been avoided. "There's no doubt about it," he told the Chicago Tribune, "whites and blacks are treated differently here. The white kids should have gotten more punishment for hanging those nooses. If they had, all the stuff that followed could have been avoided." Hebert McCoy, a relative of one of the youths who has been trying to raise money for bail and lawyers, challenged people everywhere at the end of the rally when he said: "You better get out of your houses. You better come out and defend your children - because they are incarcerating them by the thousands. Jena's not the beginning, but Jena has crossed the line. Justice is not right when you put on the wrong charges and then convict. I believe in justice. I believe in the point of law. I believe in accepting the punishment if I'm guilty. If I'm guilty, convict me and punishment, but if I'm innocent, no justice." The crowd joined with him and shouted, "No peace!" What happened to the white guys? The white victim of the beating was later arrested for bringing a hunting rifle loaded with 13 bullets onto the high school campus and released on $5000 bond. The white man who beat up the black youth at the off-campus party was arrested and charged with simple battery. The white students who hung up the nooses in the "white tree" were never charged. Since the arrests, a group of family members have been holding well-attended meetings, and have created a defense fund- The Jena Six Defense Committee. They have received support from the NAACP, the Louisiana ACLU and Friends of Justice. For more information: The Jena Six Defense Committee, PO Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342 [email protected]; Friends of Justice, 507 North Donley Avenue, Tulia, TX 79088 www.fojtulia.org; or the ACLU of Louisiana, PO Box 56157, New Orleans, LA 70156 www.laaclu.org or 417-350-0536. What is next? The rest of the Jena Six await similar trials. Theodore Shaw is due to go on trial shortly. Mychal Bell is scheduled to be sentenced July 31. If he gets the maximum sentence he will not be out of prison until he is nearly 40. Meanwhile, the "white tree" outside Jena High sits quietly in the hot sun. -Bill Quigly truthout report
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WWE General Discussion for July 2007
Atticus Chaos replied to Hunter's Torn Quad's topic in The WWE Folder
In the latest f4w Alvarez says Vince isn't stepping down anytime soon. -
6 out of the 8 suspects arrested are doctors who immigrated over here, and the other two are connected to the NHS. This is surprising as you can imagine. One theory is that Al-Qaida know that Britain, because of the shortage of homegrown doctors, have been recruiting fro all over the world. So, they're using it as a way to sneak in extremists.
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Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
lol man that is an understatement. Can they argue he came up with some elaborate way to cheat it? -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
So, if Daniel didn't have a medical condition, then Benoit didn't kill him out of fear he wouldn't be taken care of properly. So, why did he do it? -
WWE General Discussion for July 2007
Atticus Chaos replied to Hunter's Torn Quad's topic in The WWE Folder
Wannabe divas latest myspace blog from July 2nd: WWE Wrestling *Why I think I will make a good wrestler!!! I'm a former gymnast fitness instructor and trampolinist and love training down the gym 5-6 times a week, I'm a very bubbly person with a big personality and love for life. I love a challenge, being bossy, I don't take no sh*t and I like to get my hands dirty and be hands on involved.(at least i'm being honest about the "I like being bossy" bit. lol) I'm totally inspired by a lot of the Diva's style and personality's I'm intrigued watching all there wrestling performances (Throwing other divas about, the somersaults , splits and even the acting), I can do all this, lol. I'm fascinated and now would love to learn and give it a try. My inspiration lies with Ashley, Christie, Trish, Victoria and Torrie. I met Hulk Hogen recently in Miami and I asked him several questions on wrestling, fitness and nutrition. He's a legend... I have total respect for him. Just waiting for my turn, I have new pics on here which I added today and you can see my new fitness body, I've trained hard the past 6 months and I've managed to lose weight of my muscles and tone up all over and completely change the shape of my body to a more fitness look... Louise Glover. x -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
