Today in Blackness: Mychal Bell Talks About His Suicide Attempt |
One of the “Jena 6,” Mychal Bell, attempted suicide in December after catching a shoplifting charge in Monroe, Louisiana. Two years ago, Bell was one of six black teenagers charged with attempted murder and conspiracy in the beating of a white classmate in Jena, Louisiana. The incident touched off widespread protests and Bell’s charges were eventually reduced.
In an interview that will air tonight on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” Bell said, “People were … just waiting [for me] to mess up. People were preying [on me]. ‘Just mess up, just mess up.’ There was a lot of pressure on me.”
You know what’s a good way to mess up, Mychal? Shoplifting $370 worth of clothes from a Dillard’s, which police say was caught on surveillance video and which Bell soon admitted. He was so “devastated” by the ordeal that he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest December 29.
When asked what would have happened had he shot himself in the head, Bell said, “I would have hurt my family, my friends, my classmates and everybody who supported me.”
Bell is still recuperating from his wound.
Like Elon James White’s mother says: Don’t do dumb shit.
Source: CNN
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