If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to the Jena 6, this report from the Huffington Post will tell you everything you need to know.  When I first intervened in this case in January of 2007, my primary goal was to get good attorneys for these kids.  I knew this would require media attention, but I never anticipated 40,000 people surrounding the courthouse.

As we all know, the big crowds came and went, the locals dug in their heels, and a long standoff ensued between DA Reed Walters (assisted by his tag-team partner, JP Mauffray) and the strong team of attorneys who have rallied to the defendants. 

I wish I could attract this kind of attention to the Alvin Clay case because it is much more representative of business-as-usual corruption in the legal system.  I know that isn’t realistic.  Ultimately, it didn’t matter how many people flocked to Jena; this was a legal fight and there are times when only good lawyers can help you.  My activisim was designed to bring legal experts like Jim Boren and David Utter into the fight.  That done, the work of Friends of Justice was accomplishyed.  

Still, I wish I could attend Friday’s hearing–there should be a lot of drama.

Friends of Justice specializes in narrative intervention–telling the big story when prosecutors want to keep it small; telling the true story when the system is peddling deceptive half-truths.  For most victims of wrongful prosecution there is no DNA exoneration; they just do their time.  That’s why we like to intervene before and during the trial phase.

We will be following the Friday hearing with great interest.  As this article suggests, Color of Change is doing a great job of handling the media and the legal team is loaded for bear.  The Jena 6 are in good hands.