- J. Reed Walters
John Reed Walters is a politician and an attorney from
Louisiana .Background
He attended Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe and
Louisiana State University inBaton Rouge . He was admitted to the Bar in 1981. He is married to Marsheela Walters.Political career
In October 1990, he ran as a Democrat for District Attorney of Louisiana's 28th Judicial District, which includes the town of Jena in LaSalle Parish. He was elected to a six-year term against Dan B. Cornett, another Democrat, [ [http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin/?rqstyp=CNDMD&rqsdta=100690&ID=21511100 Candidates for Election Date: 10/06/90, District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, Louisiana Secretary of State] ] and took office in early 1991. [ [http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1119523_1?noconfirm=0 John R. Walters, Find Law - Lawyer Directory] ]
Walters won re-election in 1996 and in 2002, against Democratic challenger Lloyd E. Hennigan. [ [http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin/?rqstyp=CNDMD&rqsdta=100502&ID=21511100 Candidates for Election Date: 10/05/02, District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, Louisiana Secretary of State] ] He is currently serving his third term, which expires in 2009.
Jena Six
In 2007, Walters has come under increasing public scrutiny for the way he and his office have handled the aftermath of a series of incidents that occurred on campus at
Jena High School . [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/19/jena.six.link/index.html U.S. attorney: Nooses, beating at Jena High not related, CNN, Jena, Louisiana, September 19, 2007] ] The controversy prompted thousands of protesters from schools across the country to demonstrate in Jena on ThursdaySeptember 20 , 2007. It has become known as theJena Six incident. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297406,00.html Thousands Expected to Protest 'Jena Six' Racial Beating Charges, Fox News, Jena, Louisiana, September 20, 2007] ] Walters has defended his actions in anop-ed article in theNew York Times newspaper.Walters, Reed., [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/opinion/26walters.html?em&ex=1190952000&en=92c547bf9d97eb27&ei=5087%0A "Justice in Jena"] , "New York Times ",2007-09-24 , Retrieved on2007-09-26 .]Electoral history
District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, 1990
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 6, 1990
Footnotes
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