I don't think many of the protesters are saying that they should be let go - at least I haven't heard that. They do have a valid point that these kids are getting charged with greater crimes on what seems to be the sole basis of their race.
If you read more of the back story about what's happened in Jena, they've had typical small-town racial problems that have flaired into something much nastier in the past 4 or 5 years.
You can try this link since the Chicago Tribune was the first national media outlet to really pick up on the story. For the record, they aren't really a friend of Jesse Jackson et al. There are some links to their earlier stories on the issues.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...i_tab01_layout