OH-11 Stephanie Tubbs Jones: La. DA Should Reopen Jena 6 Case

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Democrat who served as Cuyahoga County's prosecutor and a judge before entering Congress, said she supports the peaceful civil rights protests "demanding fairness and justice in the case of the Jena 6."

Tubbs Jones represents Cleveland's East Side and is the only black member of Ohio's congressinal delegation. She is national co-chair of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign. Tubbs Jones said the said the racially explosive case of six black high schoolers accused of attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate should be reopened and reexamined to see if the original charges involved bias against blacks in Louisiana's criminal justice system. Tubbs Jones said she wanted to shine a light on the plight of the six.

"While I am pleased that the charges against Mychal Bell have been reduced, justice requires that his incarceration be reexamined. As a former prosecutor and judge, I know that District Attorney Reed Walters is vested with significant discretion, and he is ethically bound to charge a defendant with crimes within the facts.

"In this instance, based up the fact that a court has thrown out the charges against Mychal Bell, he is bound to reexamine the facts and make a determination as to whether the charges are consistent when applied to the law. I call upon my colleague to do just that so the American public, regardless of color, will have faith that there is justice for all people. So today I join all of the concerned citizens across this country and the world demanding fairness and justice in the case of the Jena 6."