We received the following correspondence from a reader. Before I speak to the way the juvenile "justice" system is being used to persecute Mychal Bell of the Jena 6, I want to start with a personal story. My son is dark-skinned and was constantly stopped by the police for being out of place in the mainly white, suburban, middle class community where his grandparents live and near where he grew up. Once, the police were called on him at a 7-11 store because the clerk was afraid that he might not pay for some item. My son was so outraged that he wasn't cooperative with the police who hauled him off and was charged with resisting arrest. When he was brought to the court for a preliminary arraignment, the judge glanced at the arrest report and launched into a tirade about what a menace to society my son was, that he was obviously a repeat criminal, and how he should be locked up for at least 6 months on a good day. The judge said he was going to sentence him right then. This was the arraignment—which is supposedly when a defendant finds out what his or her charges are, not when they get convicted and sentenced! The lawyer finally got to say, "My client would like to plead not guilty." The judge looked shocked. The lawyer went on about his client's ties in the community and that he should be granted bail, pointing out that his mother was on hand to arrange this. The judge looked out at me—white, middle-class looking—and said, "That's his mother?" Then, like a scene from The ...