Possible 'Jena 6' Plea Deal: Mychal Bell May Plead Guilty To Misdemeanor

New Orleans, LA (AHN) - A black teenager whose case fueled one of the biggest civil rights protests in the U.S. is expected to enter a guilty to a misdemeanor on Monday. If Mychal Bell, 17, enters a misdemeanor please, he will avoid a second trial for aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy for his role in attacking Justin Barker, a white student from Jena High School.

Barker was unconscious, but survived the attack. Although he was treated in the emergency room for several hours, he managed to attend a school event on the same evening a year ago.

Bell's first charge of attempted murder as an adult was reduced before he was convicted on June by a jury of aggravated second-degree battery. Three months later an appeals court said Bell must be tried as a minor. If he was convicted he could have faced a 15-year maximum sentence.

Bell's case drew protest from civil rights groups who said prosecutors were more harsh on black offenders compared to white teenagers who had committed other offenses. They cited the case of three white teenagers who were accused of hanging three nooses from a tree at a high school campus a day after a black student sat under the tree. The three white juveniles were just suspended from school, but not criminally charged.

There are still felony charges against his five co-accused, all black youths. Bell was the last released on September among the Jena 6 group after he posted a bail of $45,000.