Outrageous injustice

[llayne]

Just read this story, but I' am not posting all of it. Just enough so you can see the crime. While I love the US, it saddens me when I read a story like this.


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



DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. -- There is a cardboard box in Genarlow Wilson's old bedroom.




The Bernstein Firm
Despite lacking size, overachieving Genarlow Wilson was being recruited by several college football programs.
It rests on the floor of his empty closet, near the deflated football and basketball. It's filled with things he needed in his old life. Mostly, it's overflowing with recruiting letters, from schools big and small. A "Good luck on the SAT" wish from the coaches at Columbia. From another Ivy League college, Brown, a note from the football coach: "You have been recommended to me as one of the top scholar-athletes in your area."

There's a questionnaire from the Citadel. A brochure from Elon. An envelope from Sewanee. College after college, all wanting the undersized but overachieving Genarlow Wilson to consider their football programs. One open letter, dated three months before everything in this box became a reminder of a life derailed, invites him to take a campus visit. It begins:

Dear Genarlow,

Here you stand, on the threshold of four of the most influential, challenging, and rewarding years of your life.

Being Inmate No. 1187055
Genarlow Wilson is standing on a threshold all right, at the end of the last hall of Burruss Correctional Training Center, an hour and a half south of Atlanta. He's just a few feet from the mechanical door that closes with a goosebump-raising whurr and clang. Three and a half years after he received that letter, he's wearing a blue jacket with big, white block letters. They read: STATE PRISONER.

He's 20 now. Just two years into a 10-year sentence without possibility of parole, he peers through the thick glass and bars, trying to catch a glimpse of freedom. Outside, guard towers and rolls of coiled barbed wire remind him of who he is.

Once, he was the homecoming king at Douglas County High. Now he's Georgia inmate No. 1187055, convicted of aggravated child molestation.

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse ... but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.

Afterward, the state legislature changed the law to include an oral sex clause, but that doesn't help Wilson. In yet another baffling twist, the law was written to not apply to cases retroactively, though another legislative solution might be in the works. The case has drawn national condemnation, from the "Free Genarlow Wilson Now" editorial in The New York Times to a feature on Mark Cuban's HDNet.

"It's disgusting," Cuban wrote to ESPN in an e-mail. "I can not see any way, shape or form that the interests of the state of Georgia are served by throwing away Genarlow's youth and opportunity to become a vibrant contributor to the state. All his situation does is reinforce some unfortunate stereotypes that the state is backward and misgoverned. No one with a conscience can look at this case and conclude that justice has been served."

[watermock]

Wow. I guess I should of served several 10 year sentences along with millions of other teenagers.

17 and 15? WTF? While I know that she wasn't 16 but dayum.

[RunSilentRunDeep]

Let me guess, the girl was white.

[Garcia Bronco]

The stupid Govenor just needs to step up and pardon him...WTF.

[elsid13]

Let me guess, the girl was white.

Yes she was. HBO real sports did this story a couple of years ago. The kid was living with his adopted white parents, had good grades, never got into trouble. Basically he got screwed by the local DA.


I thought he had been cleared by 3 judge appeal court

[Garcia Bronco]

Yes she was. HBO real sports did this story a couple of years ago. The kid was living with his adopted white parents, had good grades, never got into trouble. Basically he got screwed by the local DA.


I thought he had been cleared by 3 judge appeal court

I remember this now. ****ed up

[footstepsfrom#27]

60 Minutes should be all over this...ridiculous beyond words.

[Connecticut Bronco Fan]

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse ... but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.




So if she was 12, it would of been legal? ???

Or is something typed wrong there,

Or am i just misreading that.

If he was 17, and she was 15. That would make them 2 years apart. Which would make it legal. But maybe I'm just reading it wrong.

[Mtbrncofn]

That poor guy is getting hosed.

[STBumpkin]

So if she was 12, it would of been legal? ???

Or is something typed wrong there,

Or am i just misreading that.

If he was 17, and she was 15. That would make them 2 years apart. Which would make it legal. But maybe I'm just reading it wrong.

