Genarlow Wilson Cleared Of Sex Charges

Genarlow Wilson Cleared Of Sex Charges

www.cnn.com

A judge in Monroe County, Georgia, has ruled that 21-year-old Genarlow Wilson should be released from a 10-year prison sentence for a consensual sexual encounter he had when he was 17. The original sentence had demanded Wilson be listed as a sex offender. He has been imprisoned for more than two years after his conviction for a sex act with a 15-year-old girl.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a case of justice gone bad.
It was a consensual act between two horny teens in love.

I still don't understand how he could have been given a 10 year sentence for something like this, and the law that convicted him has since been rescinded.

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I don't know for sure if this act was between two teens "in love" since it was at a party, on camera, and alcohol and marijuana were used.

Anyway the punishment he recieved was way too harsh and, IMO, he should have been released when the law changed. I just can't believe there is going to be an appeal for the new decision. What exactly is the reason? The law has changed. Is it a family member of the girl that thinks there daughter was a perfect angel and couldn't ever do anything of that nature?

It's a good thing that law changed, otherwise, there would be a bunch of people going to jail for having a "good time"

The fact that this kid was ever charged at all is proof we live in a profoundly sick society. There is also a case in Kansas where some kid was sentenced to 17 years for (gay) sex with a 15 year old when he was 18. Not to mention the kids getting put on sex offender lists for getting caught "playing doctor".

We live in a society founded by Puritans that were prone to hysterical waves of moral panic over sexual issues - Scarlet Letter anyone?

We think we've come a long way, but cases like this make it clear that we're pretty much in the same boat we always were. The current wave of hysteria about "internet sex predators" blurs the line between teens and children, treating normal teenage sexual experimentation as if it were morally the same as some dirtbag raping a 6 year old.

As a mother of a boy the same age as the boy in this case I was following this story very closely because I live in GA also.

I find very disturbing what happen to this boy, specially with the clean background he had, already his life and future has been damaged.

To me it was nothing more than a case of racial discrimination against the boy by the prosecution.

The best thing to come out of this is that the family of the boy lobbied the state into changing laws.

I am very happy he got out of jail.

Originally posted by marg6043


To me it was nothing more than a case of racial discrimination against the boy by the prosecution.

I think you hit the nail on the head..What is most disturbing to me is the way the Georgia Supreme court acted. The 4 white judges did not want to hear the case while the 3 black judges were outnumbered and wanted it reviewed. The worst part is that this boy will be labeled a a sex offender. He cant take his kids (when he gets them) to school, he cant get a decent job. Its just horrible

SO apparently the law that sent him to prison was changed but the DA tried to say that the laws to work retroactively so..they let him stay in prison.The jusry complained because when they convicted him they didnt realize that he would be sentenced to 10 years... Also there was another boy involved he pleaded guilty and got 5 years. Wilson chose not to plead guilty b/c he has a little sister and registering as a sex offender means he wouldnt be able to see her. I am also hearing that they might clean his slate and not make him register as a sex offender. BTW at least one of the two girls was black (I'm surprised at that... and they cried rape ) :shk:

More info Wikipedia
BTW ...Sorry I didnt know this had been posted already:shk:

[edit on 6/11/2007 by ImpliedChaos]

Originally posted by ImpliedChaos
The worst part is that this boy will be labeled a a sex offender. He cant take his kids (when he gets them) to school, he cant get a decent job. Its just horrible

BTW ...Sorry I didnt know this had been posted already

Well the family has been lucky enough to have some minority groups working for them, hopefully he will get out with a clean start.

But the prosecution is working hard to appeal.

Is hard to ask my son all the time to be very careful when he is hanging out with girls, because now a day is very difficult to tell their age, by the way they behave, dress and act.

Originally posted by ImpliedChaos
The worst part is that this boy will be labeled a a sex offender. He cant take his kids (when he gets them) to school, he cant get a decent job.

