BATON ROUGE--Mychal Bell, who made national headlines a few years ago as part of the ‘Jena Six,’ has graduated from Southern University.
According to a graduate list supplied by the school, Bell received a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies during Friday’s graduation.
In 2006, Bell and five other black teens were charged as adults with attempted murder and conspiracy charges following the beating of a white Jena High School student.
The case received national media attention and sparked protests by people who viewed the arrests and charges as excessive and racially motivated.
Bell was convicted, but his conviction was overturned after a judge ruled he should have been tried as a juvenile.
Much of the coverage of the case highlighted racial tension in the small La Salle Parish town.
In 2008, it was widely-reported that Bell had attempted suicide, following a shoplifting arrest.
In an interview with CNN, Bell talked about the pressure to live up to expectations in the aftermath of the Jena Six and expressed remorse over attempting suicide. Bell told CNN his goal was to go to college and play football.
Bell went on to play football at Southern University before graduating.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Thursday, December 18th 2014 at 1:25PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
