Judge frees Genarlow Wilson

[Ripper 0]

Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson also amended Wilson's felony conviction to a misdemeanor without the requirement that he register as a sex offender.

 

Genarlow Wilson's felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor.

 

Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, appealed to a judge Wednesday to free him from prison, arguing that his 10-year prison sentence and inclusion on the state's sex offender registry is grossly disproportionate and violates the Constitution.

 

Bernstein also pointed to how the Legislature changed the law since Wilson's conviction to make similar acts a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison. Wilson, now 21, has been locked up for more than two years.

 

"It truly is cruel and unusual punishment," Bernstein told reporters last week. "It is wrong when the Legislature has passed the law to make this a misdemeanor with no sex offender registry [requirement] and instead the state is trying to keep this young man in prison for 10 years and on the sex offender registry."

 

Paula K. Smith, senior assistant attorney general, opposed Wilson's petition. She told the judge the change in law does not apply to Wilson's case.

 

"The General Assembly passed a statute. They did not make it retroactive," Smith said. "It was their prerogative to do so. They did not. The courts of Georgia have not."

 

The attorney general's office had no immediate comment on judge Wilson's order this morning. A Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman said Wilson would "ideally" be released from prison within the next 48 hours.

 

Wilson was originally charged with raping a 17-year-old at a party on New Year's Eve of 2003, but he was acquitted. He was ultimately found guilty of aggravated child molestation involving the 15-year-old girl. Four other male youths at the party pleaded guilty to child molestation of the 15-year-old and sexual battery of the 17-year-old. A fifth pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.

 

Their party was captured on a profanity-laden and sexually graphic video filmed by one of the five. The video shows Wilson receiving oral sex from the 15-year-old. Wilson's appeal was filed in Forsyth because he is being held there in the Burruss Correctional Training Center. The state attorney general's office is representing Burruss Warden Paul Humphrey in the appeal.

 

Wilson's case has attracted national media attention, from TV shows "Good Morning America" to "The O'Reilly Factor." Several influential people are going to bat for him, including former President Jimmy Carter. Carter wrote Attorney General Thurbert Baker last month in support of Wilson's petition, citing the "disproportionate nature" of his punishment.

 

 

You can read about the case here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genarlow_Wilson ( I know its not the best source, but hey).

 

 

I am happy he got released, but he has been screwed out of a chance at a free education that he would have had at the school of his choosing after highschool. He can never get that back.

 

And Eddie Barker is still quite the cunt.

[Ripper 0]

Okay, check that. It appears that the DA has filed an appeal of the decision to release him, which is probably going to delay his release.

 

Once again....quite the cunt.

[Jingus 0]

What is anyone's real justification for keeping this poor schmuck in jail? "Thus the law doth say so... I vas only following orders!"

[Gary Floyd 0]

"It's a rare condition/this day and age..."

 

Sorry, I read that as Winslow.

[lomasmoney 0]

This kid has basically had his life ruined because he got a blowjob from a 15 year old girl when he was 17, and taped it. It speaks as to how screwed up the legal system in this country is when a person who had an entire life in front of them, gets fucked to this magnitude, and the state still wants to keep him in jail until the appeal is heard. Does the DA realize how ignorant and shady this makes them look. Pretty much everyone involved wants this young man out of jail. His life has already been ruined, and while the taping/weed/alcohol wasn't exactly the smartest thing to be involved in, in his fairness, 17 year olds, even those who are outstanding student-athletes, make terrible decisions like this. These decisions however, should not warrant someone spending 10 years in jail ( 5 more years than he would have recieved had he simply had intercourse with the girl), and having the state government do everything in its power to keep him in jail. The state even passed a law that would prevent this type of thing from happening again, yet they, for the longest time, refused to overturn Wilson's conviction.

[Ripper 0]

What is anyone's real justification for keeping this poor schmuck in jail? "Thus the law doth say so... I vas only following orders!"

They might be punishing him for being a smartass and getting a lawyer named "B.J."

[Broward83 0]

From reading a few stories about it and the few clips they've done on TV.. it seems DA is being "quite the cunt" about it because Wilson didn't cop to the plea bargain that his friends did and because Wilson had such a "large ego" and wanted to fight it, the DA decided to lock up for as long as they could.

