Grave Miscarriage of Justice / Genarlow Wilson finally freed

[Athena]

Genarlow Wilson was released today - with appeals court calling his sentence a grave miscarriage of justice. Yes!!!

The 17-year-old sentenced to a decade in prison because he had consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old, today was granted his freedom after almost 28 months behind bars. A Georgia appeals court judge called it "a grave miscarriage of justice," and reduced his aggravated child molestation charge to "a 12-month misdemeanor sentence with credit for time already served." For those who haven't been following the story, here is the background of the case:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offb...enarlow_wi.html

Supreme Court Justices:

http://www.gasupreme.us/justices_bios.php

[wind149]

This kid is a prime example of over an zealous prosecutor who railroaded him! He did not force himself on the girl, she was willing and able and yes, she was underage, but this is where I draw the line on the definition of a pedophile. He is a young man with hormones raging, the girl is good to go, does this make him a true pedophile because she is not 18? No, it doesn't. If it is proven that these young men that get convicted like this kid are not true pedophiles in the sense where they really want to just have sex with kids ,then why ruin a kid's life and make him do jail time and register as a sex offender? People argued with me about Mark Lunsford's son Joshua and I am still not convinced that the girl was not willing. If you look at the way some of these girls dress nowadays and seem to be really into the looking like hookers, the boys are gonna react in the way you would expect them to. They think they got a hot babe, and most of them do! I saw three girls one day at the mall. Could not have been much past 13. Dressed way too suggestive, all wearing the same identical outfit, skin tight hip hugger jeans, skimpy half-shirts cut way low to show their push up bras, enough makeup on to make every cosmetic place in the mall wanting to hand them coupons, 4 inch stiletto boots, long, dyed, hair parted on the side and if you were deaf, you might assume they were older till they opened their mouths and kept giggling about some boys, and then I saw said boys, and they were tweens. The whole look was off. Here they are looking like they might be of age, and in reality and to me, they looked like they might have raided their older sister's closet. It was pathetic! Now what if some older boys say, 19 came by? What would they think? Here they are looking like they might good to go and the girls might think it would be way cool and then they get into something they can't handle and scream rape when it reality, they got over their heads and being tweens were not emotionally ready to have sex, but the boys don't know that! So this poor kid, it sounds like he got into the same situation. The girl was good to go and he went for it. Thank God, they released him as I did not see this kid as a rapist. And does anyone know if the girl was black or white? That could have been a factor too, if the girl was white, parents might have screamed rape because he is black, sad, but it happens. Now maybe he can pick up the pieces, move on and get an education.

[Athena]

In this case the girl did not cry rape nor did she even press charges. This was clearly a vindictive DA who was PO'd because Wilson would not accept a plea bargain for 5 years; would not be able to see his sister who was then 4 or 5 because he would have to register as a sex offender. The DA found a loophole in the law designed for adults who molest children and abused his power. Wilson had NEVER been in trouble before, was an honor student and a star football player. Unfortunately young girls nowadays seem to throw themselves at athletes but nevertheless there is no way he should have spent any jail time for this. Instead of being in what should be his 3rd year of college, he's been in jail for 28 months. This is true injustice at its best. Even the Judge did not want this boy convicted; but the DA appealed. I don't even want to try to speculate why the DA did this. He should be "Nifonged".

Where are these DA's when real pedophiles are arrested? JMO

[sallynuts]

I totally agree... i do not know the case... what caught my eye was the miscarriage of justice..

I find it amazing that this can happen... yet a murderer can serve half of there sentence and be released... cus they found god.. or were well behaved... the justice systems of our countries seem to favour the criminals instead of the victims... i will never understand that..:shrug:

[Seashell]

Athena the first link says that the page is no longer available, from what i have read by yor comments i also agree that it was an injustice!