You're just reading it wrong. The law says that it is a misdemeaner to have intercourse with someone less than 3 years difference, but a felony to receive felatio from someone less than 3 years diference. It was written poorly. The law probably says it is a felony for intercourse over 3 years as well as felatio. Southern laws are often backwards/antiquated (especially LA)

[baja]

Oh my God I too am guilty of the same offense should I turn myself in. If everyone guilty of this same act were incarcerated for ten years we would have to appropriate Texas as a holding tank for the guilty.

[Tredici]

Oh my God I too am guilty of the same offense should I turn myself in. If everyone guilty of this same act were incarcerated for ten years we would have to appropriate Texas as a holding tank for the guilty.

Well, you can do the right thing or continue to be a fugitive there in the Baja....


Ha!

[baja]

I think I'm OK now I'm 58 and she is 55.

[BroncoBuff]

I saw this on some news magazine show ... there's something in the works to overturn it.

[Tredici]

I think I'm OK now I'm 58 and she is 55.

Better check the statute of limitations...

Hey! Does this mean I contributed to the delinquency of a lesser minor?
:~ohyah!:

[Tredici]

http://www.wilsonappeal.com/petition.php

You can always sign the petition.

[orangemonkey]

Yes she was. HBO real sports did this story a couple of years ago. The kid was living with his adopted white parents, had good grades, never got into trouble. Basically he got screwed by the local DA.


I thought he had been cleared by 3 judge appeal court


Actually, no, different kid. The guy on HBO real sports was from Florida.

[Dagmar]

Remember, in the grand ol' US of A, a blow job equals impeachment!

going to war that still has no reasonable justification where more Americans have died than on 9/11 is fine though

"Oh say can you see..."

[spdirty]

Remember, in the grand ol' US of A, a blow job equals impeachment!

going to war that still has no reasonable justification where more Americans have died than on 9/11 is fine though

"Oh say can you see..."

Would you please STFU with your goddamn secret admiration for Bush?? God, enough is enough.

[elsid13]

Actually, no, different kid. The guy on HBO real sports was from Florida.

That was one that got off, but Frank Deford did this story too.

[BroncoBuff]

That was one that got off, but Frank Deford did this story too.
What is this, epidemic?! And what about all the kids jailed for this who are NOT athletes?

An outrage, plain and simple.

Many statutory rape statutes have 3 or 4 year windows, i.e. 16 y.o. and 20 y.o. is probably not a violation. But this is "aggravated molestation," very different. "Aggravated" is a very loaded word in penal statutes. "Aggravated" MEANS something.

Anyway, the jury verdict really seals the door here. I can tell you that once a jury rules, there's very little you can do outside an appeal to exclude evidence that was presented ... and the videotape and birth certificates are the only evidence a reasonable jury needed to convict here, so overturning this on appeal seems highly unlikely.

The result is not their fault though ... juries are NOT ALLOWED to be told what the punishment is in the guilt phase of a trial, so they had no idea of the 10-wop. Tragic.

[LordHelmchen]

wow, just wow.. I can just shake my head in disbelief.

[-Slap-]

How come R Kelly can totally degrade a 15 year old on tape and get away with it? He was sure as hell older than 17.

[Rohirrim]

I think this country discriminates against blow jobs. The lowly blow job gets no respect in our society. It's like the crack pipe of sex. Why make the penalty for a BJ worse than for your regular old uninspired, missionary position? In this country, you can lie us into war, but if you get a BJ, you're getting impeached. I say we should all stand up and shout, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more." Stop the BJ discrimination in America!
More power to the blow job! In protest, I say we should all go out and get a blow job!

[Bronco_Beerslug]

How come R Kelly can totally degrade a 15 year old on tape and get away with it? He was sure as hell older than 17.Each state has different laws. A 52 year old school teacher (http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2006/05/what_ever_happe.html) in AZ was sentenced to 200 years for possessing 20 pics of child porn on his PC, not that I condone that crap but he had no prior convictions of any kind and apparently did not distribute them.

[KipCorrington25]

I think the case that was on Real Sports was a different case, that being the case of Marcus Dixon which is mentioned in this article. I think the quote that says it all is:

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. Wilson received 3,650 days.

That is bull**** right there folks.

