Justice for Jahti

This is Billy Martin, Jr., father of Jahti Martin- the 16 year old young man in training (not a gangbanger, thug, hooligan, hoodlum or savage) that was involved in the now infamous bathroom fight that was recorded and airdropped on September 19th. Before I go any further, I'd like to acknowledge the other young man in training involved and his family- they approached the situation as it was, a fair fist fight (no guns, knives, chains, brass knuckles, etc.) between two boys that had one hell of a fall-out after being friendly acquaintances. The fight stemmed from a toy that wasn't returned and then opprobrious or "fighting" words being exchanged which lead to a challenge to mutual combat being issued and accepted. You've all seen the video, it damn near went viral, but what wasn't known is that my son has been grossly undersized his entire life and due to this, has been bullied by those larger that acted like they wanted to physically harm him.

As you can see, we worked on what we could control- his skill set. Before the other boy went down, this was just a regular fight, afterwards, my son displayed poor sportsmanship and did not act as the gentleman he has carried himself to be during the course of his 16 years living on this planet, don't take my word for it, ask teachers, pastors, neighbors, etc. that ACTUALLY know him (oddly enough, being called out of your name after someone tries to take from you can have the strangest effects on some individuals in this world and their coinciding actions- there doesn't have to be any type of mental illness involved to begin seeing red and ball up your fists to throw, unless that is, one is a natural born yellow-bellied coward). NO, JAHTI SHOULD NOT HAVE HIT THE OTHER BOY WHILE HE WAS DOWN- that's not how my father raised me or I have raised him (oddly enough he comes from Black men that actually take care of and provide for their children, thanks for everything Billy Martin, Sr.)

As you all know, Jahti was charged with aggravated assault, a class 2 felony, by the Columbia County Resource Officer and was taken out of the school in handcuffs before being processed at the Columbia County Sherrifs Department and then taken to Columbia County DJJ, where they would take him to the Augusta RYDC for a period of more than 30 days because the presiding judge, Judge Evans felt as though my son needed a psychological evaluation and then the storm came. Luckily, my attorney was able to get the charge reduced to a misdemeanor- can some of you fighters out there fathom having a felony on your record because you got into a fistfight back in high school? Well, they tried to do this to a 16 year old with no violent actions or behavior on his school record since kindergarten- a gentleman, remember? Just really some tardies and referrals for cutting class, NOT CONDONED, but not violent or juvenile criminal behavior. Jahti was dragged through the mud as far, far too many young men of color are in this country and the rest of the world- he was a "thug", a "gang member", "he definitely had prison in his future" and was apparently a result of what happens when "a father isn't in the home". Well, Ive been here since the day he was removed from his mother's womb, so, yeah (did I happen to mention that we're LAWFULLY married?).

After getting an understanding of how fights were handled at Lakeside High School yesterday during my son's tribunal hearing and the explanation given on what constituted aggravated assault under the CCSD code of conduct after Sgt. Donahoe charged Jahti with it, I definitely need to know if the multiple young men that brutally mob attacked another while he was in a defenseless position will be charged with a felony as well. Were these young men taken to the CCSD or/and Columbia County DJJ by resource officers? Will their names, ages and booking photos be displayed online? Will the video that I have seen with these students viciously brawling out of control on the hallway floor in a scrum (disrupting the operation of a public school) during what looks like class transition in front of the student body be handled in the same manner? I only ask because by the code of law for the state of Georgia reads, "when multiple attackers assault one individual, it is defined as aggravated assault and is a felonious criminal charge with the severity of said charge able to be increased due to the number of attackers." Additionally, how were these students able to attack the helpless one with a number of blows before the fight was broken up by what looked to be students? Are staff there required to physically intervene in assaults of this nature?

We, being a group of concerned parents, professionals and community activists whom met after my son's altercation, are extremely curious to know the answers to these questions and more as we openly discuss this current situation along with others and how evenly disciplinary actions are charged and carried out by the school principal Juliet King.

African-Americans make up less than 13% of the U.S. population, but constitute more than 37%+ of the ENTIRE U.S. prison/jail population with 48% of prisoners serving life sentences being African-American according to the Prison Policy.Org initiative. How is this even possible without an extremely uneven playing field and bias/prejudice in the American education/ judicial system (the school to prison pipeline is NOT a myth people)? Again, I don't make ANY excuses for my son- he got into a fight that went further than it should have, but it was at least a fair fight that was one on one. What happened at Lakeside High School in Evans, GA today, October 31, 2024 involved 3 on 1 in a defenseless position on the floor, yet there is NOTHING to be found other than a generic letter informing parents that a fight "involving four students took place today." I can't make this up, I didn't make this up- this, is America and this is the plight people of color face throughout the land. This is SO much bigger than my son being overcharged or negatively portrayed by media outlet journalists and their leading and loaded wordsmithing, this is the struggle that has been in place since 1619 and remains in 2024 going into 2025- standing by idly or merely gossiping about how we're treated so unfairly and allowing it to continue to go unchecked or unchallenged will NOT be permitted. 

P.S. After the tragedy of the school shooting at Appalachee High School in Winder, GA in which four individuals including two students and two students tragically lost their lives, due to the age of the perp involved (16) there were no media outlets that immediately released the name or the photo due to the age although this was a case of MASS MURDER. Even still, concessions were made for this murderer as people cited him not having a fully developed frontal lobe, therefore being underdeveloped in the decision making area... Again, I can't make this up, I didn't make this up.

For those that supported Jahti and our family during this ordeal, and there were many of you from around the globe- THANK YOU. For those of you that spoke recklessly, THANK YOU- it only assisted to motivate me concerning the work that I must continue doing before I leave this place. -Power-