It's such a stupid case, which makes it perfect for race. The noose and other racial antics are not important to the facts of the case, which are that 6 kids beat another unconscious. They should be charged with assault and battery, period. They should serve time, and considering one of them has a criminal record he'll most likely get some harder time. Is racism involved? Yes; the murder conviction was clearly unjust.
End of story. All this "free the Jena 6" bullshit needs to stop, now. Fuck Al Sharpton, fuck Jesse Jackson, and fuck the rest of these African Americans who lived through the civil rights era yet have fallen for this crap. I'm so glad my mom (who saw the tanks roll past her house during the riots of 1967) and dad are being reasonable about this.