[Garcia Bronco]

I think this country discriminates against blow jobs. The lowly blow job gets no respect in our society. It's like the crack pipe of sex. Why make the penalty for a BJ worse than for your regular old uninspired, missionary position? In this country, you can lie us into war, but if you get a BJ, you're getting impeached. I say we should all stand up and shout, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more." Stop the BJ discrimination in America!
More power to the blow job! In protest, I say we should all go out and get a blow job!

Clinton did not get into trouble for a blow job...he got in trouble for lying about it under oath in a court of law in a frivilous lawsuit.

[freak6]

What a travesty.

I am emailing that petition to everyone I know.

[watermock]

I think this country discriminates against blow jobs. The lowly blow job gets no respect in our society. It's like the crack pipe of sex. Why make the penalty for a BJ worse than for your regular old uninspired, missionary position? In this country, you can lie us into war, but if you get a BJ, you're getting impeached. I say we should all stand up and shout, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more." Stop the BJ discrimination in America!
More power to the blow job! In protest, I say we should all go out and get a blow job!

They should of used Bubba's "Lewinski Defense". Oral sex isn't sex...remember? Meanwhile, other health "experts" promote Oral as safe sex.

One word: Alabama

[watermock]

Everyone sign the petition that feels this is cruel and unusual punishment.

http://www.wilsonappeal.com/petition.php

[Rohirrim]

Clinton did not get into trouble for a blow job...he got in trouble for lying about it under oath in a court of law in a frivilous lawsuit.

I think it was under oath during a deposition. Anyway, I don't know what these people in the South have against the poor BJ. And why make the punishment so harsh? After all, there are so few women who even know how to do it even halfway decently, it seems a shame to discourage them with harsher penalties. Those poor girls who are least willing to try need all the encouragement they can get. I know I'm doing my part. :thanku:

[watermock]

Practice makes perfect...I remember my ex visited and had become quite a master.

[AFCWestFan]

Injustice?

This dirtball has sex with a 15 yr old after he buys booze and dope for her and you defend that? What!!!!

just cause he is an athelete? What pure garbage. This is why we have the issues we have in sports because people hold these guys to a different standard.

Pure crap. He did it, he got caught, do the time.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Injustice?

This dirtball has sex with a 15 yr old after he buys booze and dope for her and you defend that? What!!!!

just cause he is an athelete? What pure garbage. This is why we have the issues we have in sports because people hold these guys to a different standard.

Pure crap. He did it, he got caught, do the time.Mad Yak, is that you?

[KipCorrington25]

Injustice?

This dirtball has sex with a 15 yr old after he buys booze and dope for her and you defend that? What!!!!

just cause he is an athelete? What pure garbage. This is why we have the issues we have in sports because people hold these guys to a different standard.

Pure crap. He did it, he got caught, do the time.

The question is if a 15 and 17 year old hook up should the 17 year old get a 10 year mandatory stay in a pound you in the ass prison?

If so then about half the men in America are going to Levenworth... not me though, I couldn't get laid with a fistfull of pardons in a women's prision at the age of 17.

Also, the law has a loop hole, intercourse is a misdemenor and oral is a felony... that's B.S.

[watermock]

Injustice?

This dirtball has sex with a 15 yr old after he buys booze and dope for her and you defend that? What!!!!

just cause he is an athelete? What pure garbage. This is why we have the issues we have in sports because people hold these guys to a different standard.

Pure crap. He did it, he got caught, do the time.

And your link? I didn't see it on the main link.

[AFCWestFan]

The guy was a scumball if he gave a 15yr old drugs, booze and rented a hotel room

He can rot and no one will remember caus ehe got what the law prescribes. How can you defend this garbage?

[Northman]

I dont get it, if it was consenual than who let the cat out of the bag?

[Bronco_Beerslug]

The guy was a scumball if he gave a 15yr old drugs, booze and rented a hotel room
He can rot and no one will remember caus ehe got what the law prescribes. How can you defend this garbage?
Just where is the link that says he drugged and raped her? He was sentenced 10 years at the age of 17 for having (consensual) oral sex with a 15 year old.

[Rock Chalk]

The guy was a scumball if he gave a 15yr old drugs, booze and rented a hotel room

He can rot and no one will remember caus ehe got what the law prescribes. How can you defend this garbage?

Where the hell are you getting this drugs, booze and rented hotel room info from? I checked various stories on this and not one of those things is mentioned in any of them.