The thing about him wanting to punish himself with the most painful death possible makes me wonder how insane he actually was. People are comforting themselves with the thought that he wasn't in his right mind, but he obviously knew he had done something wrong. He wasn't some delusional religious freak who thought he had done a good deed. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
I think Orton just wanted to pay tribute to Benoit but also reflect his own shock at how things went down. At least he's not on the "rot in hell Benoit!" bandwagon. I doubt many in wwe are, even though vince is trying to erase his existence. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
It depends how much chavo knew. If he just knew Benoit was depressed, then he doesn't shoulder any of the blame because how could he possibly know Benoit would go off the deep end like that? However, if he knew about Benoit's more crazier behaviour (thinking someone was following him, not letting Nancy out at night) then he was duty bound to say something. Anyway, who did tell Meltzer about Benoit's paranoid behaviour? And why didn't they speak up sooner? I know if my friend was acting extremely paranoid and thought someone was following them without any proof whatsoever, I would get them help whether they liked it or not. Too late now. -
Also, you'll have heard, 2 terrorists drove a burning jeep into Glasgow airport (they got a little past the door)in what officials believe is an attack linked with yesterday's attempted bomings. A passerby injured his leg in the attack but that was the only casualty, fortunately. In fact the one person who was seriously injured was one of the terrorists, currently in hospital with severe burns. Both men have been arrested. See, what I mean about us having the most useless terrorists? Jack Bauer could deal with these idiots in his lunch break. In respone to the above post: the airport security will be high, obviously. But you might be okay.
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Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
Is Meltzer saying Vince knew before the show started? If anyone knew first, it would be him. But then why is he going to let his daughter and son in law look like fools by airing them paying tribute to a murderer? -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
Some notes from the new Observer. -Dave confirmed he used a form of the Crippler Crossface on Daniel. This is interesting since Bryan was adamant that the story was bullshit. Apparently investigators found marks on the boys arm and neck that they didn't understand and upon watching a tape of a Benoit match and seeing the move it made sense. They just said it was a "choke" as to not further sensationalize an already sensationalized story -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
Austin is 500 pounds? -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
I'm not sure many wwe wrestlers will be on there. Obviously,due to the wwe wellness policy they need steriod prescriptions from their own doctors, and they can't use internet prescriptions, and most guys go to their locals doctors...so are the guys that live in Atlanta likely to be the only ones named? -
Lately London has been the victim of several incompetent terrorists though. 2 weeks after the 7/7 bombings, another group tried to stage 4 suicide bombings on london trains and buses. However, not one of the bombs managed to go off correctly (only the detonators of the bombs exploded )and thnakfully no one was hurt. Apparently,once the smoke on one of the wannabe suicide bombers bus had cleared, the other passengers noted he looked "very dismayed". Five men now await sentencing for attempted murder and conspiracy. Now, the police speculate that the first car bombing failed because the guy either "bottled it" or couldn't set it off and panicked. I think it's because Britain breeds a lot of homegrown terrorists who, unlike their counterparts in the middle east, don't really know what they're doing.
