Plea deal expected for remaining Jena 6 defendants

[June 26, 2009]  JENA, La. (AP) -- The remaining defendants of the Jena Six case in Louisiana are expected in court to plead guilty.

The pleas for five defendants of the group are expected Friday after a deal was reached. The group got its name because a group of black teens were accused of beating a white schoolmate at Jena High School.

The six students were initially charged with attempted murder in a 2006 attack on Justin Barker. The severity of those charges sparked a civil rights demonstration with more than 20,000 people converging on the little town in central Louisiana almost two years ago.

Racial tensions at Jena High School reportedly grew throughout the town in the months before the attack.

A sixth defendant pleaded guilty in December 2007.

[Associated Press]

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