[Crushaholic]

Injustice?

This dirtball has sex with a 15 yr old after he buys booze and dope for her and you defend that? What!!!!

just cause he is an athelete? What pure garbage. This is why we have the issues we have in sports because people hold these guys to a different standard.

Pure crap. He did it, he got caught, do the time.

The article only said that the girl initiated the act. Don't read into something that isn't there...

[KipCorrington25]

It was a New Year's Eve gathering, there was booze and marijuana there... this is hardly anything unique... there was a video camera there, it showed the 15 year old going down on the 17 year old after she had done similar to another guy. The first guy plea bargained and got 2 years, this guy didn't and got 10.

Seems very over the top to me. Haven't we all been to party at age 17 were drinking was going on? Was is at all unusual for 2 kids to hook up? Should the guy get 10 years for that just because he is 2 years older and not even over 18?

I'll say it again, if so we'd better build a prison that can hold about 50 million of us.

[Dendave]

he broke the law...why the sympathy? I guess I don't unerstand...

[Drek]

he broke the law...why the sympathy? I guess I don't unerstand...

Because its a teenager being punished like a sex offender for having consensual sex with a 15 year old. Both were minors, by state law he could have actually had sex with her and it would've only been a misdemeanor. She sucks him off and he gets a decade. See the double standard there? Its was a rediculous law that has been changed and he's still in jail. Doesn't paint our justice system in the right light when a minor filmed having consensual sex is staying a longer term than someone serving time for man 1 or drug trafficking.

[Northman]

he broke the law...why the sympathy? I guess I don't unerstand...


Yes, obviously you dont understand common sense.

[worm]

What happened to the chica?

[Garcia Bronco]

These kids shouldn't have been doing what they were doing, however....the law is effing stupid

[Garcia Bronco]

What happened to the chica?

Hopefully the whore got self esteem classes

[-Slap-]

Update on this story.

Last minute appeal in teen sex case sparks outrage (http://us.cnn.com/2007/US/06/11/teen.sex.case/index.html)

June 11, 2007

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jubilation turned quickly to anger Monday after Georgia's top prosecutor vowed he would fight a judge's order that would have set free Genarlow Wilson, a Georgia man serving a 10-year prison sentence for a consensual sexual encounter he had as a teenager.

Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said her client would not accept a proposed plea bargain that would get him out of prison because it would require Wilson to plead guilty to a felony.

A judge ruled Monday that his conduct should have been punished as a misdemeanor.

"We're going to keep fighting," Bernstein told reporters at a news conference at the state Capitol. (Watch Wilson's mom, lawyer's tearful reaction to the judge's ruling)

She was flanked by civil rights leaders and black lawmakers, who expressed anger at the decision by Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker to block Wilson's release by filing an appeal of the judge's ruling.

Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, called Baker's decision "unnecessary, unjust and unfounded."

"We don't understand the reasoning or rationale of the attorney general on this issue," Lowery said. (Watch Lowery call the top prosecutor's action absurd and unjust )

Wilson is black, as is Baker.

Law changed but Wilson not included

Wilson, 21, was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, during a 2003 New Year's Eve party in Douglas County, just west of Atlanta, Georgia.

Wilson was also charged with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party -- who prosecutors maintained was too intoxicated to consent -- but jurors acquitted him on that charge.

Under the state law in effect at the time, Wilson received a mandatory 10-year sentence and has already served more than two years.

Partly as a result of Wilson's conviction, state legislators changed the law to make such consensual conduct between teenagers a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. But that change wasn't made retroactive, so it did not affect Wilson.

Monday, acting on a petition filed by his attorneys, Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson ruled that Genarlow Wilson's punishment was cruel and unusual and voided it on constitutional grounds. The judge reduced the sentence to one year and said Wilson should not be put on Georgia's sex offender registry, as the old law required.

Wilson's attorneys hoped to use the ruling to free him from state prison. But shortly after it was handed down, Baker announced he would appeal the decision, a move that keeps Wilson behind bars.

In a statement announcing his decision, Baker said he filed the appeal to resolve "clearly erroneous legal issues," charging that the judge did not have the authority "to reduce or modify the judgment of the trial court."

