Thousands of protesters have descended on Jena, Louisiana, in the last few days to protest the harsh treatment of the "Jena 6," six black high-school students initiallly charged with attempted murder after jumping a white classmate. It was the culmination of a long history of rising tensions. White students had hung nooses from a school tree earlier and got off with a slap on the wrist.
One of the six, Mychal Bell, is still behind bars, unable to post his $90,000 bail. He was also being tried as an adult even though he's 17. He also has a short history of other battery charges.
You can't do justice to
this story in three paragraphs but we'll say this: kids shouldn't be tried as adults. In fact, we sometimes think delinquent adults should be treated more like children.