[Athena]

Sorry Sea. When I posted the link, it was a current article and has now gone into the archives. I searched and found it but you need to be a subscriber to view archived files. But here's a couple more:


FORSYTH, Ga. -- A former high school football star given 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with another teenager was freed Friday by Georgia's highest court, which ruled that his sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

The justices also said Wilson's sentence made "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment," and his crime did not rise to the "level of adults who prey on children."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3080331

Good overall background of case:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=Wilson

Article re: prosecutor appealing first decision by Judge in District Court;

Prosecutors appeal ruling to throw out Genarlow Wilson's sentence
• Appeal means Wilson will stay behind bars
• Judge earlier voided Wilson's 10-year prison term Monday
• Wilson in prison for consensual oral sex at age 17 with 15-year-old girl

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/11/teen.sex.case/

[Seashell]

thanks Athena :)

[wind149]

I knew the girl had to be a willing participant see my above post. It is like when I was younger it was considered way too cool to try to sleep with rock stars and I remembered these two "ladies" who were complete star ******'s you can guess what I mean by that or you can understand groupie. These brain challenged women must have screwed every rock star out there and cheerfully bragged about it, I am surprised neither one of them ever wrote a book. One of them actually slept with Gene Simmons and Steve Clark from Def Leppard all in one weekend. Pretty sad when that is all you aspire to be is a groupie .Last time I saw one of them and she looked pathetic. Still trying to be the Maiden of Metal and ends up looking like she is wearing a Halloween costume. And trust me these girls were more than willing to make all their fantasies come true. But I digress here. Nifonged is good way to describe this case for sure and if I was this kid I would sue for some college money or at least compensate for the two years he sat and was innocent of rape and was railroaded by this bird who does not like to mess up his conviction rates.

[lilbay]

I pray this young man is able to move on with his life.
I can not imagine the effects something like this would have on someone. Even more so someone young who was on the right path and headed for good things. Add in all the media I have to wonder will it help or hinder? In some ways I am sure folks will be there ready to lend a hand to help this young man move past this and get on with life. I do wonder how it will or if it will bring the loonies, groupies etc? There seem to be many a goofball out there when it comes to publicity etc.

I am glad they finally came to their senses though.

[kjb19500]

Regarding the rock stars, I believe that Eric Clapton has a song that includes a line about "those damned 14 year olds."

On another note, the nephew of a friend was 16 when he started dating a 13 year old. He had a bit of a wild nature and got into some minor police trouble but nothing serious and nothing sexual. Anyway, he was still dating her when he turned 18 (she was 15 pushing 16) when she became pregnant and it was reported to CPS. He wanted to marry her and the mother (divorced, fathers' whereabouts unknown) approved of the relationship, but the state doesn't allow marriage under 16 even with parental consent.

The boy was charged by the state with class C child molesting by the DA, convicted and sentenced to 4 years in the DOC. He served 2-1/2 years, but when released was required to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and will carry the felony for the rest of his life. He's now 23, she's 20, they've been married for 2 years and have 2 very nice children. He's settled down, employed and making the best of the situation that he can. Another example of prosecutorial powers out of control.

[packy]

What a shame and when they changed the law why couldn't they make it retroactive. Obviously they decided it needed to be changed for good reason. One of the dumbest laws ever in my opinion.

And why should the law decide at what age someone can marry in any state, regard Kjb's story.

[wind149]

Another boy's reputation ruined by an over zealous prosecutor and how much you want to bet there were many more actual pedophiles that were given a walk and this poor kid gets put in the slammer and it backfired on the prosecutor in the sense that it must frost him to see the so-called "pedophile" is happily married to his "victim" and they have children. He should be asking the governor for clemency and to clear this kid's record and not require him to be on a sex offender registry. It is like I said. If it proven that the boys are not attracted to little girls and are just in lust with their girlfriends, they should not have to register and we all know by now how I feel about babyrapers and neither one of these kids are one of them.:shrug:

[Joe Public]

I'd hate to see what I would have been charged with when I was that age. No one ever thinks of teenage love/sex as being possibly illegal. I'm proud this kid is out of prison now and doesn't have to register as a sex offender. Justice at last!!!:beer:

[livelyliz48]

by no means am i advocating child sex but sometimes i think they should access the mentality of the child. i was a very mature 14 year old and i looked way older. so i actually went after older guys. so i think before the guy is charged they should check out the mentality and circumstances. most kids this day and age different from kids way back. now instead of playing with dolls and trucks they're doing drugs ,drinking and partying. sad to say.
ok and when i say access the age, i'm talking about 15 plus. i mean there should be some punishment but a man fooled by a girl shouldn't have to register as a sex offender. nor should a horny teenager who made out with a girl close to his age. i mean they probably went to the same high school or hung out at the mall together
now for pedophiles, they need castration

[etphoto]

Does anyone have a link to the actual state code the kid was prosecuted under? The only thing I know about his case are the post in this thread and the links supplied. I hate the label of over zealous prosecutor if the law was being followed. It wasn't the prosecutor that wrote the law, it was the State Legislator. It wasn't the prosecutor who determined quilt, it was the jury. It wasn't the prosecutor that passed sentence, it was the judge. It would be my guess (and only a guess) the parents of the 15 year old was pushing for the law to be enforced.

ET

[Athena]

Does anyone have a link to the actual state code the kid was prosecuted under? The only thing I know about his case are the post in this thread and the links supplied. I hate the label of over zealous prosecutor if the law was being followed. It wasn't the prosecutor that wrote the law, it was the State Legislator. It wasn't the prosecutor who determined quilt, it was the jury. It wasn't the prosecutor that passed sentence, it was the judge. It would be my guess (and only a guess) the parents of the 15 year old was pushing for the law to be enforced.

ET

This was before he was released, but there were options and the Prosecutor refused to show mercy. The law was archaic and true the jurors had to vote based on that law and although they did not want to convict, they had no choice and voted him guilty based on the lowest charge they could. How do you give a teacher for having sex with a student UNDER THE SAME LAW, 90 days and give a 17 year old 10 years for a 15 year old performing oral sex? The Prosecutor was upset because he did not plea bargain, accept a sex offender status for 5 years??? Let's be real here:

Letter of the Law
Every story needs a villain, and in this one, the villain's hat has been placed squarely on the head of Barker, the prosecutor and a former college baseball player. Barker doesn't write the laws in the books to the left of his desk. He simply punishes those who break them.

"We didn't want him to get the 10 years," he says. "We understand there's an element out there scratching their heads, saying, 'How does a kid get 10 years under these facts?' "

To discuss the Genarlow Wilson story with other ESPN.com readers, click here.

In Barker's eyes, Wilson should have taken the same plea agreement as the others. Maintaining innocence in the face of the crushing wheels of justice is the ultimate act of vanity, he believes.

"I understand what he's saying," Barker says. "I think he's making a bad decision in the long run. Being branded a sex offender is not good; but at the same time, if it made the difference between spending 10 years as opposed to two? Is it worth sitting in prison for eight more years, and you're still gonna be a sex offender when you get out?"

Barker is quick to point out that he offered Wilson a plea after he'd been found guilty -- the first time he has ever done that. Of course, the plea was the same five years he'd offered before the trial -- not taking into account the rape acquittal. Barker thinks five years is fair for receiving oral sex from a schoolmate. None of the other defendants insisted on a jury trial. Wilson did. He rolled the dice, and he lost. The others, he says, "took their medicine."

While Bernstein works on every possible legal solution, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office has the power to get Wilson out of prison. If the prosecution wanted, this could all end tomorrow. The D.A.'s office says Bernstein hasn't asked. Bernstein says she has. Not that any legal he said/she said matters. Only the prosecutors' opinion does, and according to at least one legal expert, prosecutorial ego is more of a factor in this case than race. The folks in Douglas County are playing god with Genarlow Wilson's life.

"We can set aside his sentence," Barker says. "Legally, it's still possible for us to set aside his sentence and give him a new sentence to a lesser charge. But it's up to us. He has no control over it."

The position of Barker and the district attorney, McDade, who refused to comment, is that Wilson is guilty under the law and there is no room for mercy, though the facts seem to say they simply chose not to give it to Wilson. At the same time this trial was under way, a local high school teacher, a white female, was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a student -- a true case of child molestation. The teacher received 90 days.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=Wilson