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JENA 6:  Defendants Statement
06/26/09 - 01:41 PM
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Defendants Statement:

“We appreciate the opportunity to express our sympathy to Justin for his injuries and to his parents, who have cared for Justin.  To be clear, not one of us heard Justin use any slur or say anything that justified Mychael bell attacking Justin nor did any of us see Justin do anything that would cause Mychael to react.  In the resulting confusion people have conflicting memories of what occurred.  Mr. Walters has prepared a statement of what evidence he believes the state would introduce if this went to trial.  While we may not necessarily agree with all of the details in the prosecutors statement, we concede that the prosecution could present facts that would justify the Trier of fact to convict should there be no controverting evidence believed by the Trier of fact.  We are therefore entering a no contest plea to these facts.

We recognize that the events of the past two and a half years have also caused Justin and his parents tremendous pain and suffering, much of which has gone unrecognized.  We hope our actions today help end this nightmare for Justin, Mr. and Mrs. Barker, and all others affected, including the town of Jena.  We wish Justin and his family success and happiness in all their future endeavors.”