The Last Of Jena 6 May Be Released

JENA, Louisiana (CNN) -- A judge could order as early as Friday that the sole defendant who remains behind bars from the group of teens known as the "Jena 6" must be released.

Mychal Bell, 17, is accused with five others of beating Justin Barker in a school fight.

1 of 3 more photos » Mychal Bell, 17, has been in jail since his arrest more than nine months ago.

His attorneys had hoped to get the judge, J. P. Mauffray, removed from the case on Friday.

But a judge from a neighboring parish ruled after hearing arguments that Mauffray would stay on the case.

Bell's attorneys said they were still hoping to get their client out on bond Friday.

"We'll see what happens," the teen's attorney, Bob Noel, said. "We don't like to speculate."

With thousands of demonstrators converging on the small town Thursday to decry what they call "unequal justice," the state's 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ordered a bond hearing for Bell within 72 hours. It was set for Friday morning.

Among the calls at Thursday's dramatic protests -- which drew worldwide attention -- was "Free Mychal Bell." See highlights from the march »

Bell is the only one of the six African-American teenagers to stand trial so far. District Attorney Reed Walters tried him as an adult and won convictions on two charges.

Walters has said he believes Bell was the instigator of the alleged beating of classmate Justin Barker.

Last week, the appellate court vacated Bell's battery conviction, saying he should never have been tried as an adult. He was 16 at the time; 17 is the legal adult age in Louisiana. A district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery.

Don't Miss
In Depth: The 'Jena 6'
Thousands 'march for justice' in Jena
U.S. attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel said it was "premature" to consider releasing Bell. The district attorney will determine whether to refile the charges in juvenile court, a defense attorney said.

Bails for the Jena 6 had been set at between $70,000 and $138,000, and all but Bell posted bond. He has been in prison since his arrest. The judge has refused to lower his $90,000 bail, citing the teen's record, which includes four juvenile offenses -- two simple battery charges among them.

Bell and five other defendants were arrested in the alleged beating of Barker, who is white, at their high school on December 4. The incident followed months of racial tension, sparked originally when three white teens hung nooses from an oak tree the day after a group of black students violated an unofficial rule among students that only whites sit in that area. See timeline of how events unfolded »

Prosecutors originally charged all six black students with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy.

Walters reduced charges against at least four of them -- Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw -- to battery and conspiracy. Bryant Purvis awaits arraignment. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile.

Civil rights leaders and other demonstrators call events in Jena a sign of unequal justice in the 21st century. The white kids who hung the nooses were briefly suspended from classes but faced no punishments from the legal system.

Donald Washington, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, told CNN the FBI and other investigators thought the noose incident bore the markings of a hate crime, but a decision was made not to press charges because the case didn't meet federal criteria. The students were under 18 and had no prior records, and no group such as the Ku Klux Klan was found to be behind their actions.

But that wasn't the only significant event leading up to the alleged beating.

Days before then, a fight broke out at a private party in Jena. A 22-year-old white man, Justin Sloan, attacked a black high school student with a bottle. Sloan was charged with simple battery. His subsequent punishment was probation.

There also was a fight at a convenience store in a predominantly black part of Jena. In the parking lot, a white high school student who spotted young black students went and got a shotgun out of his car. Three black students wrestled it away from him.

The white student later told police he felt threatened by the black students.

No charges were brought against the student with the gun. But the three black students were charged with aggravated second-degree battery, assault, disturbing the peace and theft of the weapon. Those cases have yet to go to trial.

As authorities investigated what led to the incident involving Barker, most of the witness statements police collected agreed that black students had warned him against making certain remarks -- but what he said remains unclear.

Authorities estimated about 15,000 to 20,000 protesters came out Thursday to Jena -- a town of about 3,000, according to the 2000 censushttp://feeds.comcast.rhapsody.com/calicasino/discography.rss