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Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
LOL. That guy will think twice before he vandals wiki again. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
The "details" of a murder suicide at that time were only speculatory though, weren't they? Investigators only said they were treating the case this way, but it hadn't been officially confirmed that that's what'd happened. Considering nancy was obviously tied up and killed, the child was dead and Benoit was found hanged with an empty wine bottle near by and no signs of a break in, you don't have to be Columbo to figure out what happened and who killed who. The police were probably 99% sure what happened, but had to wait until the autopsies for confirmation. They were as certain as you're allowed to be, and I'm sure WWE were aware of that. So you're saying that they released those details to WWE before they made it public during the press conference the next day? Because that's when the rest of the world found out about the specifics. I have a hard time believing that WWE would go ahead with the tribute if they knew those details. I'm calling bullshit on this one. Vince is a prick but he's not THAT insensitive. They woudn't have to go into details. Just say "We're fairly sure Benoit killed his wife and child and then committed suicide." No, they wouldn't. But none of us were there and all we have is some PWI "hotline" telling us that they knew with 45 minutes left in the 3 hour block of programming. I think that sort of shit is just as bad as the crazies jumping on the roid rage bandwagon and to shut down the WWE. I'm not blaming WWE. I think they were in a difficult decision to start with. But, if I remeber correcty, the knowledge of the police suspecting the double murder suicide hit the net towards the end (maybe half an hour or so to go) of the tribute show. So if people on the net, knew I think there's an excellent chance WWE were aware of what the police thought had happened around the same time or maybe even a little sooner. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
The "details" of a murder suicide at that time were only speculatory though, weren't they? Investigators only said they were treating the case this way, but it hadn't been officially confirmed that that's what'd happened. Considering nancy was obviously tied up and killed, the child was dead and Benoit was found hanged with an empty wine bottle near by and no signs of a break in, you don't have to be Columbo to figure out what happened and who killed who. The police were probably 99% sure what happened, but had to wait until the autopsies for confirmation. They were as certain as you're allowed to be, and I'm sure WWE were aware of that. So you're saying that they released those details to WWE before they made it public during the press conference the next day? Because that's when the rest of the world found out about the specifics. I have a hard time believing that WWE would go ahead with the tribute if they knew those details. I'm calling bullshit on this one. Vince is a prick but he's not THAT insensitive. They woudn't have to go into details. Just say "We're fairly sure Benoit killed his wife and child and then committed suicide." -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
The "details" of a murder suicide at that time were only speculatory though, weren't they? Investigators only said they were treating the case this way, but it hadn't been officially confirmed that that's what'd happened. Considering nancy was obviously tied up and killed, the child was dead and Benoit was found hanged with an empty wine bottle near by and no signs of a break in, you don't have to be Columbo to figure out what happened and who killed who. The police were probably 99% sure what happened, but had to wait until the autopsies for confirmation. They were as certain as you're allowed to be, and I'm sure WWE were aware of that. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
WWE definitely knew about the details of the murder/suicide during the show. They found out with maybe 45 minutes still left in the broadcast and everyone who was still at the show knew. pw insider audio hotline -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
Might be one of those disabilities where you really can't tell much. There are a couple where you really think nothing of it. If he was like 7 and a little small for his age, they might have just shrugged it off as he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet. And they didn't notice the medication he was supposedly taking? And, whether or not Nancy wanted to tell them or not, if they're baby sitting the child on a regular basis, it would have been very irresponsible of her not to tell them in case a medical emergency happened and they didn't know what was wrong. I'm not saying I think the fragile x rumour is 100% BS, but definetly there is reason to doubt it now. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
Again, though, if they're seeing this kid on a day to day basis, like they claim, why didn't they notice? -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
And, bear in mind, while Benoit may have been quiet enough not to say anything to his parents, what reason would Nancy have to keep hers in the dark? I don't see what reason the grandparents have to lie. And since they spent time with Daniel surely, sans Nancy or Chris, they're the most reliable source of info for the child? -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
That's what they're saying. And I only recall that one comment from the woman claming she tried to start a support group with Benoit. I suppose, it's possible he did have it, but his symptoms were milder than in an a lot of cases and they just didn't spot it. Or maybe he was just a rather shy child, so when this fragile x rumour started, lots of people just assumed he was ill. edit: I didn't remember the quote from the kids doctors. Honestly, I'm not sure. But either way, the kid couldn't have been that badly ill if even his own grandparents couldn't see it. So, I don't see it as a main reason as to why Benoit did what he did. -
Chris Benoit Dead - Toxicology results released
Atticus Chaos replied to Human Fly's topic in The WWE Folder
So....what was wrong with him according to them? According to them, nothing. And they claim to have spent a lot of time with the boy so it's not like their going by a once a year visit or anything.