US: All-white jury to hear racial fight case

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Published: JUNE 27, 2007 00:55
An all-white jury was seated Tuesday to hear the case against the first of the "Jena Six" - a group of black youths accused of beating a white fellow student amid racial discord at a Louisiana school. Five women and a man will hear opening arguments Wednesday morning at the courthouse in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, where the black population is only about 12 percent. The approaching trial had led to allegations of racism from parents of the accused, who said the original charges - attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder - were out of proportion to the crime. The charges carry a combined sentence of 80 years.