From the article--
As part of the deal, one of the attorneys read a statement from the five defendants, in which they said they knew of nothing Barker had done to provoke the attack.
"To be clear, not one of us heard Justin use any slur or say anything that justified Mychal Bell attacking Justin nor did any of us see Justin do anything that would cause Mychal to react," the statement said.
The statement also expressed sympathy for Barker and his family, and acknowledged the past 2 years had "caused Justin and his parents tremendous pain and suffering, much of which has gone unrecognized."
None of the defendants spoke to reporters.
By pleading no contest, the five do not admit guilt but acknowledge prosecutors had enough evidence for a conviction.
Charges against Carwin Jones, Jesse Ray Beard, Robert Bailey Jr., Bryant Purvis and Theo Shaw had previously been reduced from attempted murder to aggravated second-degree battery. All but Shaw were assessed $500 in court costs. The judge did not tack that punishment on to Shaw's case because he stayed in jail for almost seven months, unable to raise bail, after his initial arrest.
Each paid the fine and court costs immediately. The payment of restitution to Barker was also part of the deal, but the amount was not released.
The only member of the group to serve jail time was Bell, who pleaded guilty in December 2007 to second-degree battery and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
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Seems that aggravated second-degree battery is appropiate.
The leader Bell got 18 months.
I agree with Mod--the school handled the whole thing wrong from the beginning with the nooses to the attempted murder charges by the DA.
I think that had the school really addressed the noose incidents in the first place, none of the fighting would have taken place.
