To come home from work and to see this in my Google Reader is one of the best ways to end the day:

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 14 (AP) — A state appeals court reversed on Friday the only remaining conviction against one of six black teenagers accused in the beating of a white schoolmate in a racially tense Louisiana town.

The teenager, Mychal Bell, 17, should not have been tried as an adult, the Third Circuit Court of Appeal said in overturning his conviction for aggravated battery. He had faced up to 15 years in prison.

Mr. Bell’s conspiracy conviction for the beating of the schoolmate, Justin Barker, last December, in Jena, had already been thrown out by another court, which ruled that conspiracy was not a charge on which a juvenile could be tried as an adult. The appellate court reached the same conclusion about the battery charge on Friday.

It said the charges against Mr. Bell belonged in Juvenile Court. The district attorney, Reed Walters, said he would appeal the ruling to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Mr. Bell, who was 16 at the time of the attack, and four others were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy. The sixth teenager was a juvenile.

This would not have been possible without all of the help that so many people put into bringing attention to this case: The Afrosphere/Spear, The Friends of Justice, Color of Change, Sylvia from the Anti-Essentialist Conundrum (no longer available), Elle, PhD, Tom from Automatic Preference, every blogger and activist out there that worked to help spread the news of this case, and everyone that commited themselves to going to Jena, LA. on 20 Sept.

But let’s be honest with ourselves here. This is not a case of the Law coming to its senses. This is a case of public opinion and grassroots activism forcing the Law to come to its senses. Were it not for all of the work that so many people put into publicizing this case, the mainstream news media (e.g. CNN) would not have picked this up, the district attorney would have been able to “take away [their] lives with a stroke of [his] pen,” and Mychal Bell, along with the rest of the Jena Six, would more than likely be spending the next 20 – 50 years behind bars.

If you think it’s time to start bringing out the champaign glasses, I would say wait (although a nice glass of reasonably priced Shiraz, maybe a Guinness, is definitely in order). It ain’t over yet. The DA, Reed Walters, has made it clear that he plans on appealing to the Louisiana Supreme Court; and there are still 5 other boys in peril, 4 of which will be tried as adults. Faced with more people than actually live in the town showing up to protest, surely the State Appeals Court was under pressure to diffuse the situation. It is important not to let this one victory overshadow the work that still needs to be done. If I had any say in the matter, I would say the protest in Jena should still happen on 20 Sept. Let ‘em know that we are still watching. We will not forget. We know that there are 5 other boys still faced with injustice. It is still imperative, at the very least, that people speak out, blog, wear black, or wear t-shirts in support of the Jena Six on 20 Sept. We must not let the Louisiana executive, legislative, and judicial branches think that they got out of this one, if only until Walters appeals to the Louisiana Supreme Court. We’ve proven that government can be held responsible for their actions. Let’s not loose ground here. We must keep on.