Mychal Bell, one of the six teenagers known as the "Jena 6", pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor battery charge in a plea deal that could see him released from a detention center in about eight months.
The story of the "Jena 6" led to one of the largest civil rights protests in years.
Bell, 17, originally was charged as an adult with attempted murder in the beating of Justin Barker at Jena High School in December 2006. That charge was reduced before a jury convicted him in June of aggravated second-degree battery.
An appeals court threw that verdict out in September and ordered Bell retried as a juvenile.
Under his deal, Bell pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge of second-degree battery in return for an 18-month sentence, with credit for 10 months he already has served.
Bell had faced being placed in a juvenile facility until his 21st birthday.
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