Justice for Genarlow...at long last!!!!

If you go back to a post I made in January, I made reference to the curious and draconian case of one Genarlow Wilson, a young man that was jailed in Georgia on an antiquated law regarding sex between minors. Wilson at the time was 17 and the girl was 15. Without getting too graphic, the bare bones was that Wilson was with a few friends at a hotel party in 2001, he had sex with a classmate, she initially claimed that she was raped. The activity was videotaped and a jury acquitted Wilson of that charge, but he also received oral sex from another classmate…note the word…received. The law, which has since been changed, made it a felony for minors less than three years apart in age to have oral sex. Now here's the thing that will make you scratch your head, had the two had intercourse it would have been at the time, been a misdemeanor!

The classmate said that the action was consensual. A statement that her mother attests to as well. But the prosecutors after seeing an intial rape charge get an acquittal, because the jury saw a video tape and decided that the sex was consensual. The prosecutors tried to offer him a plea deal ont he oral sex issue, saying that his friends that were involved took the deal. Wilson refused, saying that while he acknowledged and never denied that the action took place, it was consensual. Something that the female involved agreed with. The Georgia prosecutors didn’t care they grilled him hard to take the deal that they were laying out, telling him it was either that or face 10 years in prison. But Wilson wouldn’t take a deal because it would have to register as a sex offender and he would not be able to be in the same house with his baby sister. He wanted a jury trial.

Now before I continue lets lay out some info. Wilson was no thug. He played football, but he was also a top student with a 3.2, never once in trouble. He was elected homecoming king of his high school. This by all accounts was and still is a good kid. Wilson got convicted of child molestation, even though The prosecutors and judge even said that Wilson was the antithesis of a criminal or thug. The forewoman on the jury cried when she read the guilty verdict, they had to follow the letter of the law.

The jury saw the tape and under the instructions that they were given found Wilson guilty of violating this law. This was a law by all accounts one meant to ensnare pedophiles. Keep in mind that the “victim” and her mother testified that the action was consensual and both parties were under 18, (just so we’re clear there was no age questions here) Like I said being found guilty Wilson was sentenced to 10 years mandatory…
10 freakin’ years for oral sex???

Wilson has a lot of people that were in his corner campaigning for his release Jimmy Carter and Mark Cuban among others and ESPN did a lengthy piece on it. Websites were made and articles were written in the New York Times. The district attorney in the case, shrugged and said had he took the deal. In essence throw himself on the mercy of the court, he might not have gotten such a harsh sentence. Lets keep in mind a teacher in the same state had sex with a student: female teacher and male student and got 90 days. This was the case of child molestation. Not to play the race card here, but Wilson was a black male. The prosecutor wanted him to bow down, Wilson maintained (and still maintains to this day) his innocence and the prosecutor threw the book at him for daring to defend himself on this charge.

Wilson went to jail and for the next 28 months sat as his lawyer put up appeals. Back in June a judge decreed that the sentence was cruel and unusual. The law had since been changed, but it was not done so retroactively, so Wilson was still in the slammer. But the state attorney general appealed and Wilson remained behind bars. Finally Friday morning. The Georgia State Supreme Court after receiving the appeal ruled that Wilson must be released. Wilson reportedly tried not get excited upon hearing the rumors. I saw the news item this afternoon and kept my fingers crossed.

Wilson was released to his mother this afternoon.

I read about it a couple hours ago and literally yelled out "Hell Yeah!" at the top of my lungs. This was a case of a person who did not need to be in jail.
He studied for his SAT’s in the pen and looks to go to college after all.

Now lets keep things straight, Wilson should have know better to get into what he did. But he did not, repeat did not deserve ten years for what happened.
Justice finally came for Genarlow and for that I’m glad.