 

I hope this appeal doesn't work out. This kid deserves to get his life back.

[lomasmoney 0]

So, for exercising his constitutional right to a fair trial, he is being punished. What a crock of shit

[Mike wanna be 0]

Which one got booked for possession of child porn? Doesn't look like any of them...

[Ripper 0]

Yeah, he wouldn't take the plea because that would mean he couldn't be around his little sister anymore or live in his mother house and would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

 

Because he was a senior in high school and had sex with a 10th sophomore. That is fucking insane. That had better have been one fuck of a blow job.

[Guest Smues]

Wilson was originally charged with raping a 17-year-old at a party on New Year's Eve of 2003, but he was acquitted. He was ultimately found guilty of aggravated child molestation involving the 15-year-old girl. Four other male youths at the party pleaded guilty to child molestation of the 15-year-old and sexual battery of the 17-year-old. A fifth pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.

 

I heard that some of the jurors only voted to acquit on the rape if the others agreed to convict on the child molestation charge. And none of the jurors knews that he'd get a minimum sentence of 10 years.

 

It's complete horseshit to be in jail for a blowjob from a consenting 15 year-old, but I don't know if he was truely not guilty of the rape of the 17 year old.

[lomasmoney 0]

So for not taking a plea in a trial he was eventually acquitted in they decided to stick it to him on the other charge? or am I mistaken

[NoCalMike 0]

What state is this? He was under 18....case closed I thought? At least out here in CA......The mere fact that they were both in highschool.....fuck there are so many reasons this case should have been laughed out of court from the start.

[Ripper 0]

So for not taking a plea in a trial he was eventually acquitted in they decided to stick it to him on the other charge? or am I mistaken

 

 

He could have taken a plea and it would have covered all the charges. I think he would have gotten a year in prison and would have been listed as a sex offender. He said no, because the tape showed he didn't rape the 17 so he figured he would be getting off. Instead they hit him with the BS charge and he got the 10 year minimum sentence (and as stated, if he only had had sex with the girl, he would have gotten a 5 year MAXIMUM sentence, but since he only got a blow job, 10 years minimum)

[MrRant 0]

What state is this? He was under 18....case closed I thought? At least out here in CA......The mere fact that they were both in highschool.....fuck there are so many reasons this case should have been laughed out of court from the start.

 

Georgia. They changed the law after this however, you can't retroactively apply it to him.

[Ripper 0]

Well, they could have but they didn't want to risk releasing some real molesters who were locked up using this law. ANd in Georgia, since the Gov. doesn't have veto power, only the DA could say to let him go. And once again....the guy is a cunt.

[Jingus 0]

What state is this? He was under 18....case closed I thought? At least out here in CA......The mere fact that they were both in highschool.....fuck there are so many reasons this case should have been laughed out of court from the start.

Different laws in different states. Some are so backwards that they basically assume that anytime two minors have sex, it's the male's fault and he should automatically be hit with a rape charge. Doesn't matter if it's a 12-year-old boy being tied up and ravished by a 17-year-old girl, it's ALWAYS the guy's fault according to them.

[Guest Vitamin X]

What state is this? He was under 18....case closed I thought? At least out here in CA......The mere fact that they were both in highschool.....fuck there are so many reasons this case should have been laughed out of court from the start.

 

In CA, the legal age of consent is 18 unless the difference in age is not greater than 3 years. Therefore, in high school, a senior (usually 17) can bang a freshman (usually 14) without a prob.

[Ripper 0]

Although the governer doesn't have the power to pardon him or anything, he pretty much gave an endorsement to the DA yesterday saying that letting this kid out would open the door to the other 1300 people convicted of aggravated child molestation to get out. Of course none of them are in prison under anything close to the same circumstances, but since the governer has lended his support and the DA is determined not to let this kid out, it is looking pretty grim for him. It is a pretty good liklihood that he is going to have to live out the remaining 7 years of his sentence.

[migoli 0]

Was this the dude that they did a story on for Sportscenter a few weeks,maybe months ago?

[Ripper 0]

Yeah

[Ripper 0]

Okay. He FINALLY gets out today.

[ZGangsta 0]

Fuck that's like a story you'd expect to see out of Iran or someplace like that.