On a 4-3 vote, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state should release Genarlow Wilson, a young man imprisoned since 2003 for consensual oral sex with another teen.
It's about time.
Not terribly surprising -- the DA who led the original prosecution disagrees with the Court decision. The State AG, however, says he will not appeal.
The Court ruled that Wilson faced cruel and unusual punishment -- something prohibited by the US Constitution. PsychSound gives us this snippet from the ruling, where the Court compared Wilson's sentence with that for people convicted of manslaughter:
For example, a defendant who gets in a heated argument and shoving match with someone, walks away to retrieve a weapon, returns minutes later with a gun, and intentionally shoots and kills the person may be convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to as little as one year in prison. A person who plays Russian Roulette with a loaded handgun and causes the death of another person by shooting him or her with the loaded weapon may be convicted of involuntary manslaughter and receive a sentence of as little as one year in prison and no more than ten years.
Only one year in prison for killing someone with a gun? In a pre-meditated fashion?
For those unfamiliar with the case, Wilson was 17 when he was celebrating New Year's Eve with friends and captured on videotape having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. He was charged with aggravated child molestation, which carries a minimum sentence in Georgia -- with no parole option.
Wilson, an athlete and honors student, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (He was acquitted of a separate rape charge.)
Subsequently, the legislature changed the law to explicitly prohibit "Romeo-and-Juliet" infractions from being considered child molestation; instead, they are misdemeanors (incredibly, they can still carry a 1-year prison term).
Prior coverage: Injustice In Georgia: The Case of Genarlow Wilson, Injustice In Georgia: The Case of Genarlow Wilson, Part 2 and Thoughts on Justice and Punishment. More from NY Times and AP.
Comments
Heck ofa price to pay for a BJ.
The 4 GA Supreme court judges who released Wilson are guilty of legislating from the bench, they cannot do that. All they have done is try to make a poster boy for judicial justice and have effectively wiped out the judgement of 236 elected offenders. How many of you have read the dissenting opinion?
Hi Johnny,
You may well be right, but then what does this tell about the judicial system in Georgia? If, as we all agree, the first judgment was unfair but legal, isn’t it true that the judicial system is stupid?
JohnnyMack — I don’t understand your logic when you say that this decision “wiped out the judgment of 236 elected offenders.”
Do you mean there are offenders out there whose sentences might be covered by this ruling? If so, don’t under the “elected” adjective.
The state legislature changed the law but did not make it retroactive — and a demagogue in the legislature made sure nothing happened in the 2007 session, even if he had to lie. Which he did, in public testimony. I wrote about it then — mortified.
And Alphast, I don’t think the judicial system is stupid but I think some of the people in the legislature are.
my question would be fi theyu were only 2 year age diffrande and they young man was sentanced the did he still have to regster as a sex offender