John Reed Walters is a politician and an attorney from
Louisiana.
Background
He attended Northeast Louisiana University in
Monroe and
Louisiana State University in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
. He was admitted to the bar in 1981.
Political career
In October 1990, he ran as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
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, and took office in early 1991.
Walters won re-election in 1996 and in 2002, against
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
challenger Lloyd E. Hennigan.
Candidates for Election Date: 10/05/02, District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, Louisiana Secretary of State
/ref> He is currently serving his fourth term, which he won uncontested in 2009.
Jena Six
In 2007, Walters was thrust into the spotlight after six black students beat a white student unconscious at Jena High School.
The controversy surrounding prosecution of the Jena Six prompted protesters from across the country to demonstrate in Jena on September 20, 2007.
Walters's actions in prosecuting this case were upheld after a thorough investigation prompted by the allegations of Jena Six supporters. Walters was later lauded for the integrity and the professionalism shown by him and the LaSalle Parish District Attorney's Office during the investigation and public scrutiny.
Walters is famously known for writing an op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
article, where he defended his position, in the '' New York Times'' newspaper.[Walters, Reed.]
"Justice in Jena"
'' New York Times'', 2007-09-24, Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
Electoral history
District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, 1990
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 6, 1990
District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, 1996
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, September 21, 1996
District Attorney, 28th Judicial District, 2002
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 5, 2002
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, J. Reed
District attorneys in Louisiana
Living people
Louisiana Democrats
Year of birth missing (living people)