Release follows earlier announcement that district attorney won’t appeal higher court’s decision to try Bell in juvenile court.
Seventeen-year-old Mychal Bell, the last of the so-called “Jena Six” to remain in custody, was released from custody on Thursday (September 27) after a juvenile-court judge set his bail at $45,000 — lower than the previously set amount of $90,000 — CNN reports.
The release followed an earlier announcement from LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters that he would not appeal a higher court’s decision to try Bell in juvenile court. Bell had previously been convicted on two felony counts as an adult, and he still faces trial as a juvenile.
“While I believe that a review would have merit,” Walters said in a press conference, “I believe it is in the best interest of the victim and his family not to delay this matter any further and move it to its conclusion.
“They [the Barker family] are onboard with what I decided,” he added.