'The ultimate abuse of power'

Baker also said prosecutors in Douglas County had offered a plea deal that would reduce Wilson's sentence, possibly to time already served, and place him in a program for first-time offenders.

Once his sentence was complete, his conviction would be removed from his record, and he would be taken off the sex-offender registry, the attorney general said.

But Bernstein said Wilson would not accept the proposed deal because it would still require him to plead guilty to a felony with a 15-year sentence, which would hang over him until the sentence had been served.

"That's the ultimate abuse of power as a prosecutor," said Bernstein. "I want this child out. Enough already."

Bernstein said Wilson's attorneys are now trying to get him released on bond while Baker's appeal makes its way through the courts; but, so far, they have not been successful.

Wilson's plight has drawn national attention and pleas for his release, including from former President Jimmy Carter, a former Georgia governor, and even some of the jurors who convicted him.

But late last year, the Georgia Supreme Court, on a 4-3 vote, turned down Wilson's appeal, and both Douglas County District Attorney David McDade and Baker have opposed moves by his attorneys to have him released.

Legislation that would make the change in Georgia's child molestation law retroactive in order to free Wilson failed to win approval earlier this year.

[Atlas]

Gotta love the South.

[Needa Pass Rush]

Gotta love the South.

Gotta love the irony found in Wilson's attorney's name. B.J. Bernstein.

[Broncoman13]

Gotta love the irony found in Wilson's attorney's name. B.J. Bernstein.

I thought that was pretty funny as well.

I think this guy is paying his dues on both counts under this one ruling. Sounds like the other rape case that was thrown out has really played a role in the DA's and AG's decision process. Seems like they feel he's guilty of the rape and will make him pay one way or another.

[cutthemdown]

This guy doesn't sound like someone I need to feel sorry for. I could care less about him.

[broncs2bowl]

This rly sux for that guy and I feel rly bad for him. I mean come on obviously that girl wanted to suck his wang. He didnt molest her. And nothing wrong with having sex under 3 years apart but having oral under three years apart is a crime. That just doesnt make sense.......I LOVE BJs

[broncs2bowl]

This guy doesn't sound like someone I need to feel sorry for. I could care less about him.

why not he got a horrible punishment for rly doing nothing. If this applied to everyone in the US there would be millions of teenagers in jail for 10 years guys and girls included, dont tell me you dont like head.

[gunns]

Clinton did not get into trouble for a blow job...he got in trouble for lying about it under oath in a court of law in a frivilous lawsuit.

Why were we asking the question in the first place??? And how many men lie about it in fear of what it will do to their marriage every day?

I can't believe this kid is still in jail. How many courts in this country overlook antiquated laws everyday? This is strictly a race issue and I cannot believe no one has stepped in to stop this foolishness that is destroying a promising future. I also cannot believe an attorney general has more power than a judge.

[-Slap-]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker is also black, so its harder to paint this as a race issue.

[Los Broncos]

I read this on msn today. Pretty sad.

[Los Broncos]

This guy doesn't sound like someone I need to feel sorry for. I could care less about him.

Ouch

[mattbeymvp]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker is also black, so its harder to paint this as a race issue.

Race is never an issue, is it?

Attorney Generals aren't responsible for either verdicts or sentences.

White defendants faced with similar charges in Georgia consistently got more lenient sentences.

Race played a large part in this.

[Jason in LA]

This guy doesn't sound like someone I need to feel sorry for. I could care less about him.

The reports say that he was an honor student with a 3.2 GPA. He had never been in any trouble, no criminal record, and he was being recruited by a few colleges.

He's still locked up because he's stood for his principles. A good kid is getting the shaft, big time.

[Los Broncos]

The reports say that he was an honor student with a 3.2 GPA. He had never been in any trouble, no criminal record, and he was being recruited by a few colleges.

He's still locked up because he's stood for his principles. A good kid is getting the shaft, big time.

For sure, wrong place wrong time.

[Jason in LA]

I thought that was pretty funny as well.

I think this guy is paying his dues on both counts under this one ruling. Sounds like the other rape case that was thrown out has really played a role in the DA's and AG's decision process. Seems like they feel he's guilty of the rape and will make him pay one way or another.


You may be right about that.