From my understanding of the ruling he walks out without a record.
He is not considered a sex offender, and he does not have to register.

The media might not forget, but the law says this was never a crime, and it won't show as such on his record.

That is a strange case, like a throwback to lynchings.

You really have to wonder if there would have been trouble if they'd both been the same color.

Was it consensual or not? One has to wonder. I hope they'll both be ok.


[edit on 11-6-2007 by clearwater]

Both were underage and it was consensual. Why was only the male charged? Why wasn't she charged instead? Why weren't both charged?

There appears to be multiple layers of prejudice here. If you consider that a 15 YO female is both physically and emotionally more mature than a 17 YO male, I submit that the female bears more responsibility for this consensual activity than the male and should have borne the brunt of any blame.

It seems that he will stay in jail for now, they prosecution and the district attorney is fighting appeal.

Wilson refuse to have his charges change like they want him to do in order to walk.

He wants what the judge proposed first, a clean start.

At the time, the age of consent in Georgia was apparently 16. So, it was by no means consensual. The laws since been changed and the crime he was convicted of is now a misdemeanor sentence. It's still a bogus case to boot though, he should never have seen a court room for something that hundreds upon thousands of high school students do all over the country.

The real irony in the case is that this whole thing was allowed to happen because of a loophole in the law that was made to actually prevent something like this from happening. Someone was hard at work to find a way to put him in jail for something very small. If time could be turned back for him, I wished it would have because it's unfair for this to have happened.

Shattered OUT...

tis is definately racially motivated if it was some rich country club white boy it would have got the boys will be boys speach and n o charges.
but since it was a fine young african american student athelete bound for college lets make an example well darn we can't get him for statutory rape wait a minute we have that old ass sodomy law still on the books right lets charge him with that and she is 15 lets make his sentence 10 years or more to teach them colored a lesson. stupid ass da . i live in the south but am glad i don't live in the great backward state of georgia .

now that i think about it I think the law is the same in Florida. if your under 16 you cant consent but if your 16 you can do whatever with anyone up to age 23...Does that stop these Freshmen..No..Also one would think that it is alot harder to force someone to giving oral sex then actually raping them...

Both Victims were African American

The original District Attorney was European American
Distri ct Attorney David McDade
The Attorney General that is appealing the Decision is African American
Thurbert Baker

Interesting Article about the case hereWhy Is Genarlow Wilson in Prison?

I am from Douglas County GA where this originally was tried. They are very tough on crime. I dont think race is a factor Douglas County is tough on everyone. This case is rather beyond the pale. I dont understant why the State AG wont let this go.



[edit on 6/12/2007 by DarkStormCrow]

[edit on 6/12/2007 by DarkStormCrow]

I wonder if its possible for those sam IVY league schools that recruited him (Brown, Columbia,etc) to give him a chance..I think he was arrested before he took the SATs, alot of college coaches were encouraging him to do well..

I have a problem with the fact that the state instead of saying he shouldn't have served anything..they are now giving him a 12 month misdemeanor charge and trying to let him out due to time served. Are they trying to say that it still would have been ok for him to have been to jail for at least a year??Is it so hard to let let this man out no strings attached, say that you were wrong and that you shouldnt have charged him with anything...

This is where mandatory sentences traps the DA and Judges,

The DA has to charge him because of the videotape presented during the rape trial in which he was aquitted.

Instead they should be able to charge him with misdemeanor indecent exposure or something and give him six months probation and then seal the record as a juvenile so it doesnt follow him the rest of his life.

Once a guilty verdict is reached the judge has to use the mandatory sentence, so he is stuck with a 10 year minimum.

This is why it is a Legal system instead of a Justice system.

They do what is Legal instead of what is Just.

I hope he goes to one of the fine Black Colleges in Atlanta and becomes a lawyer.

Lesson 1 have sex in private
Lesson 2 dont tape yourself having sex




[edit on 6/12/2007 by DarkStormCrow]