I read that the jury watched the tape and they all instantly agreed that it was not rape. It took them less than an hour to come up with a not guilty verdict on the rape charges.

[-Slap-]

Race is never an issue, is it?

Don't be an ass. This case might be about racism, but the individual who's prolonging a prison stay for Wilson that already exceeds two years is an African American lawman.

Attorney Generals aren't responsible for either verdicts or sentences.

White defendants faced with similar charges in Georgia consistently got more lenient sentences.

The Attorney General, Thurbert Baker, is appealing a decision that would have set Wilson free. Baker took over the case originally brought by Douglas County DA David McDade. There wouldn't be any charges against Wilson if their office hadn't chosen to prosecute him.

[bendog]

As for the AG's motives, I heard an interview on NPR with some of the kids who go to Williams' old school. They mainly seemed to understand that they could be in trouble for sexual activity with someone three years younger, but were mystified by the notion of a 16 yr old getting in trouble for having sex with a 15 yr old. I admit that that makes little sense to me, either.

However, when asked about a distinction between oral and "real" sex, it got interesting. First, one boy interpreted this as guy on guy, and said a guy would get a worse rep than a girl who had "real" sex with lots of guys. But, then, one of the girls cleared up his confusion, by saying ALL the girls were giving the boys oral sex. [EDIT, and all the girls also being interviewed chimed in and agreed that all girls were giving bjs] It's just an everyday thing, apparantly.

Perhaps that's the AG's motivation. Not arguing it's right or wrong motivation. But, there's certainly something wrong if girls are expected to give bjs indiscriminately and the girls, and the communty, accept that as a social norm.

[Garcia Bronco]

I can't believe the corksucking DA put this kid back on ice. I hope he gets the clap along with the rest of his family. While this kid did break the law...the punishmnet is totally out of whack.

[Garcia Bronco]

Why were we asking the question in the first place??? And how many men lie about it in fear of what it will do to their marriage every day?



Those men shouldn't cheat on their wives and they wouldn't have that problem.

[Drunk Monkey]

wow, thas messed up. Poor guy.

[c_lazy_r]

Each state has different laws. A 52 year old school teacher (http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2006/05/what_ever_happe.html) in AZ was sentenced to 200 years for possessing 20 pics of child porn on his PC, not that I condone that crap but he had no prior convictions of any kind and apparently did not distribute them.

Sorry but having child porn in your possession is very different from getting a BJ from a sophmore when you're a senior.

[c_lazy_r]

Those men shouldn't cheat on their wives and they wouldn't have that problem.


Is oral sex technically cheating?

Ever since Bill's...uh...relations with Monica, I've been so confused.

[Garcia Bronco]

Is oral sex technically cheating?

Ever since Bill's...uh...relations with Monica, I've been so confused.

I guess it depends on the cheatee interpretation.

[Los Broncos]

I guess it depends on the cheatee interpretation.

A friend of mine says "kissing" is not cheating in his book.

[cutthemdown]

The reports say that he was an honor student with a 3.2 GPA. He had never been in any trouble, no criminal record, and he was being recruited by a few colleges.

He's still locked up because he's stood for his principles. A good kid is getting the shaft, big time.

Well he was acquitted on the rape charge, but the girl was seen in the video being drug onto the bed, then drug off the bed. She was also seen in the video totally passed out on the floor of the bathroom. She had been given alcohol and drugs to get her to that state. The jury decided that it wasn't rape but I disagree so I don't care they put him in prison for whatever they could. The moral of the story is don't screw girls when they are passed out or people won't feel sorry for you when you get the shaft. Ya Ya I know the jury acquitted him of that, well OJ got acquitted also. I can still research the evidence and decide for myself If I think someone is guilty. I have that right you know. I said it before I don't feel sorry for this guy and hope he stays in prison if he won't agree to a deal. We need someone like him registered as an offender to protect young girls or any girls from this point on. He has demonstrated that he will have sex with a passed out girl so to me that shows he isn't a good kid.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Well he was acquitted on the rape charge, but the girl was seen in the video being drug onto the bed, then drug off the bed. She was also seen in the video totally passed out on the floor of the bathroom. She had been given alcohol and drugs to get her to that state.
The way you phrased it makes it sound like somebody SLIPPED her something unawares, when in fact she was at a party where drugs and alcohol were being used. Are you saying she did not willingly drink or choose to use whatever substance she was influenced by? From what I just read, the video showed the 17 year old having sex willingly with multiple partners, and she appeared to be in physical control. Witnesses also say she was a willing participant...so I'm curious as to what your basis for concluding she was raped is. This sounds like a case of a teenager who didn't want to get busted at home so she claimed rape.

I'll bet we could find tens of thousands of similar situations all over the country...usually it's called "prom night". The antiquated law that is being used to destroy this kid's life would not be applied here if this kid was white.

[Jason in LA]

Well he was acquitted on the rape charge, but the girl was seen in the video being drug onto the bed, then drug off the bed. She was also seen in the video totally passed out on the floor of the bathroom. She had been given alcohol and drugs to get her to that state. The jury decided that it wasn't rape but I disagree so I don't care they put him in prison for whatever they could. The moral of the story is don't screw girls when they are passed out or people won't feel sorry for you when you get the shaft. Ya Ya I know the jury acquitted him of that, well OJ got acquitted also. I can still research the evidence and decide for myself If I think someone is guilty. I have that right you know. I said it before I don't feel sorry for this guy and hope he stays in prison if he won't agree to a deal. We need someone like him registered as an offender to protect young girls or any girls from this point on. He has demonstrated that he will have sex with a passed out girl so to me that shows he isn't a good kid.


So the jury heard and saw all of the evidence, saw the tape, but you are the one who knows what really happened? From what I read when the jury saw the tape they at no point thought that the girl was raped. None of them. I have not read in any report that the girl was passed out. Where did you get that from?

Have you seen the video? Probably not. But they did, so I'll take their word for it.

I also wonder what you are making your judgements on. Oh wait, never mind.

[Mountain Bronco]

Cutthemdown showing his ignorance. Priceless. The jurors interviewed on HBO said is was a no brainer on the rape non conviction. Just trying to justify your orignal retarded statement with this B.S. Ignor list!

[cutthemdown]

I guess because I think it's wrong for 5 people to all have sex with a semi concious 17 year old girl I don't feel sorry for him. The other men took plea bargains for it and he decided to fight it. They are all behind bars also. If it wasn't rape then shouldn't you all be crying for them also. Let me guess you don't even know their names because you only regurgatate what the media writes. The girl says she was raped by 5 dudes while she was too drunk to say no. A good kid like you all say he was would have stepped in and said man this isn't right. Instead they put her on a bed and all screwed her. When they were done she is carried from the bed because she is too drunk to even walk. By the way all the girls were black I think so I'm pretty sure it's not a stay away from the white women southern thing. If they had not prosectuted probably the family of the girl would have said see no one cares what happens to black girls. I wish we could all see the tape and make our decision. I do agree that he has probably served enough punishment and needs to be let out. I disagree with you all saying he shouldn't have to register. We have to protect young girls even if it doesn't seem fair all the time or their may be a grey area. The fact is he has shown he will have sex with semi concious girls(semi concious is how doctors described the girl on the tape) A doctor also said that in his opinion the girl in that state of mind couldn't consent. I have young neices I always worry about so maybe I am going to far but the insuations that I feel this way because the dudes are black is reverse racisim. I never said anything about the race of these teenagers. Go ahead an pull the race card though it doesn't bother me it's not like white people aren't used to that.

[cutthemdown]

Cutthemdown showing his ignorance. Priceless. The jurors interviewed on HBO said is was a no brainer on the rape non conviction. Just trying to justify your orignal retarded statement with this B.S. Ignor list!

I said I don't feel sorry for him. Hard to really see why a statement like that makes you all so upset. It's my opinion. I guess you are all the type that if someones opinion doesn't match your's they are ignorant. I don't feel that way at all. I don't see Jason or anyone else as ignorant for feeling differently then I do. I respect his opinion but feel we need to error on the side of keeping women safe for predators.

[bendog]

Are you guys talking about the same incident?

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse ... but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.

Afterward, the state legislature changed the law to include an oral sex clause, but that doesn't help Wilson. In yet another baffling twist, the law was written to not apply to cases retroactively, though another legislative solution might be in the works. The case has drawn national condemnation, from the "Free Genarlow Wilson Now" editorial in The New York Times to a feature on Mark Cuban's HDNet.
--
As I recall he was ACQUITTED of rape with the 17 yr old, but convicted of the bj by the 15 yr old, who initiated it, and ironically had he had intercourse with the 15 yr old, he'd have gotten a max of five, not the ten he got.

And, then, the legislature amended the law to provide that a 17 yr old getting a bj from a 15 yr old would get NO time.

Not that he'd ever date my daughter

[Atlas]

Are you guys talking about the same incident?

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse ... but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.

Afterward, the state legislature changed the law to include an oral sex clause, but that doesn't help Wilson. In yet another baffling twist, the law was written to not apply to cases retroactively, though another legislative solution might be in the works. The case has drawn national condemnation, from the "Free Genarlow Wilson Now" editorial in The New York Times to a feature on Mark Cuban's HDNet.
--
As I recall he was ACQUITTED of rape with the 17 yr old, but convicted of the bj by the 15 yr old, who initiated it, and ironically had he had intercourse with the 15 yr old, he'd have gotten a max of five, not the ten he got.

And, then, the legislature amended the law to provide that a 17 yr old getting a bj from a 15 yr old would get NO time.

Not that he'd ever date my daughter

That's it. Poor kid has been railroaded. If he has a good head on his shoulders he could really use this to his advantage when he gets out. If he is just a thug well, he'll probably never realize what a golden opportunity he has in front of him.

[bendog]

Well, if he had a good head on his shoulders, he wouldn't be having sex with a girl his own age who is so drunk she apparantly had no clue, or at best lacked the capacity to knowingly consent, though she may well have consented in an inebrieted state. But, TEN YEARS for a bj from a girl who initiated the act!!???

And from what I've heard of the school, bjs are handed out like hand shakes were when I was a kid.

Still, if he were truly thug material, he wouldn't be carrying a 3.2gpa and getting college offers. I only hope the AG who ex-nayed him getting out is getting serious political heat.

ps, I googled and found this from the Atlanta paper (which is a top flight paper, btw)

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2007/06/12/0613metwilson0613a.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

It gives some insight into why the AG is doing this as apparantly letting the kid off totally has some ramifications for a bunch of other cases, which prolly do include thug scumbags. He's got a plea offer that would get him out, but I think his attorney is right in saying she won't allow him to plea with the possbility of a 15 year sentence coming back to bite him if down the line he does something stupid, but not terribly wrong, like get caught with some dope or something. Too bad the governor can't just step in an pardon the kid and give him back his vote and void any record.

The original DA is the guy who fubared this one, not the AG. Now everyone's left trying to figure out how best to unfubar it.

[Dandaman]

looks like he's finally free

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/26/wilson.freed/index.html

[RhymesayersDU]

looks like he's finally free

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/26/wilson.freed/index.html

Saw that today, glad they got it right.

[No1BroncoFan]

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse ... but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.
So if she was 12, it would of been legal? ???

Or is something typed wrong there,

Or am i just misreading that.

If he was 17, and she was 15. That would make them 2 years apart. Which would make it legal. But maybe I'm just reading it wrong.

While I don't know much about Georgia law, I'm betting it's a misdemeanor if they are less than three years apart and a felony if more than three.

Ben

[TailgateNut]

The reports say that he was an honor student with a 3.2 GPA. He had never been in any trouble, no criminal record, and he was being recruited by a few colleges.

He's still locked up because he's stood for his principles. A good kid is getting the shaft, big time.



...an honor student? Have you heard him talk? sounded like just another jock who got him grades "streamlined" to help out the "cause".

[ro_50]

Glad they let the kid go. My god, what an f-ing injustice.

[penguintheory]

Man all that for a beej?

[penguintheory]

...an honor student? Have you heard him talk? sounded like just another jock who got him grades "streamlined" to help out the "cause".

An idiot wouldn't make it at Columbia U or Brown, so...

[BroncoMan4ever]

10 years for getting a hummer. Man that BLOWS.

[ayjackson]

Man all that for a beej?

Doesn't sound like too much, but then, I'm married. :-[ ...and I've served more time too.

[JimmyFocus]

Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein ..... that is classic